DRY-FARMING 



crop and at least as much again for stock 

 pasture. Undoubtedly, a section — 640 

 acres — of land would bring in a more 

 certain livelihood than a smaller holding, 

 and half that amount, where little or no 

 water is available for irrigation, is small 

 enough to make a comfortable living in 

 many parts of the semi-arid West. 



The Lesson. 



The development of dry-farming is 

 teaching the old but too often forgotten 

 lesson of the value of proper tillage. The 

 most common and fatal error in Western 

 farming is the careless preparation of the 

 ground. Poor, shallow plowing and the 

 lack of after-cultivation of the soil are 

 the two factors to which crop failure is 

 I mainly due. It is impossible for any 

 plant to withstand a severe drought when 

 its roots lie in hard, dry soil. But put the 

 same seed in deep mellow earth, with a 

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