264 THIRD ANNUAL SESSIONS 



Ninth Session, Thursday Evening. 



Garguilo's Concert Band gave a concert from 7:45 to 8:15 o'clock, 

 at which time the Congress was called to order by Chairman Bowman, 

 of the Executive Committee. 



DRY FARMING IN WESTERN SOUTH DAKOTA. 



By Mr. C. L. Millett, of Ft. Pierre, South Dakota. 



MR. MILLETT: "It is a great pleasure to nueet with ^and look into 

 the faces of men who represent the greatest industry of all industries; 

 the industry of agriculture. It is the foundation industry of our nation. 



"Your interests and enthusiasm bespeaks deeper interest, more 

 practical effort and larger results hereafter, than has been attained 

 in the past. 



"The subject I will endeavor to present is given as Dry Farming 

 in Western South Dakota. I shall, however, confine my statements to 

 Stanley county, about which I am better informed than about the 

 entire western part of our state. 



"In March, 1887, almost twenty-two years ago, I left southwestern 

 New York, the land of my birth — and a section of country noted for 

 its beautiful landscapes — coming direct to Pierre, on the Missouri 

 river in South Dakota. At that time I first saw the eastern slopes of 

 Stanley county, then in the great Sioux Indian reservation, opened for 

 settlement in 1889. For a number of years after my arrival at Pierre, 

 climatic conditions were very unfavorable, hot winds and drouth being 

 the rule rather than the exception. For a number of years I was en- 

 gaged in the cattle business to some extent and have spent many days 

 in the saddle, riding over the rolling prairies of Stanley county. Often- 

 times I have thought concerning the possibilities of that soil and won- 

 dered if the land would ever be of sufficient value to become per- 

 manently and thickly settled. 



Campbell System. 



"Something like three years ago there fell into my hands a copy of 

 the Century magazine, in which I found an article on scientific farm- 

 ing in the arid west. That article brought a new revelation' to my mind 

 and since that time I have been an ardent disciple of the scientific 

 methods set forth by Hon. H. W. Campbell, and others, concerning 

 proper methods of handling the various soils of our great West. 



"Stanley county lies immediately west of the central portion of 

 the state with the Missouri river as its eastern boundary lin'e, the 

 Cheyenne river as its northern boundary line, and the White river for 

 over fifty miles as its southern boundary, and contains about 4,800 

 square miles. Many fossils, — petrified sections of fish and reptiles. 



