HISTORY OF DRY-FARMING 



notice of the more thoughtful settlers and 

 several attempts were made to grow 

 wheat without irrigation even as early as 

 the year 1855. These efforts failed be- 

 cause they were made mostly on irrigated 

 farms. But the farmers of that day were 

 not aware of the fact, now so well under- 

 stood, that farming without irrigation 

 cannot be practised on soils which are 

 now and then flooded with irrigation 

 water. Ten years later an experiment 

 was made on a much larger and bolder 

 scale. It was then that a little band of 

 immigrants — most of whom hailed from 

 Scandinavia — had settled on what is now 

 known as Bear River City. They drew 

 the water for their farms from the Malad 

 River. Now the water of this stream is 

 heavy with alkali, and it was only a mat- 

 ter of a few years until the lands had 

 become so impregnated with noxious 

 salts as to be unable to sustain a crop. In 

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