tailieunhanh - DRY-FARMING DEFINED

Dry-farming, as at present understood, is the profitable production of useful crops, without irrigation, on lands that receive annually a rainfall of 20 inches or less. In districts of torrential rains, high winds, unfavorable distribution of the rainfall, or other water-dissipating factors, the term "dry-farming" is also properly applied to farming without irrigation under an annual precipitation of 25 or even 30 inches. There is no sharp demarcation between dry-and humid-farming. When the annual precipitation is under 20 inches, the methods of dry-farming are usually indispensable. When it is over 30 inches, the methods of humid-farming are employed; in. | DRY-FARMING DEFINED Dry-farming as at present understood is the profitable production of useful crops without irrigation on lands that receive annually a rainfall of 20 inches or less. In districts of torrential rains high winds unfavorable distribution of the rainfall or other water-dissipating factors the term dry-farming is also properly applied to farming without irrigation under an annual precipitation of 25 or even 30 inches. There is no sharp demarcation between dry-and humid-farming. When the annual precipitation is under 20 inches the methods of dry-farming are usually indispensable. When it is over 30 inches the methods of humid-farming are employed in places where the annual precipitation is between 20 and 30 inches the methods to be used depend chiefly on local conditions affecting the conservation of soil moisture. Dry-farming however always implies farming under a comparatively small annual rainfall. The term dry-farming is of course a misnomer. In reality it is farming under drier conditions than those prevailing in the countries in which scientific agriculture originated. Many suggestions for a better name have been made. Scientific agriculture has-been proposed but all agriculture should be scientific and agriculture without irrigation in an arid country has no right to lay sole claim to so general a title. Dry-land agriculture which has also been suggested is no improvement over dry-farming as it is longer and also carries with it the idea of dryness. Instead of the name dry-farming it would perhaps be better to use the names arid-farming. semiarid-farming humid-farming and irrigation-farming according to the climatic conditions prevailing in various parts of the world. However at the present time the name dry-farming is in such general use that it would seem unwise to suggest any change. It should be used with the distinct understanding that as far as the word dry is concerned it is a misnomer. When the two words are hyphenated however a compound