DRY-FARMING ZONES 



had been accustomed to sow on irrigated 

 land, namely, a bushel and a half (90 

 lbs.) to two bushels and a half (150 lbs.) , 

 and as a consequence there was not suffi- 

 cient moisture in the ground to nourish 

 the plants which came up and wilted 

 away and died." Thus, in the Great 

 Basin the farmers have learned the lesson 

 of putting merely sufficient seed on the 

 land for the available supply of moisture. 

 Thus, whereas in the more humid regions 

 of the United States farmers sow sixty 

 to ninety pounds of wheat to the acre and 

 fifteen to twenty pounds of lucerne on 

 the dry lands of the Great Basin, far 

 heavier crops are usually obtained when 

 only thirty to forty pounds of wheat and 

 eight to ten pounds of lucerne per acre 

 are sown. But no hard and fast rule can 

 be given ; for the same amount of seed will 

 seldom give the same results in different 

 localities. 



198 



