26 



DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



parched deserts the reward that Nature had so copiously bestowed upon 

 the former disciples, and as a consequence much new territory hitherto 

 barren and waste has felt the earnest touch of the husbandman, and will 

 in time respond with vigorous crops of grain to the delight of the skilful 

 tiller of the soil. We need only to take a glimpse into the immediate 

 past to find that there were doubting Thomases, not a few, in every com- 

 munity, regarding the producing of crops without irrigation, and some 

 there were who even looked upon the efforts of the arid farmer in derision 

 and prophesied his failure. It is now a noticeable fact that such men have 

 become poorer and poorer in clinging to the old methods of raising grain 

 upon their small irrigated farms, while the men of whom they predicted 

 failures have given every sign of prosperity by building fine, modern 

 homes, placing improvements upon the farms, investing in modern ma- 

 chinery, and otherwise becoming independent, public-spirited and pro- 

 gressive men. 



Arid farming in Utah is no longer an unsolved problem. It is a re- 

 peatedly demonstrated success and the year 1907 happily sees every pro- 

 gressive farmer converted to the great possibilities that will grow out of 

 this new but all important movement. This sentiment is not confined to 

 the farming class; the merchants, too, see that prosperity comes to the 

 man who, with proper skill, goes to grapple with the dry lands, with 

 the determination of applying science with his efforts. The banker also is 

 beginning to recognize that there is value to the dry lands and that the 

 ''dry" farmer is as reliable financially and fully as able to meet his obliga- 

 tions, as the man who has much water on his small farm. As a rule the 

 arid farmer in Utah is more prosperous, more contented, and has much less 

 to annoy him than the irrigator. It is a notable fact that less failures 

 exist among the arid farmers than among any other class of those who 

 follow agriculture as a profession. It cannot be said, however, that there 

 are no failures among them, for there are those who operate carelessly and 

 without regard to scientific methods, that are apt to make failures, and 

 this is the great danger that confronts this new industry. It may be re- 

 garded that this State need not fear an application on the part of its citi- 

 zens in the attempt to reclaim the thousands of acres yet to be subjugated; 

 but it may well fear a reckless ambition on the part of the uninformed to 

 get quick returns without a thought of the scientific principles that underlie 

 every successful operation. Thanks to a wise legislation, our state has 

 done much (probably more than any other state in the Union) towards 

 giving intelligent and practical demonstrations of what can be done to 

 obtain profitable crops, by establishing at least six experiment stations 

 throughout the state, solely to demonstrate the methods of success and 

 failure in what is commonly known as 'dry" farming. These farms, being 

 veritable object lessons to the people, have been and are perhaps the most 

 potent agencies in stimulating the movement in our state and in carrying 

 the practical lessons to the very doors of the farmers. The State would 

 do well to continue and even enlarge upon these very valuable schools, as 

 a means of education to the prospective disciple of arid farming and thus 



