The scarcity of water
For the development of a well-rounded commonwealth in an arid region
it is, of course, indispensable that irrigation be practiced, for
dry-farming of itself will find it difficult to build up populous
cities and to supply the great variety of crops demanded by the
modern family. In fact, one of the great problems before those
engaged in the development of dry-farming at present is the
development of homesteads in the dry-farms. A homestead is possible
only where there is a sufficient amount of free water available for
household and stock purposes. In the portion of the dry-farm
territory where the rainfall approximates twenty inches, this
problem is not so very difficult, since ground water may be reached
easily. In the drier portions, however, where the rainfall is
between ten and fifteen inches, the problem is much more important.
The conditions that bring the district under the dry-farm
designation imply a scarcity of water. On few dry-farms is water
available for the needs of the household and the barns. In the Rocky
Mountain states numerous dry-farms have been developed from seven to
fifteen miles from the nearest source of water, and the main expense
of developing these farms has been the hauling of water to the farms
to supply the needs of the men and beasts at work on them.
Pages:
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
298
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
310
311
312