Dry Farming and Irrigation 159 



Parlin and Orendorff Co. 



FIG. 125. A subsurface packer. The heavy wheels with V-shaped edges 

 pack the dirt against the subsoil but leave the surface loose. 



modern agriculture were not as successful in raising 

 crops as were the Indians; but this was before the 

 scientific principles of dry farming had been worked out. 



Still another point of difference between farming in a Thin 

 humid and in a semiarid region is that only about half pa 

 as much seed may be used in the dry region as in the 

 humid region. The reason for this is that every plant 

 takes from the soil a certain amount of moisture and if 

 there are too many plants all of them will wilt for lack 

 of water, whereas the same amount of moisture might 

 be sufficient for the growth of fewer plants to the acre. 



It is of greatest importance that crops be grown which Choice of 

 are able to withstand drought well. Among those most cr p 

 suitable for dry farming are wheat, oats, rye, barley, 

 corn, potatoes, and the various kinds of sorghum. The 

 most drought-resistant of these is the sorghum family. 

 The introduction of grain sorghums (milo and kafir 

 corn) into the semiarid West for use as stock feed has 

 revolutionized farming there. 



