DRY-FARMING 



tion, 640 acres, as out among the sand- 

 hills of Nebraska. All this naturally 

 depends upon the energy of the husband- 

 man, the nattire of his climate, and the 

 productivity of his soil. At farmers' 

 meetings it is usual to hear this matter 

 debated, with much earnestness, from 

 two different points of view. On the one 



or less of non-mineral, non-timbered, non-irrigable public 

 land in the States of Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, 

 Utah, Washington, Wyoming, and in the Territories of 

 Arizona and New Mexico. This Act is construed to mean 

 land which requires the application of dry-ferming meth- 

 ods to make it produce agricultural crops. Final proof 

 must be made as in the ordinary Homestead, and further, 

 at least one fourth of the whole area must be shown to 

 have been continuously cultivated to agricultural crops, 

 other than native grasses, beginning with the third year 

 of the entry and continuing to date of final proof. Fur- 

 thermore, commutation is expressly forbidden. An inter- 

 esting additional clause is inserted in this Act in regard to 

 the State of Utah, to the effect that on lands which have 

 not sufficient water upon them for domestic purposes, con- 

 tinuous residence is not necessary, but the entryman may 

 reside at such distance as will enable him to farm success- 

 fully. Further, he must show that he has cultivated not 

 less than one half of the total area during the fourth and 

 fifth years after entry. 



54 



