328 THE FUTURE OF ARID LANDS 
and better adaptation of plants and animals lies more in the com- 
paratively neglected area of fundamental and long term research. 
Appropriate Use 
Still another anomalous situation arises through the historical 
entry into arid lands by humid land people. For the past several 
centuries the pattern for development of new lands has been that 
when first opened up they constituted the hinterland of civilization 
and were considered useful only for agriculture and other extrac- 
tive industries. Then as civilization and _ industrialization 
advanced, these rural areas were gradually taken over and con- 
verted to urban and industrial uses. This situation was satisfactory 
as long as adequate rainfall permitted appropriate use of the lands 
for either agriculture or industry. This is definitely not true in the 
twentieth century arid lands. And yet, up to this time we have 
been largely continuing the historical sequence of wasteland, 
farm land, city land. I submit the proposition that the use of irri- 
gation in the arid lands of the twentieth century is not an appropri- 
ate use of that valuable resource, water, but it is an attempt to 
follow a historical precedent and increase the value of the land. 
Actually from the standpoint of water use, agriculture is a mar- 
ginal use of water. In the United States the water that will support 
one worker in arid land agriculture will support about 60 workers 
in manufacturing. 
Those who are used to our present economy will ask: “Who is 
going to supply the food.”” The answer is: The railroad trains run 
in both directions, let the humid regions ship food into the arid, 
since with the arid lands reaching the limit of their water supply, 
the humid regions can produce more efficiently anyway and have 
by no means reached the limits of their capabilities. The arid 
lands should then look toward industrial rather than agricultural 
expansion. If we can ship cotton, we can ship cameras; if we can 
ship radishes, we can ship radios; if we can ship watermelons, we 
can ship watches. Only then can the arid lands provide employ- 
ment and a continued high standard of living both for the present 
inhabitants and for the many who are swelling their numbers 
seeking the favorable climate and living which the lands afford. 
