12 
BuivIylyTiN IO3. 
III. CROPS FOR THE SEMI-ARID LANDS. 
The amount of water required by growing crops is shown by 
experiments to vary with the soil, climatic conditions and the nature 
of the crop grown. Crops having a large percentage of water in 
their composition will necessarily require more moisture to produce 
a healthy, vigorous growth than crops with a low percentage of 
moisture in their composition. 
Experiments to determine the best grain, forage and root crops 
for drouth resistant power and productiveness are now being con¬ 
ducted at the experiment stations in the semi-arid states. Conclu¬ 
sive results have not yet been obtained but the following crops 
are worthy of consideration for semi-arid farming. All of these 
have been successfully grown in some portion of the semi-arid 
West, but probably none of these crops would do well in all regions 
of Colorado where semi-arid farming is being practiced. 
I. GRAIN CROPS. 
1. Corn —Early maturing types of dent and flint varieties are 
chosen. Cool nights, high altitudes and short summers are not 
adapted to this cereal since corn is a semi-tropical plant. When the 
seed bed is well prepared and the crop thoroughly tilled, eastern 
Colorado farmers have been able to obtain from 10 to 25 bushels 
per acre with the average season. 
Favorable seasons a greater yield is reported in a few indi¬ 
vidual cases. In raising corn in Colorado it is highly important to 
grow an acclimated variety. Obtain seed grown as nearly as pos¬ 
sible under the same climatic conditions which prevail in the region 
where you wish to plant it. Select seed of good vital power. It is 
especially important in all semi-arid regions to give the crops a good 
start, for they usually have a hard struggle for existence, even 
under the thorough tillage system of farming. Hence the use of 
good, strong, vital seed grown under drouth resistant conditions 
is very important. 
2. Kafir Corn. This is an important crop both for grain and 
forage. It is a non-saccharine sorghum. The seed is borne in a head 
at the top of the stalk and seems to be relished by all classes of stock. 
In tests conducted at the Kansas Experiment Station the feeding 
value of Kafir corn for fattening hogs was found to be 90 per cent 
of the feeding value of corn (Kans. Bulletin No. 128). This crop 
may appear almost dried up, favorable conditions return and it 
revives in a remarkably short space of time. It seems to withstand 
dry and windy periods to a remarkable degree, if these periods do 
not last too long. 
The Fort Hays Sub-Station in Kansas, gives the following 
plan of seeding for grain and for forage: 
