302 DRY-FARMING 



for its success upon the use of proper implements of 

 tillage. In fact, it is very doubtful if the reclama- 

 tion of the great arid and semiarid regions of the 

 world would have been possible a few decades ago, 

 before the inventjon and introduction of labor-sav- 

 ing farm machinery. It is undoubtedly further a fact 

 that the future of dry-farming is closely bound up 

 with the improvements that may be made in farm 

 machinery. Few of the agricultural implements on 

 the market to-day have l^een made primarily for 

 dry-farm conditions. The best that the dry-farmer 

 can do is to adapt the implements on the market 

 to his special needs. Possibly the best field of in- 

 vestigation for the experiment stations and inventive 

 minds in the arid region is farm mechanics as applied 

 to the special needs of dry-farming. 



Clearing and breaking 



A large portion of the dry-farm territory of the 

 United States is covered with sagebrush and related 

 plants. It is always a difficult and usually an ex- 

 pensive problem to clear sagebrush land, for the 

 shrubs are frequently from two to six feet high, cor- 

 respondingly deep-rooted, with very tough wood. 

 When the soil is dry, it is extremely difficult to pull 

 out sagebrush, and of necessity much of the clearing 

 must be done during the dry season. Numerous 

 devices have been suggested and tried for the purpose 



