26 DRY LAND FARMING 



Mistaken views as to its history. The popular con- 

 ception of dry farming with reference to the time when 

 it began, the place where it originated, the area where it 

 was first practised, and with reference to its early pro- 

 moters is wholly at sea. That conception looks upon it 

 as something that has orginated within years of the recent 

 past, that it originated in the western United States, and 

 that it is, as it were, a discovery for which western 

 America is entitled to a patent. It has also associated 

 with these ideas the names of certain men now living, 

 who are looked upon as the discoverers of the system of 

 dry farming. It looks up to them reverentially as being 

 the fathers of the system. Nothing can be farther from 

 the truth than these mistaken conceptions. 



It has been shown in the preceding paragraph that 

 dry farming was practised even before the dawn of 

 history. The popular conception of it would restrict it 

 virtually to the past decade. With reference to the 

 advanced methods observed in conducting it, this may 

 be true, but the fact remains that the great nations of 

 antiquity, with the exception of Egypt, were cradled in 

 areas where dry farming was much practised. 



The popular conception of dry farming looks upon 

 the western states of the Union as the place where it has 

 been cradled. It has already been shown that it was 

 practised by the peoples of various nations even prior 

 to the Christian era. It will also be shown in succeeding 

 paragraphs that dry farming is today practised in certain 

 extensive areas on each of the continents. 



This conception would confine it mainly to western 

 America, whereas in each of the continents, including 

 Australia, is an area probably as large as that of the 

 United States which must be farmed if farmed at all by 

 the methods that obtain in dry farming. It is at least 

 questionable if the land that must be farmed by the 

 dry farming plan, if farmed at all, does not exceed the 



