108 THE FARMER OF TO-MORROW 



spring rainfall of the Inter-mountain region, 

 and the winter rainfall of the Pacific region. 

 Three-fourths of the total rainfall in the Great 

 Plains region occurs during the six months 

 from April to September. On the Pacific 

 Coast, on the other hand, the rainfall occurs 

 almost entirely during the winter months, and 

 the summers are dry. In the Inter-mountain 

 region the bulk of the rain falls during the 

 late winter and early spring. This factor 

 needs must affect both the nature of the crops 

 grown and the method of cultivation. In the 

 Great Basin land must be kept under clean 

 summer fallow and a fall-sown crop is then 

 able to take advantage of later winter and 

 early spring rains. ("Dry Farming in Re- 

 lation to Rainfall and Evaporation," by 

 Lyman J. Briggs, Bulletin 188, Bureau of 

 Plant Industry.) On the other hand, the 

 summer rains of the Great Plains region and 

 the excessive evaporation make summer fallow 

 expensive, and the land is usually cropped 

 year in and year out. This government, as 

 well as Canada, has recognized the necessity 

 of large individual holdings in these regions 

 and both in our own West and on the western 

 prairies of Canada the new settler is urged 



