152 



DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, WICHITA, 1914 



areas upon the natural precipitation. A tree once planted must be faith- 

 fully watered and tended or it will soon die. Garden vegetables and small 

 fruits must have a proper supply of moisture at the critical stages in 

 development to insure satisfactory growth. It is necessary then, for the 

 dry-farmer to supply this deficiency in moisture to insure the essential 

 comforts for home development. 



It is especially fitting that an organization devoted to dry-farming 

 should concern itself with the problems of home life. Farmstead irriga- 

 tion for the dry-farmer cannot be considered a luxury. It is 3 necessity; 

 for home building is the corner stone in the construction of this great 

 dry-farming empire. In working out the solution for this important prob- 

 lem it is well to assume that the dry-land settler is a man of limited 

 means, energetic, and endowed with indomitable courage. Any system for 

 the establishment of more comfortable homes must, therefore, not require 

 large expenditures of money, but may on the other hand involve a liberal 

 portion of his labor. 



Our dry-land areas are as a rule too far removed from large water 

 supplies for general irrigation practice, but usually limited supplies fom 

 small streams, springs, and subterraneon channels are close at hand.. For- 

 tunately, throughout the Great Plains Area of the United States, extend- 

 ing from the Dakotas on the north to Texas on the south, there lies be- 

 neath the surface an abundant supply of underground water. When wells 

 are put down to pierce these waterbearing strata, water suitable for both 

 plant and animal life may be secured in abundance. It is possible, then, 

 to assist nature to produce some of the essential comforts of rural life 

 through the medium of well-irrigation. 



In this great dry-farming empire with the strong persistent winds 

 above and the abundant life-giving water below, the windmill is the far- 

 mer's friend. Readily purchased from implement dealers all over the world 

 at reasonable cost, utilizing nature's forces for pumping energy, this ancient, 

 though valuable engine, by its ceaseless, constant toiling supplies water for 

 the domestic animals, furnishes a supply for household purposes, and when 

 care and diligence are exercised, a group of trees, a lawn and garden can 

 be grown about the farm home. The windmill, although backed by cen- 

 turies of consistent service, is still unappreciated. It is quite generally 

 considered a part of the dry-farmer's equipment, but as yet little has been 

 done to take advantage of its assistance in securing better home conditions. 

 The nature of the machinery and the source of power do not permit a 

 large amount of work to be done at a rapid rate, but when the wind blows, 

 and it always blows in semiarid districts, it lifts to the surface with every 

 stroke of the pump some of this vital water, which, when combined with 

 the rich soil of our Western plains, stimulates vegetation with wonderful 

 rapidity. 



The windmill, if properly utilized and cared for, affords a chf»ap, con- 

 venient and reliable power to lift the water from below to meet the needs 

 of the dry-land farmer. Being of standard manufacture it is readily pro- 

 cured at all trade centers, and moreover it is an easy matter to secure 



