16 



THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



"Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen: 



"South Dakoto is a progressive state and its citizens are ever ready- 

 to investigate the merits of improved methods and to keep up with the 

 march of progress, especially along agricultural lines. It is only in re- 

 cent years, however, that especial attention has been paid to the merits 

 of dry farming in that state, and the period marking the advance of 

 agriculture therein is only a few years longer. In the old days, when 

 an unusually dry season would be experienced, the farmers would be- 

 come discouraged and many of them would sell out and move to other 

 localities, claiming that crops could never be raised under such condi- 

 tions. This was true especially of the eastern part of the state, for 

 the western part, with the exception of the region adjacent to the Black 

 Hills, has been largely given over to stock grazing and Indian reserva- 

 tions. Many farms in South Dakota that were abandoned by the original 

 settlers are now highly productive and under modern methods of culti- 

 vation, are producing splendid crops. 



Have Climatic Conditions Changed? 



"There have been many theories advanced to account for this 

 changed state of affairs, the most popular theory being that the climate 

 has changed and that the rainfall has increased. It is unneces.5ary to 

 tell you that such a theory is without foundation. This matter has 

 been discussed over and over again and climatic conditions affecting 

 rainfall have been explained with great clearness by the TJ. S. De])art- 

 ment of Agriculture. Our climate has not changed in general character, 

 and there is no probability that it will ever do so. It is true that there 

 have been some years of unusually heavy rainfall, also some years of 

 unusually light rainfall, but there has been no permanent change. 



Results From Methodical Work. 



"The true reason for the advancement of agriculture in South Da- 

 kota, aside from the fertility of the soil, is found in the intelligent appli- 

 cation of improved methods of farming. It is true that in recent years 

 there has been a preceptible increase in rainfall in some districts where 

 splendid crops have been grown. On the other hand, some districts have 

 had exceptionally light rainfall and good crops have been grown therein. 



Seed Selection. 



"The practice of scientific soil culture and the careful selection of 

 seeds have afforded splendid results in eastern South Dakota, .and 

 the prosperous condition of the state may be largely attributed to these 

 causes, for South Dakota, although rich in mineral resources and possess- 

 ing the largest gold mine in the world, is essentially an agricultural state, 



Campbell System Advocated. 



"The methods of scientific soil culture, now so largely employed, 

 are based practically on the Campbell system, now universally recog- 

 nized as being peculiarly adapted for farming uuder conditions that 



