CEREALS ON THE BELLE FOURCHE EXPERIMENT FARM. 3 



the farm has been under irrigation since 1912, but a portion of it 

 above the irrigation ditch has been used for dry-land experiments. 

 The topography of the farm and of the surrounding country is roll- 

 ing, affording good drainage, but making irrigation difficult or ac- 

 companied by a considerable waste of irrigation water., 



A view of the buildings on the Belle Fourche Experiment Farm 

 in 1919 is shown in figure 1. 



HISTORY OF THE REGION. 



Prior to the discovery of gold in the Black Hills in 1875, western 

 South Dakota was almost undisturbed by white men. Since the 

 early eighties, however, this has been an important grazing region. 

 Farming was confined to the river valleys and the lands adjacent to 

 the Black Hills. The stockmen mowed the wild grasses which grew 



Fk;. 1. — Biiiklint^s on tho Belle Fourche Experiment Farm. 



in the low lands on the prairies and fed the hay during the winter to 

 cattle and sheep. 



Homesteading in the dry-land region about Newell began about 

 1908, and within the next three years most of the public land had 

 been taken up. Following a series of dry years, most of the home- 

 steads were abandoned, and to-day the region is devoted very largely 

 to grazing. Some dry farming ' is practiced, especially in the better 

 favored localities, frequently in connection with stock raising. Along 

 the border of and within the Black Hills dry farming continues to be 

 a successful practice. The Belle Fourche reclamation project has 

 been developed since about 1911. A considerable acreage of cereals 

 is grown each year under irrigation on this and older adjacent irriga- 

 tion projects. 



•' For a detailed account of dry-farming methods in western South Dakota, see U. S. 

 Dept. Agr., Farmers' Bulletin 1163, entitled " Dry Farming in Western South Dakota," 

 by O. R. Mathews, 16 p. 1920. 



