164 DRY-FARMING 
the rows of wheat. It is yet doubtful whether, under 
average conditions, such careful cultivation, at least 
of grain crops, is justified by the returns. Under 
conditions of high aridity, or where the store of soil- 
moisture is low, such treatment frequently stands 
between crop success and failure, and it is not un- 
likely that methods will be devised which will permit 
of the cheap and rapid cultivation between the rows 
of growing wheat. Meanwhile, the dry-farmer must 
always remember that the margin under which he 
works is small, and that his success depends upon the 
degree to which he prevents small wastes. 
The conservation of soil-moisture depends upon the 
vigorous, unremitting, continuous stirring of the top- 
soil. Cultivation! ‘cultivation! and more cultiva- 
tion! must be the war-cry of the dry-farmer who 
battles against the water thieves of an arid climate. 
