If any excuse were needed for
the lively interest taken in the subject of dry-farming, it is amply
furnished by these figures showing the vast extent of the country
interested in the reclamation of land by the methods of dry-farming.
As will be shown below, nearly every other large country possesses
similar immense areas under limited rainfall.
Of the one billion, one hundred and ninety-one million, four hundred
and fifty-seven thousand, two hundred and eighty acres
(1,191,457,280) representing the dry-farm territory of the United
States, about 22 per cent, or a little more than one fifth, is
sub-humid and receives between 20 and 30 inches of rainfall,
annually; 61 per cent, or a little more than three fifths, is
semiarid and receives between 10 and 20 inches, annually, and about
17 per cent, or a little less than one fifth, is arid and receives
less than 10 inches of rainfall, annually.
These calculations are based upon the published average rainfall
maps of the United States Weather Bureau. In the far West, and
especially over the so-called "desert" regions, with their sparse
population, meteorological stations are not numerous, nor is it easy
to secure accurate data from them.
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