206 DRY LAND FARMING 



would be too cold for the safe production of fodder corn. 

 The place for mangels and sugar beets covers a wider 

 area than that for turnips and rutabagas, as the former 

 will stand more heat than the latter without languish- 

 ing. Both may be grown in nearly all the tillable areas 

 of the semi-arid belt, save on the very high elevations. 

 In such locations they may take injury from frost both 

 in the spring and in the autumn. 



The place for carrots is much wider than for any of 

 the classes of field roots discussed above. They will 

 stand more frost than turnips without injury, and more 

 drought than mangels or sugar beets. Western soils, 

 generally speaking, also seem very well adapted to their 

 growth. 



But two classes of tubers will be extensively grown 

 in the semi-arid west, at least for many years to come. 

 These are potatoes and artichokes. The Irish potato is 

 referred to. Sweet potatoes and peanuts may be grown 

 to a greater or lesser extent in the central and southern 

 portions of the dry belt, but it will be under irrigation 

 rather than in its absence. 



The Irish potato may be grown successfully on a 

 relatively small amount of moisture. This characteristic 

 makes it one of the safest crops for the settler to plant 

 on spring breaking. It does not succeed so well, how- 

 ever, in the central areas of the dry belt as in those 

 farther north, except on the high elevations, and on these 

 the hazard of injury from frost is imminent. In the 

 southern areas of the dry region, it does not succeed 

 so well as in the central areas. The advantage that the 

 northern area has over the central and southern comes 

 chiefly from the cooler temperature which it possesses. 

 Because of this fact, the plan is good which aims to bring 

 seed from the north every two or three years. The 

 short season in which the potato matures, especially in 



