Now, as has been said, the utilization of the subterranean waters of the land is one of the living problems of dry-farming.  The tracing out of this layer of water is very difficult to accomplish and cannot be done by individuals.  It is a work that properly belongs to the state and national government.  The state of Utah, which was the pioneer in appropriating money for dry-farm experiments, also led the way in appropriating money for the securing of water for the dry-farms from subterranean sources.  The world has been progressing in Utah since 1905, and water has been secured in the most unpromising localities.  The most remarkable instance is perhaps the finding of water at a depth of about five hundred and fifty feet in the unusually dry Dog Valley located some fifteen miles west of Nephi.

Pumping water

The use of small quantities of water on the dry-farms carries with it, in most cases, the use of small pumping plants to store and to distribute the water properly.  Especially, whenever subterranean sources of water are used and the water pressure is not sufficient to throw the water above the ground, pumping must be resorted to.  The pumping of water for agricultural purposes is not at all new.  According to Fortier, two hundred thousand acres of land are irrigated with water pumped from driven wells in the state of California alone.  Seven hundred and fifty thousand acres are irrigated by pumping in the United States, and Mead states that there are thirteen million acres of land in India which are irrigated by water pumped from subterranean sources.  The dry-farmer has a choice among several sources of power for the operation of his pumping plant.  In localities where winds are frequent and of sufficient strength windmills furnish cheap and effective power, especially where the lift is not very great.  The gasoline engine is in a state of considerable perfection and may be used economically where the price of gasoline is reasonable.  Engines using crude oil may be most desirable in the localities where oil wells have been found.  As the manufacture of alcohol from the waste products of the farms becomes established, the alcohol-burning engine could become a very important one.  Over nearly the whole of the dry-farm territory coal is found in large quantities, and the steam engine fed by coal is an important factor in the pumping of water for irrigation purposes.  Further, in the mountainous part of the dry-farm territory water Power is very abundant.  Only the smallest fraction of it has as yet been harnessed for the generation of the electric current.  As electric generation increases, it should be comparatively easy for the farmer to secure sufficient electric power to run the pump.  This has already become an established practice in districts where electric power is available.