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DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



CHAIRMAN DERN: To conchicle our regular program for this 

 afternoon Prof. Merrill, of Utah, will address the convention on the 

 subject of "The Methods of Dry Farming in Utah." 



While the gentleman is on his way to the platform I desire to an- 

 nounce that the Executive Committee just elected will meet for the 

 purpose of organizing at the close of the session. I presume they will 

 meet in the committee room here on the left. 



Gentlemen, Professor Merrill. (Applause.) 



THE METHODS OF DRY FARMING IN UTAH. 



(Prof. L. A. Merrill, Salt Lake City.) 

 Gentlemen of the Convention: I will have to beg the indulgence of 

 the convention for not having a paper prepared. I had one in view until 

 I heard the remarks of my worthy friend from the Department of Agri- 

 culture, when he stated that he had reduced his speech to writing in 

 order to economize time, and I thought I would try the other course. 

 (Applause.) Then when his assistant came on this afternoon and re- 

 peated the statement I was quite sure I was right. (Laughter.) I was 

 just thinking after all if dry farming in Utah hadn't received a little more 

 attention than it ought to receive. It reminded me of the story of the 

 boy who, along about the holiday season, after he had been given gander 

 for a good long time, was asked to ask the blessing one day, and said: 

 "Of gander hot, of gander cold, of gander young, of gander old, of 

 gander tender, of gander tough, good Lord, we have had enough." 

 (Laughter.) 



INIy subject tonight is "Methods of Dr}^ Farming in Utah." I will 

 say that in speaking on this subject I feel somewhat delicate, from the 

 fact that there are before me this afternoon men who have been 

 following methods of dry farming in Utah since 1864, and for that reason, 

 in speaking in their presence, I feel somewhat embarrassed, because they 

 have had so much more experience along this line than I have. But I 

 do want to say one thing, that dry farming in Utah is no longer an 

 experiment, it is a demonstrated success, and our practice in Utah is 

 based on scientific methods. We do not base our methods in Utah upon 

 the theories of work in some other state, but we base our work here, our 

 practice in this state upon the work conducted b}^ our experiment sta- 

 tion, and upon the experience of those following dry farming in this 

 state successfully for a great many years. The theory of dry farming 

 is simply this — the amount of water that is required in the production 

 of crops. It has been demonstrated time and time and again, in German}^, 

 and at our experiment station in Utah, that a certain amount of water 

 is required. For instance, it has been definitely determined that to pro- 

 duce a single pound of dry plant substance in wheat, 1,200 pounds of 

 water is required. That seems almost incredible, when you think that 

 one pound requires 1,200 times as much water to produce it, and yet it 

 has been demonstrated time and time and again that it is absolutely 



