DRY-FARMING 



/other factors being equal, is obviously the 

 one with the lowest evaporation. The 

 demands upon the soil are here the small- 

 est and in times of scanty rainfall the 

 settler has a proportionately better 

 chance to mature a fair crop." A series 

 of evaporation determinations has been 

 made recently by the Department of 

 Agriculture at various points throughout 

 the West diu-ing the six months of 

 spring and summer. These tests were 

 made by means of a freely exposed 

 tank set in the soil, and some remarkable 

 results were obtained. At North Dakota, 

 Avith a summer rainfall of 13 inches 

 the evaporation was 30 inches and at 

 Amarillo, Texas, during the same period, 

 with a summer rainfall of 13 inches, the 

 evaporation was 54 inches. Summarizing 

 these experiments, Briggs says : "In other 

 words, with the same rainfall in North 

 Dakota and at AmariUo, during the 

 100 



