52 AGRICULTURE 



header, and stubble, should be plowed under. Legumes 

 should be grown to aid in maintaining the supply of nitro- 

 gen. A careful system of rotation of crops should be 

 adopted and carefully followed. 



Dry-farm machinery. Dry-farming usually employs 

 a large acreage of tilled land. It also demands frequent 

 and thorough cultivation. These facts suggest the need 

 of plenty of good machinery, adapted to the work re- 

 quired. Plowing is often done by the gang-plow drawn by a 

 steam or gasoline tractor. Grain is cut by a combination 

 header and thrasher. Large disks, harrows and drills are 

 used. The intelligent dry-farmer will not so much seek to 

 economize on necessary machinery, as to save by giving 

 it the required care for its up-keep. 



Water for the home. The dry-land farmer's home 

 should be provided with an abundance of clean pure wa- 

 ter. The barns and the stock should have plenty of water, 

 and a supply is needed for the irrigation of the vegetable 

 garden, shade trees and fruit. The most progressive dry- 

 land farmers provide a reservoir which is continually kept 

 full of water pumped by a windmill, gasoline engine, or 

 other power. If this reservoir is elevated it may easily pro- 

 vide for a running system of water, thus supplying the 

 home, its kitchen and bathroom, with some of the modern 

 conveniences not otherwise available. 



TOPICS FOR INVESTIGATION 



1. Locate on the map the regions adapted to dry-farm- 

 ing in the United States. Estimate the amount of land in 

 your state not now under tillage that may be profitably 

 farmed by this method. 



2. Work out a practical system of crop rotation for 

 several different regions where dry-farming is practised. 



3. Make a list of all crops adapted to dry-farming in 



