104 



DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



to stockmen, and some have even acquired the ability to exist on our 

 dry deserts. However interesting the fact may be that certain plants will 

 exist with so little moisture it has little bearing on the practical side of 

 our question, for the amount of growth made by such plants is ordinarily 

 too small to be of great value during the lifetime of a man. The problem 

 before us is how to produce a profitable crop with an amount of moisture 

 which has ordinarily been considered insufficient. 



The measure of practical drouth resistance then, is the actual growth 

 or production of our domesticated crops. It is true that mere ability 

 to retain life within the plant in the absence of practically all available 

 moisture often has an important bearing on our crop production, as in 

 the case of such plants as some of the" non-saccharine sorghums and others 

 which have the ability to suspend growth, or stand still, during the time 

 that moisture is not available and again resume their growth when a 

 rain occur. This is undoubtedl}^ an acquired character and only occurs 

 in plants which have become accustomed to arid conditioiis. Enough 

 has been learned to indicate the great value of acclimatization, hardiness 

 and vigor of growth of crop plants. I do not think we have given too 

 much attention to the problem of the conservation of soil moisture, but 

 the adaptation of plants to arid conditions is equally important, and has 

 not been given the thought that this branch of our profession deserves. 



The fact seems pretty well established that the most drouth resistant 

 crops have come from arid or semi-arid countries. Alfalfa was originally 

 a native of a dry country, ]\Iedia and Persia. Our drouth resistant wheats 

 are the durum or macaroni types from ^Mediterranean countries. Potatoes 

 originated from native plants of arid and comparatively high altitude 

 districts of America. Kaffir corn came from desert Africa and spelts 

 from regions of little rainfall in Russia. Who shall say what improve- 

 ment may be possible in these and other crops when they have been 

 intelligently bred at home, and we have had time to adapt our own 

 species and varieties to our dry farm conditions? 



My own observation coming from an experience of some 25 years 

 of dry farming in the arid west, leads me to select the crops I will name 

 as the ones which will produce largest returns with least available moisture. 

 At the head of the list I must put the potato, which originated more 

 closely at home than any other. Of course the potato may not be the 

 most important crop for general culture but it finds an important place 

 in our farm practice. The large areas under irrigation which are de- 

 voted to potato culture make the raising of seed potatoes by dry farming 

 an important industry, and the dry farm potato is unexcelled for do- 

 mestic use. 



My recommendation to the man who would do dry farming, is to 

 make live stock his primar}^ crop — feeding at home so far as possible 

 everything that is raised. This system makes the most valuable plant; 

 those which will supply the largest quantity of the best stock food. I 

 advocate the greatest economy possible in labor and other expenses on 



