332 DRY-FARMING 
on the dry-farms. A homestead is possible only 
where there is a sufficient amount of free water avail- 
able for household and stock purposes. In the por- 
tion of the dry-farm territory where the rainfall ap- 
proximates twenty inches, this problem is not so very 
difficult, since ground water may be reached easily. 
In the drier portions, however, where the rainfall is 
between ten and fifteen inches, the problem is much 
more important. The conditions that bring the dis- 
trict under the dry-farm designation imply a scarcity 
of water. On few dry-farms is water available for . 
the needs of the household and the barns. In the 
Rocky Mountain states numerous dry-farms have 
been developed from seven to fifteen miles from the 
nearest source of water, and the main expense of 
developing these farms has been the hauling of water 
to the farms to supply the needs of the men and beasts 
at work on them. Naturally, it is impossible to es- 
tablish homesteads on the dry-farms unless at least 
a small supply of water is available; and dry-farming 
will never be what it might be unless happy homes 
can be established upon the farms in the arid regions 
that grow crops without irrigation. To make a dry- 
farm homestead possible enough water must be avail- 
able, first of all, to supply the culinary needs of the 
household. This of itself is not large and, as will be 
shown hereafter, may in most cases be obtained. 
However, in order that the family may possess proper 
comforts, there should be around the homestead 
