34 



desert lands of Utah. Originally, these stations comprised only forty 

 acres each, but of late the tendency has been to increase the acreage of 

 one or two, notably Nephi. The combined State and Federal grant only 

 amounts to the paltry sum of $12,500 (£2,500) per annum, and it is 

 wonderful to reflect what a magnificent work has been accomplished in 

 agricultural development by these stations for this small sum of money. 



In Utah the Durum variety of wheat has given very good results as 

 a drought-resistant crop, but its cultivation has not been encouraged, as 

 winter varieties, such as Turkey Eed, Gold Coin, and Kufoid, give larger 

 yields. The desert vegetation mainly consists of sage-brush, grease wood, 

 and rabbit-brush. Sage-brush is usually considered a sign of good dry- 

 farming land, but both grease wood and rabbit-brush generally indicate 

 an excessive amount of alkaline salts in the soil,- which prevents these 

 lands from responding readily to tillage. I was surprised to find so few 

 trees on the dry farms of this State, but, apparently, drought-resistant 

 hardy types have not yet been developed. 



The usual method of reclaiming desert land is as follows : — The first 

 operation consists in grubbing, viz., tearing out or cutting the sage-brush. 

 The ground is then ploughed to a depth of six inches. The first plough- 

 ing is done shallow in order to avoid turning under too much of the 

 undecomposed brush. The relics of the sage-brush are raked together by 

 means of a harrow, and the land is left idle until the fall (autumn) of the 

 year. It is then harrowed several times with a disc and steel-tooth har- 

 row, and made as far as possible into a good seed bed. In the month of 

 October it is seeded to wheat at the rate of from 30 lbs. to 40 lbs. 

 per acre. In the springtime the young grain is harrowed to conserve 

 moisture, kill weeds, and break up any crust which may have formed on 

 the surface. Immediately after the first harvest the land is again 

 ploughed, but deeply this time — to a depth, if practicable, of ten inches, 

 and it is then left in the rough furrow — to collect the snow and rain — 

 until next spring, when it is harrowed several times with the steel tooth 

 and disc harrow. That is, after each rain during the spring and summer, 

 a light harrow is used, and so on until the seeding time in October. By 

 this method of growing a crop one year and allowing the land to rest 

 during the next, viz., summer fallowing, the Utah farmer obtains from 

 twenty to thirty, and even forty, bushels of wheat year after year, without 

 the use of manure,* and his whole object in this treatment of the soil 

 is simply and solely the conservation of moisture from one season to the 

 next. 



In order to visit the central part of the State I left Salt Lake City 

 on the San Pedro, Los Angelos, and Salt Lake City Eailroad. I traversed 

 the beautiful Salt Lake Valley, and, close to Provo, entered a second 

 valley, the Utah Valley, which is famed for fruit-growing, sugar beet, and 

 cattle raising. This is all under irrigation. I reached Nephi at about 

 noon, and was most courteously welcomed by Mr. Grace, the Mayor of 

 the town, Mr. Paxman, the President of the Juab Stake. f and Mr. Stephen 

 Boswell, foreman of the State Experiment Station. " Show him a hos- 

 pitality as broad as our valley," was the message telephoned by Professor 

 Merrill, of Salt Lake City, to his fellow-churchmen of Nephi, and I was 

 received with unbounded hospitality. These three gentlemen are the best 



* A similar method was practised in England by Jethro Tull (1674-1740). 

 f The word " Stake' 1 means a district of the Mormon Church. 



