456 DRY LAND FARMING 



the lesson that the proportional increase in the produc- 

 tion is by no means proportional to increase in the 

 amount of the water applied. 



Experiments conducted in Utah gave results as fol- 

 lows: The first 5 inches of water applied gave 40 

 bushels of winter wheat per acre. The application of 

 ten times the amount increased the yield only by one- 

 half, that is, it gave but 60 bushels per acre. The ap- 

 plication of 50 inches would also be more or less harmful 

 to the land, because of the excess of the application. 

 Similar results were also obtained from the growing 

 of other crops. 



Remarkable results are frequently obtained from 

 the use of very small quantities of water. Widtsoe cites 

 an instance wherein a 12-foot geared windmill lifted 

 water from a certain well in Arizona into a tank having 

 a capacity of 5,000 gallons. The water was conveyed 

 from this tank through iron pipes which were placed 

 underneath the ground and within a foot or two of the 

 trees. The pipes beneath the soil were perforated, which, 

 of course, provided subterranean irrigation. The water 

 sustained 87 useful trees, nearly all of them valuable 

 fruit-bearing sorts, and 32 grape vines, with certain small 

 bushes in addition. Many other instances may be given 

 of remarkable results following the application of small 

 quantities of water. 



The dry land farmer should not be hasty in the con- 

 clusion that because he is a dry land farmer he does not 

 need to seek any aid from stored water. Water is the 

 most precious heritage of the farmer in the semi-arid 

 country. Let him use it, therefore, to the greatest ex- 

 tent practicable in furnishing him with the proper sur- 

 roundings of a home. To defer doing so until many 

 years have come and gone would certainly be a mistake. 



Dry farming and very light rainfall. It is simply 

 surprising what may be accomplished in some instances 



