HISTORY OF DRY-FARMING 



Coast. As was natural, the early pio- 

 neers in the State of California, just as 

 in South Africa, established themselves 

 along the sides of rivers ; but in process of 

 time they became bolder and began to till 

 the land which lay away from the water 

 courses. It is probable that the first 

 farming on dry land in California was 

 done in connection with orchard cultiva- 

 tion. Several years ago Hilgard of 

 California called attention to the vast 

 potentialities of the arid lands of the 

 West and by his brilliant researches in 

 the laboratory and in the field he clearly 

 proved that they possess certain distinct 

 advantages over the more humid soils of 

 the East. He has always laid special 

 stress on the two fundamental principles 

 of dry-land farming, namely, deep initial 

 preparation of the ground, and constant 

 shallow after-cultivation. He has also 

 observed that in selecting virgin land for 

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