THE DRY FARMING CONGRESS. 



1G9 



that along its northern border winter temperatures of from 50 to 60 

 degrees below zero may be experienced at times, while during the sum- 

 mer, temperatures as high as 120 degrees above zero may be recorded 

 in the deserts of Arizona and southern California. 



Precipitation. 



"There is, also, a great variation in the annual precipitation 

 of the various sections of this region, for in some of the mountain dis- 

 tricts or along the Pacific coast the annual amounts may exceed 50.00 

 inches, while some of the desert regions have annual averages of less 

 than 5.00 inches. On account of the broad area embraced within this 

 region and the various climates that may be found therein, I do not wish 

 to discuss in detail the climate of but a small portion of the semi-arid 

 region, so I shall confine my address to a discussion of some of the cli- 

 matic features of Wyoming, a subject which has received my special 

 study during the last ten years or more. While my remarks will be con- 

 fined mostly to a discussion of the climate of Wyoming, they will, in 

 general, apply to a large portion of the country which is now being cul- 

 tivated by the so-called dry farming method, Wyoming being located 

 near the center of the dry farming belt of the West. 



Wyoming Climate. 



"During the last seventeen years a systematic collection of weather 

 data has been made in Wyoming. In addition to the weather records 

 which have been kept at the regular weather bureau stations where 

 commissioned men are stationed, a large number of valuable records 

 have been kept by persons who have been supplied with standard 

 instruments by the government and who have co-operated with the 

 weather bureau in this work. The value of these records which have 

 been voluntarily kept by the co-operative observers cannot be overesti- 

 mated, as they furnish data from, the sections of the state where there 

 are no regular weather bureau stations. 



Precipitation 



"The most essential element in the success of dry farming is mois- 

 ture, and I wish to present to you some Wyoming records regarding 

 precipitation. From the monthly reports which have been compiled in 

 the Cheyenne office from records kept at stations distributed over nearly 

 all sections of the state, it has been determined that the average pre- 

 ciprtatioh for the state as a whole during the last seventeen years has 

 been 13.68 inches, or a trifle more than thirteen and one-half inches. This 

 average does not take into consideration the heavy precipitation wh'ch 

 n'ay fall in the high mountain districts where very few reliable records 

 have ever been kept, but it is a fair average for that portion of the state 

 below 8,000 feet, or for all of those districts where cultivaion is poss ble. 

 The precipitation herein spoken of includes rainfall and snowfall, the 

 later being reduced to its water equivalent. 



