GROWING GRAIN CROPS IN DRY AREAS 215 



expense for hired labor. The adaptations of the condi- 

 tions for growing winter wheat successfully in the 

 semi-arid country are indeed remarkable, whether the 

 bulk of the precipitation comes in the autumn and winter 

 months or during the period of greatest growth. The 

 winter wheat crop, because of the very large yields that 

 are frequently obtained, will, in many instances, pay for 

 the land that grew it in a single crop. This does not 

 mean that spring wheat may not be grown with much 



DRY LAND DURUM WHEAT GROWN NEAR GREAT FALLS, MONT 

 Courtesy Great Northern Railway Co. 



success in many areas, but that the attention should 

 rather be centered on the growing of winter wheat where 

 it may be grown with remarkable success. 



Soils. The soils of the larger portions of the arable 

 farms of the western states have high adaptation for the 

 growth of winter wheat. They are exceedingly rich in 

 the mineral constituents that favor grain production, 

 they may, as a rule, be easily penetrated by the roots of 

 the wheat plants and they very readily retain moisture 



