222 



THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



Results of Methodical Work. 



"The success in dry farming depends entirely upon the cultivation 

 of the soil. It is the height of folly to see one farmer with a bountious 

 crop and harvest and hisneighbor across the street with the same kind 

 and class of soil and conditions generally the same, making a complete 

 failure, but thiis condition I am happy to say, is fast fading away. The 

 bulletins issued from our agricultural colleges and onr experimental 

 farms — cultivated under scientific methods, and the work of the Dry 

 Farming Congi^ess, have assisted miaterially in educating the people in 

 the development of this industry and has establi'shed faith and confi- 

 dence in the producer. 



"What has been done, can be done again under the same conditions, 

 for like causes produce the same effects In my judgement it is anly a 

 matter of time when the bulk of grain raised in Idaho will be taken from 

 the foot hills and dry farm lands, for the lands under our great irriga- 

 tion systems will be too valuable for the raising of gi^ain, but will be 



Dry Land Fruit. 



used for fruit lands of different kinds and the cultivation of beets, pota- 

 toes, clover and alfalfa. It is now fast drifting in this direction, by 

 so doing it is enhancing the value of our uplands. It would have meant 

 Quick development of the dry lands of Idaho had the dry farm bill that 

 passed Congress included our state. Many people of limited wealth were 

 ready to make filings upon land of this character under the provi's'ions 

 of the Act, but Idaho failed to be included and received no profit by its 

 provisions. This caused people to ask the state to make selections, that 

 they might lease the lands until the title is obtained fro mthe govern- 

 ment, after which they hope to purchase the same. 



Acreage Yields. 



"I have not the eact date of how much grain was raised this last 

 spring upon dry farming land but I am entirely within my boundary 

 when I say that there was at least one million bushels and that it aver 

 aged from 15 to 50 bushels of wheat per acre. 



Precipitation. 



"The most successful areas where dry farm grain is raised is in an 

 altitude from 4,000 to 6,000 feet elevation and where the precipitation 

 is from 14 to 20 inches per annum. Again I repeat that it was thought 

 but recently that the many thousands of fertile acres upon the rolling 

 foothills adjacent to our wonderful rich Snake River valley were only 

 fit for grazing purposes, but the high state of cultivation under imprioved 

 mehods has now demonstrated the fact that it is the best and most prof- 

 itable to the investor for he raising of grain. ^ 



Irrigation Increasing. 



"People of eperience in dry farms have heard both far and near of 

 the richness of our sail and the success attained and are coming into 



