28 DRY-FARMING 



were needed for the lively interest taken in the sub- 

 ject of dry-farming, it is amply furnished by these 

 figures showing the vast extent of the country 

 interested in the reclamation of land by the methods 

 of diy-farming. As will be shown below, nearly 

 every other large country possesses similar immense 

 areas under limited rainfall. 



Of the one billion, one hundred and ninety-one 

 million, four hundred and fifty-seven thousand, two 

 hundred and eighty acres (1,191,457,280) repre- 

 senting the dry-farm territory of the United States, 

 about 22 per cent, or a little more than one fifth, is 

 sub-humid and receives between 20 and 30 inches of 

 rainfall, annually ; 61 per cent, or a little more than 

 three fifths, is semiarid and receives between 10 and 

 20 inches, annually, and about 17 per cent, or a little 

 less than one fifth, is arid and receives less than 

 10 inches of rainfall, annually. 



These calculations are based upon the published 

 average rainfall maps of the United States Weather 

 Bureau. In the far West, and especially over the 

 so-called "desert" regions, with their sparse popula- 

 tion, meteorological stations are not numerous, nor 

 is it easy to secure accurate data from them. It is 

 strongly probable that as more stations are estab- 

 lished, it will be found that the area receiving less 

 than 10 inches of rainfall annually is considerably 

 smaller than above estimated. In fact, the United 

 States Reclamation Service states that there are only 



