DRY-FARMING: A SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE FOR COUNTRIES UNDER A LOW RAINFALL TEXT

clay is so much higher. Since, for dry-farm purposes, the nitrogen content is the most important quality of the humus, the difference between arid and humid soils, based upon the humus content, is not so great as would appear at first sight. _Soil and subsoil.--_In countries of abundant rainfall, a great distinction exists between the soil and the subsoil. The soil is represented by the upper few inches which are filled with the remnants of decayed vegetable matter and modified by plowing, harrowing, and other cultural operations. The subsoil has been profoundly modified by the action of the heavy rainfall, which, in soaking through the soil, has carried with it the finest soil grains, especially the clay, into the lower soil layers. In time, the subsoil has become more distinctly clayey than the topsoil. Lime and other soil ingredients have likewise been carried down by the rains and deposited at different depths in the soil or wholly washed away. Ultimately, this results in the removal from the topsoil of the necessary plant-foods and the accumulation in the subsoil of the fine clay particles which so compact the subsoil as to make it difficult for roots and even air to penetrate it. The normal process of weathering or soil disintegration will then go on most actively in the topsoil and the subsoil will remain unweathered and raw. This accounts for the well-known fact that in humid countries any subsoil that may have been plowed up is reduced to a normal state of fertility and crop production only after several years of exposure to the elements. The humid farmer, knowing this, is usually very careful not to let his plow enter the subsoil to any great depth. In the arid regions or wherever a deficient rainfall prevails, these conditions are entirely reversed. The light rainfall seldom completely fills the soil pores to any considerable depth, but it rather moves down slowly as a him, enveloping the soil grains. The soluble materials of the soil are, in part at least, dissolved and carried down to the lower limit of the rain penetration, but the clay and other fine soil particles are not moved downward to any great extent. These conditions leave the soil and subsoil of approximately equal porosity. Plant roots can then penetrate the soil deeply, and the air can move up and down through the soil mass freely and to considerable depths. As a result, arid soils are weathered and made suitable for plant nutrition to very great depths. In fact, in dry-farm regions there need be little talk about soil and subsoil, since the soil is uniform in texture and usually nearly so in composition, from the top down to a distance of many feet. Many soil sections 50 or more feet in depth are exposed in the dry-farming territory of the United States, and it has often been demonstrated that the subsoil to any depth is capable of producing, without further weathering, excellent yields of crops. This granular, permeable structure, characteristic of arid soils, is perhaps the most important single quality resulting from rock disintegration under arid conditions. As Hilgard remarks, it would seem that the farmer in the arid region owns from three to four farms, one above the other, as compared with the same acreage in the eastern states. This condition is of the greatest importance in developing the principles upon which successful dry-farming rests. Further, it may be said that while in the humid East the farmer must be extremely careful not to turn up with his plow too much of the inert subsoil, no such fear need possess the western farmer. On the contrary, he should use his utmost endeavor to plow as deeply as possible in order to prepare the very best reservoir for the falling waters and a place for the development of plant roots. _Gravel seams.--_It need be said, however, that in a number of localities in the dry-farm territory the soils have been deposited by the action of running water in such a way that the otherwise uniform structure of the soil is broken by occasional layers of loose gravel. While this is not a very serious obstacle to the downward penetration of roots, it is very serious in dry-farming, since any break in the continuity of the soil mass prevents the upward movement of water stored in the lower soil depths. The dry-farmer should investigate the soil which he intends to use to a depth of at least 8 to 10 feet to make sure, first of all, that he has a continuous soil mass, not too clayey in the lower depths, nor broken by deposits of gravel. _Hardpan.--_Instead of the heavy clay subsoil of humid regions, the so-called hardpan occurs in regions of limited rainfall. The annual rainfall, which is approximately constant, penetrates from year to year very nearly to the same depth. Some of the lime found so abundantly in arid soils is dissolved and worked down yearly to the lower limit of the rainfall and left there to enter into combination with other soil ingredients. Continued through long periods of time this results in the formation of a layer of calcareous material at the average depth to which the rainfall has penetrated the soil. Not only is the lime thus carried down, but the finer particles are carried down in like manner. Especially where the soil is poor in lime is the clay worked down to form a somewhat clayey hardpan. A hardpan formed in such a manner is frequently a serious obstacle to the downward movement of the roots, and also prevents the annual precipitation from moving down far enough to be beyond the influence of the sunshine and winds. It is fortunate, however, that in the great majority of instances this hardpan gradually disappears under the influence of proper methods of dry-farm tillage. Deep plowing and proper tillage, which allow the rain waters to penetrate the soil, gradually break up and destroy the hardpan, even when it is 10 feet below the surface. Nevertheless, the farmer should make sure whether or not the hardpan does exist in the soil and plan his methods accordingly. If a hardpan is present, the land must be fallowed more carefully every other year, so that a large quantity of water may be stored in the soil to open and destroy the hardpan. Of course, in arid as in humid countries, it often happens that a soil is underlaid, more or less near the surface, by layers of rock, marl deposits, and similar impervious or hurtful substances. Such deposits are not to be classed with the hardpans that occur normally wherever the rainfall is small. _Leaching.--_Fully as important as any of the differences above outlined are those which depend definitely upon the leaching power of a heavy rainfall. In countries where the rainfall is 30 inches or over, and in many places where the rainfall is considerably less, the water drains through the soil into the standing ground water. There is, therefore, in humid countries, a continuous drainage through the soil after every rain, and in general there is a steady downward movement of soil-water throughout the year. As is clearly shown by the appearance, taste, and chemical composition of drainage waters, this process leaches out considerable quantities of the soluble constituents of the soil. When the soil contains decomposing organic matter, such as roots, leaves, stalks, the gas carbon dioxid is formed, which, when dissolved in water, forms a solution of great solvent power. Water passing through well-cultivated soils containing much humus leaches out very much more material than pure water could do. A study of the composition of the drainage waters from soils and the waters of the great rivers shows that immense quantities of soluble soil constituents are taken out of the soil in countries of abundant rainfall. These materials ultimately reach the ocean, where they are and have been concentrated throughout the ages. In short, the saltiness of the ocean is due to the substances that have been washed from the soils in countries of abundant rainfall. In arid regions, on the other hand, the rainfall penetrates the soil only a few feet. In time, it is returned to the surface by the action of plants or sunshine and evaporated into the air. It is true that under proper methods of tillage even the light rainfall of arid and semiarid regions may he made to pass to considerable soil depths, yet there is little if any drainage of water through the soil into the standing ground water. The arid regions of the world, therefore, contribute proportionately a small amount of the substances which make up the salt of the sea. _Alkali soils.--_Under favorable conditions it sometimes happens that the soluble materials, which would normally be washed out of humid soils, accumulate to so large a degree in arid soils as to make the lands unfitted for agricultural purposes. Such lands are called alkali lands. Unwise irrigation in arid climates frequently produces alkali spots, but many occur naturally. Such soils should not be chosen for dry-farm purposes, for they are likely to give trouble. _Plant-food content.--_This condition necessarily leads at once to the suggestion that the soils from the two regions must differ greatly in their fertility or power to produce and sustain plant life. It cannot be believed that the water-washed soils of the East retain as much fertility as the dry soils of the West. Hilgard has made a long and elaborate study of this somewhat difficult question and has constructed a table showing the composition of typical soils of representative states in the arid and humid regions. The following table shows a few of the average results obtained by him:-- Partial Percentage Composition Source of soil Humid Arid Number of samples analyzed 696 573 Insoluble residue 84.17 69.16 Soluble silica 4.04 6.71 Alumina 3.66 7.61 Lime 0.13 1.43 Potash 0.21 0.67 Phos. Acid 0.12 0.16 Humus 1.22 1.13 Soil chemists have generally attempted to arrive at a determination of the fertility of soil by treating a carefully selected and prepared sample with a certain amount of acid of definite strength. The portion which dissolves under the influence of acids has been looked upon as a rough measure of the possible fertility of the soil. The column headed "Insoluble Residue" shows the average proportions of arid and humid soils which remain undissolved by acids. It is evident at once that the humid soils are much less soluble in acids than arid soils, the difference being 84 to 69. Since the only plant-food in soils that may be used for plant production is that which is soluble, it follows that it is safe to assume that arid soils are generally more fertile than humid soils. This is borne out by a study of the constituents of the soil. For instance, potash, one of the essential plant foods ordinarily present in sufficient amount, is found in humid soils to the extent of 0.21 per cent, while in arid soils the quantity present is 0.67 per cent, or over three times as much. Phosphoric acid, another of the very important plant-foods, is present in arid soils in only slightly higher quantities than in humid soils. This explains the somewhat well-known fact that the first fertilizer ordinarily required by arid soils is some form of phosphorus: The difference in the chemical composition of arid and humid soils is perhaps shown nowhere better than in the lime content. There is nearly eleven times more lime in arid than in humid soils. Conditions of aridity favor strongly the formation of lime, and since there is very little leaching of the soil by rainfall, the lime accumulates in the soil. The presence of large quantities of lime in arid soils has a number of distinct advantages, among which the following are most important: (1) It prevents the sour condition frequently present in humid climates, where much organic material is incorporated with the soil. (2) When other conditions are favorable, it encourages bacterial life which, as is now a well-known fact, is an important factor in developing and maintaining soil fertility. (3) By somewhat subtle chemical changes it makes the relatively small percentages of other plant-foods notably phosphoric acid and potash, more available for plant growth. (4) It aids to convert rapidly organic matter into humus which represents the main portion of the nitrogen content of the soil. Of course, an excess of lime in the soil may be hurtful, though less so in arid than in humid regions. Some authors state that from 8 to 20 per cent of calcium carbonate makes a soil unfitted for plant growth. There are, however, a great many agricultural soils covering large areas and yielding very abundant crops which contain very much larger quantities of calcium carbonate. For instance, in the Sanpete Valley of Utah, one of the most fertile sections of the Great Basin, agricultural soils often contain as high as 40 per cent of calcium carbonate, without injury to their crop-producing power. In the table are two columns headed "Soluble Silica" and "Alumina," in both of which it is evident that a very much larger per cent is found in the arid than in the humid soils. These soil constituents indicate the condition of the soil with reference to the availability of its fertility for plant use. The higher the percentage of soluble silica and alumina, the more thoroughly decomposed, in all probability, is the soil as a whole and the more readily can plants secure their nutriment from the soil. It will be observed from the table, as previously stated, that more humus is found in humid than in arid soils, though the difference is not so large as might be expected. It should be recalled, however, that the nitrogen content of humus formed under rainless conditions is many times larger than that of humus formed in rainy countries, and that the smaller per cent of humus in dry-farming countries is thereby offset. All in all, the composition of arid soils is very much more favorable to plant growth than that of humid soils. As will be shown in Chapter IX, the greater fertility of arid soils is one of the chief reasons for dry-farming success. Depth of the soil alone does not suffice. There must be a large amount of high fertility available for plants in order that the small amount of water can be fully utilized in plant growth. _Summary of characteristics.--_Arid soils differ from humid soils in that they contain: less clay; more sand, but of fertile nature because it is derived from rocks that in humid countries would produce clay; less humus, but that of a kind which contains about 3-1/2 times more nitrogen than the humus of humid soils; more lime, which helps in a variety of ways to improve the agricultural value of soils; more of all the essential plant-foods, because the leaching by downward drainage is very small in countries of limited rainfall. Further, arid soils show no real difference between soil and subsoil; they are deeper and more permeable; they are more uniform in structure; they have hardpans instead of clay subsoil, which, however, disappear under the influence of cultivation; their subsoils to a depth of ten feet or more are as fertile as the topsoil, and the availability of the fertility is greater. The failure to recognize these characteristic differences between arid and humid soils has been the chief cause for many crop failures in the more or less rainless regions of the world. This brief review shows that, everything considered, arid soils are superior to humid soils. In ease of handling, productivity, certainty of crop-lasting quality, they far surpass the soils of the countries in which scientific agriculture was founded. As Hilgard has suggested, the historical datum that the majority of the most populous and powerful historical peoples of the world have been located on soils that thirst for water, may find its explanation in the intrinsic value of arid soils. From Babylon to the United States is a far cry; but it is one that shouts to the world the superlative merits of the soil that begs for water. To learn how to use the "desert" is to make it "blossom like the rose." Soil divisions The dry-farm territory of the United States may be divided roughly into five great soil districts, each of which includes a great variety of soil types, most of which are poorly known and mapped. These districts are:-- 1. Great Plains district. 2. Columbia River district 3. Great Basin district. 4. Colorado River district. 5. California district. _Great Plains district.--_On the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains, extending eastward to the extreme boundary of the dry-farm territory, are the soils of the High Plains and the Great Plains. This vast soil district belongs to the drainage basin of the Missouri, and includes North and South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and parts of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and Minnesota. The soils of this district are usually of high fertility. They have good lasting power, though the effect of the higher rainfall is evident in their composition. Many of the distinct types of the plains soils have been determined with considerable care by Snyder and Lyon, and may be found described in Bailey's "Cyclopedia of American Agriculture," Vol. I. _Columbia River district.--_The second great soil district of the dry-farming territory is located in the drainage basin of the Columbia River, and includes Idaho and the eastern two thirds of Washington and Oregon. The high plains of this soil district are often spoken of as the Palouse country. The soils of the western part of this district are of basaltic origin; over the southern part of Idaho the soils have been made from a somewhat recent lava flow which in many places is only a few feet below the surface. The soils of this district are generally of volcanic origin and very much alike. They are characterized by the properties which normally belong to volcanic soils; somewhat poor in lime, but rich in potash and phosphoric acid. They last well under ordinary methods of tillage. _The Great Basin.--_The third great soil district is included in the Great Basin, which covers nearly all of Nevada, half of Utah, and takes small portions out of Idaho, Oregon, and southern California. This basin has no outlet to the sea. Its rivers empty into great saline inland lakes, the chief of which is the Great Salt Lake. The sizes of these interior lakes are determined by the amounts of water flowing into them and the rates of evaporation of the water into the dry air of the region. In recent geological times, the Great Basin was filled with water, forming a vast fresh-water lake known as Lake Bonneville, which drained into the Columbia River. During the existence of this lake, soil materials were washed from the mountains into the lake and deposited on the lake bottom. When at length, the lake disappeared, the lake bottom was exposed and is now the farming lands of the Great Basin district. The soils of this district are characterized by great depth and uniformity, an abundance of lime, and all the essential plant-foods with the exception of phosphoric acid, which, while present in normal quantities, is not unusually abundant. The Great Basin soils are among the most fertile on the American Continent. _Colorado River district.--_The fourth soil district lies in the drainage basin of the Colorado River It includes much of the southern part of Utah, the eastern part of Colorado, part of New Mexico, nearly all of Arizona, and part of southern California. This district, in its northern part, is often spoken of as the High Plateaus. The soils are formed from the easily disintegrated rocks of comparatively recent geological origin, which themselves are said to have been formed from deposits in a shallow interior sea which covered a large part of the West. The rivers running through this