THE DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



131 



"We are all aware of the fact that the only obstacle in the way of 

 further development of much of the inter-mountain country is due to 

 the lack of water. Our irrigation engineers are devising plans to approp- 

 riate, by means of immense reservoirs, cement canals, and other ex- 

 pensive works, all of the water that falls on the higher levels for irri- 

 gating the greatest possible amount of these western lands. 



Irrigation. 



"The time is not far distant when, at the present rate of water dis- 

 tribution, our ent:re supply will be allotted. It is the opinion of all in- 

 telligent water-users as well as the result of experiments which have 

 been carefully made, that the average irrigator uses far too much water, 

 and that under the present ba.sis of water distribution the irrigable areas 

 can be vastly increased. 

 Auxiliary Irrigation. 



"If profitable crops can be grown by dry farming methods, using 

 only the annual prec-pitation, it is reasonable that for adjacent lands, where 

 an artificial supply of water rs used, by the application of the dry 

 farming principles, a very small amount of irrigation water will suffice 

 to grow the maximum crop. 



"There is no place which demonstrates the truth of the above state- 

 ment so plai'nly as on the irrigated meadows, where in the past an un- 

 limited supply of water has been available and has been used. In order 

 to present more concisely the statement made, we will refer to some 

 of the principles of ar.'d land agriculture, and not their application to 

 irrigation farming. 



Deep Plowing. 



"One of the foundation principles of arid land farming is that the 

 soil must be stirred to a much greater depth than is the custom in the 

 districts favored with an abundant rainfall. It is sufficient to state that 

 deep plowing is generally advisable and that for the irrigationist the 

 preparing for a larger volume of soil for the use of growing crops by 

 means of deep plowing is as important and will result in increasing the 

 yield in the same measure that the farmer on the Isles of Jersey can 

 raise 800 bushels of potatoes to the acre through plowing his land to 

 the depth of 14 inches. There are other reasons why deep plowing will 

 benefit the irrigation farmer. By increasing the reservoirs for irriga- 

 tion water, he provides all the advantages of a decrease in the number 

 of times he will be obliged to irrigate his crop. It is a well known fact 

 that each time a crop arrives at a condition when it needs irrigation, 

 there is a certain check in growth, and with the application of fresh 

 cold water, and the continued cooling of the soil through evaporation, 

 the growth is temporarily suspended. 

 Fall Plowing. 



"It is universally conceded by all who have studied carefully the 

 systems of dry farming that fall plowed land will produce larger crops 

 the succeeding year than spring plowed land. The weathering and freez- 



