TENURE AND USE OF ARID GRAZING LANDS. 47 



common practice in dry-farming areas is to allow the land to lie fal- 

 low every other year, hence, it was argued, a farmer must have twice 

 as much land in order that he might raise the usual amount each 

 year. Therefore, a law was enacted by which he might obtain 320 

 acres, or what really amounted to two farms. The act which thus 

 extends the original idea is known as the Enlarged Homestead Act. 

 And though it was passed after much of the true dry-farming land 

 had been taken under the older laws, it worked fairly well on the 

 lands for which it was designed. Both of these homestead laws 

 assume that the entryman will, by his efforts, be able to cause his 

 land to produce more food and feed than it normally produced with- 

 out his labor. 



Some men made failures on land taken under the 160-acre law 

 because the land was dry-farming land, and they didn't have enough 

 of it. Those who obtained a proper-sized area and learned dry- 

 farming practices demonstrated the possibility of utilizing the land in 

 this manner. The reason for the failure of some was not properly 

 appreciated, hence little surprise was felt when men failed to farm a 

 large part of the land that was taken up under the 320-acre act. The 

 losses of these homesteaders were accepted as proof of their ignorance 

 of dry-farming practice, while in reality they failed because they did 

 not have enough land to carry on a profitable type of agriculture. 

 Likewise, the disruption of the grazing business which occupied this 

 land before the homesteaders came, and the fact that after a period 

 of adjustment a relatively large part of the land went back to its 

 original use as grazing land, have also not been properly recognized. 



Acting on the assumption that the practice of gradually enlarging 

 the homestead area had been demonstrated to be wise and might be 

 continued, step by step, until all the available public lands had been 

 transferred to private ownership, the Grazing Homestead Act was 

 passed in December, 1916. By it a man may take as a homestead 

 640 acres of lands that have been designated by the proper authorities 

 as " chiefly valuable for grazing and raising forage crops, do not con- 

 tain merchantable timber, are not susceptible of irrigation from any 

 known source of water supply, and are of such a character that 640 

 acres are reasonably required for the support of a family." 



It will be noted that the law anticipates that forage crops will be 

 raised by the entryman as a principal means of subsistence, and that 

 an area of 640 acres is assumed to be sufficient. 



When this law was passed practically all of the remaining un- 

 patented public land was grazing land of very low productivity. In 

 classifying the land, such of it as had less than 80 acres of possible 

 plow land on the section and was believed to produce enough native 

 forage to carry 25 head of cattle was designated as open for entry 

 under this law. 



