According to
Hilgard, successful dry-farming on an extensive scale has been
practiced in California since about 1868. Olin reports that
moisture-saving methods were used on the Californian farms as early
as 1861. Certainly, California was a close second in originating
dry-farming.
The Columbia Basin was settled by Mareus Whitman near Walla Walla in
1836, but farming did not gain much headway until the railroad
pushed through the great Northwest about 1880. Those familiar with
the history of the state of Washington declare that dry-farming was
in successful operation in isolated districts in the late '70's. By
1890 it was a well-established practice, but received a serious
setback by the financial panic of 1892-1893. Really successful and
extensive dry-farming in the Columbia Basin began about 1897. The
practice of summer fallow had begun a year or two before. It is
interesting to note that both in California and Washington there are
districts in which dry-farming has been practiced successfully under
a precipitation of about ten inches whereas in Utah the limit has
been more nearly twelve inches.
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