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THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



The most of the failures in life can be traced to the 

 foundation on which the superstructure was built. Great 

 nations, states, communities, or great lives are not built 

 on a foundation of ignorance and superstition. A suc- 

 cessful, business, whether it be merchandising, mining, 

 reclaiming arid land or farming must also be built on a 

 foundation that is broad, deep and solid, else disaster 

 will follow. 



For the last generation there has been a mad rush 

 from the country to the city until a large portion of the 

 population of our large cities are not far removed from 

 pauperism. 



The foundation of a city, or its wealth, is not in the 

 city, but in the country surrounding. Multitudes of peo- 

 ple have overlooked this and have forsaken the foun- 

 dation of our country's wealth and prosperity, seeking in 

 the densely populated centers to build up from what? 

 Their condition today tells the story. My brother, my 

 sister, let us look life's problem squarely in the face. 

 Are not the necessities of life constantly rising in price 

 and is your earning power keeping pace, why is this? 

 Some say the tariff, others say trusts, combines and what 

 not. They can only be partially responsible for it. It is 

 the man on the foundation of prosperity, the farmer who 

 is boosting prices. No longer does he have to sell his 

 products at harvest time, but holds them until the prices 

 get high enough to suit him. There are so many non- 

 producers, who must be fed, and so few, proportionately, 

 who are producing the necessities of life "the law of sup- 

 ply and demand will prevail." What then shall we do? 

 There can be but one answer, "back to the farm," back 

 to the foundation where health and prosperity await you. 

 By so doing you will not only benefit yourself but will 

 benefit those who are left behind in the factory, the store, 

 or the mine by relieving competition, which will help to 

 allow the law of supply and demand to regulate the prices 

 of labor. 



The Farm Foundation. 



In selecting the farm we should select wisely. All 

 farms are not equal in productiveness, neither are markets 

 or social and educational advantages equal in all localities. 

 However, productiveness is the first consideration and this 

 is found in the arid districts. The first poor essential 

 factors in crop production are soil, sunlight, air, and 

 water, in fact they are the foundation. 



Soil. 



Soil is the first consideration. All soils will produce 

 crops, but some soils produce more bountifully than 

 others. The most fertile and productive soils in the 

 world are of volcanic origin. Soil is first pulverized rock, 

 as there are different kinds of rock there must necessarily 

 be different kinds of soil, but in countries where soil is of 

 volcanic origin this does not exist or is not so marked. Let 

 us illustrate: If we were to take all the different kinds 

 of rock and melt them together in a great caldron they 

 would all be mixed together, then pour the contents out 

 let it cool, this, when pulverized into soil, would contain 

 all the different kinds of soil in one; then instead of hav- 

 ing limestone soil with limestone rock underneath the 



soil the limestone would be thoroughly mixed with it, and 

 instead of having granite and sandstone soil we would 

 have a conglomerate soil thoroughly mixed, uniformly 

 composed of all the mineral elements of the different 

 kinds of soil in one, making it the richest and most en- 

 during because it contains all the good qualities of all, 

 then too, it is a virgin soil in the strictest sense of the 

 word, as it has never been submitted to the leaching 

 process, which has taken place in the humid countries. 

 Sunlight. 



Sunlight is one of the most important factors in crop 

 production, without it crops cannot grow. It necessarily 

 follows then the more sunshine (other things being equal) 

 the greater the growth. In the arid districts we have the 

 greates amount of sunshine possible, which brings wealth, 

 health and happiness to all. 



Air. 



Man cannot live without air, neither can crops. Air 

 and plenty of it is absolutely necessary to maintain life 

 in both animated and inanimated objects. Air is necessary 

 in the soil in order that plant food may be liberated for 

 the plants. Air is necessary around the stem and leaves 

 of plants in order that the plant may elaborate and as- 

 similate its food. In fact from 92 to 97% of the solids 

 in the crop is supplied from the air and sunshine. How 

 important then are these factors in crop production as well 

 as health and happiness in our people. 



Water. 



"Water is a poor master, but is a good servant when 

 you have control over it." Water desolves the plant food 

 in the soil. Water is the medium through which all plant 

 building material is distributed to the different parts of 

 the plant and in addition to this water is by far the largest 

 single consituent in all plant life. 



Irrigation. 



Farming in irrigated countries is not a haphazard 

 business. The farmer is not subject to conditions over 

 which he has no control. He becomes a manufacturer, a 

 master who directs and controls crop production, water 

 may be likened to the lever of an engine and the irriga- 

 tor to the engineer having control of the forces he is 

 dealing with. By supplying the right amount of water at 

 the right time to his crop it may always be a maximum 

 one. 



Markets. 



Markets for farm products and facilities for marketing 

 is essential to success and must be taken into considera- 

 tion, as a rule a railroad follows quickly in the wake of 

 settlement of irrigated lands. In the arid section only a 

 relatively small portion of the area will ever be brought 

 under cultivation, the larger portion being devoted to 

 stock raising and mining which provide splendid and 

 never failing markets for farm products. The demand 

 for hay by the stockmen has never been supplied and the 

 mines and cities are compelled to ship in their supplies 

 from distant states, as not enough produce is grown to 

 supply the home demand. As an example of this we can 

 take the state of Utah where only about 12% of the total 

 area will ever be brought under irrigation. Utah produces 

 annually from her mines $32,131,000 of precious metal, 

 over three million sheep are pastured on the grazing lands 

 bringing to the state fifteen million dollars annually, 

 horses, cattle and swine over $10,000,000, poultry and eggs, 

 (Continued on page 399.) 



