--- title: Improvement Era description: Monthly periodical of the Mormon church, 1897 onward. This library holds the issues of November 1897 to December 1930. authors: - Widtsoe, John A. collections: - periodicals tags: - magazine - improvement-era periodical: Improvement Era volume: 16 number: 4 published: 1913-02 publisher: Young Men’s Mutual Improvement Associations publisher_place: Salt Lake City language: en type: magazine reference: 'Widtsoe, John A., "The Conquest of Drouth," *Improvement Era* 16, no. 4 (February 1913): 281–293.' source: url: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1604unse transcription: Transcribed from the Internet Archive scan of each issue (the item for each issue is named in the issue's own source); unnumbered advertising leaves are omitted, printed page numbers are kept as page markers. identifier: improvementera1604unse start_page: 281 end_page: 293 rights: status: public-domain basis: US publication 1930 or earlier (published 1913-02) source: https://archive.org/details/improvementera1604unse publication_year: 1913 note: The Internet Archive item metadata carries a blanket "© Copyright by Intellectual Reserve, Inc." notice. The library owner judged it inapplicable because this issue was published in 1913, before 1931; a scan-level notice does not restore copyright. --- # The Conquest of Drouth The Conquest of Drouth BY JOHN A. WIDTSOE, A. M., PH. D., PRESIDENT OF THE AGRI- CULTURAL COLLEGE OF UTAH, AND OF THE INTER- NATIONAL DRY-FARMING CONGRESS, 1912* The Dry-Farming Congress, which was organized in Denver, Colorado, nearly six years ago, was no doubt at first intended to meet the needs- of the western United States; but, almost from the moment of its inception, its world-mission began to be understood. Within a year after the first session it had assumed a national character, and within two years it was truly an organization of international interest. Since the organization of this Congress, dry-farming has become a household word in almost every corner of the earth. To the six sessions, already held, practically all the great nations have sent delegates-, and upon the platform of this, the seventh session, sit accredited delegates from half a score of countries. From Australia to the United States, by way of South Africa, North Africa, Hungary, is a series of auxiliary dry-farming congresses. The correspondence of the Congress is in all the civilized tongues of the earth and the meagre literature of the subject is ; being translated into the half-dozen leading languages of man. Moreover, so far as I know, this session of the Congress is unique in that it is the first time that a purely agricultural organization without governmental support, has gone beyond the country of its birth. This remarkable history of the Dry-Farming Congress certainly indicates that the problems of dry-farming are of living, world-wide interest. I shall, therefore, take the liberty of devoting the time allotted me, to the definition of the purpose and problems of the dry-farming propaganda. *The president's opening address, delivered at Lethbridge, Canada, session 1912. 282 IMPROVEMENT ERA Purpose of the Dry-Farming Propaganda There would be no. dry-farming if plants were not large consumers of water, or if all parts of the earth received a sufficient and regularly-distributed supply of rain. The fact is that plants use in their growth immense quantities of water, and the rainfall of the earth is distributed very unequally, both as to the total quantity, and the time of the year during which it falls. The question of rainfall is the pre-eminent one in dry-farming, since some parts of the earth receive an excessively large annual precipitation, far beyond the needs of crops, while others receive much less than is necessary under ordinary methods of tillage for crop production. Moreover, in some places the rain comes chiefly in winter; in others in summer, and in yet other places during the spring and fall. In only a few localities is the rainfall distributed equally over the year. To further complicate the problem, the annual rainfall in a given localitv is not the same from year to year for, as is well known, a tolerably wet ; year may be followed by a dry year, or vice versa. The agricultural control of the water that falls from the heavens, in spite of varying seasons, and the use of even a limited supply for crop production, are the problems of the dry-farmer, and justify the existence of dry-farming as a science. It must be said that while the total annual rainfall varies somewhat in any one place, from year to year, the variations are small and remain the same from generation to generation. The pioneers of a new land generally believe that the climate changes as settlement progresses, but exact records do not bear out this view. True, only about 150 years of records, with modern instruments, are at hand, yet during that period there has been no perceptible change of average climatic conditions anywhere on earth. The recorded history of the world bears out this view. For instance, the study of the history of the vineyards of southern France lead to the belief that during the last 500 years there has been no change in the climate of France, whether temperature or rainfall is considered. Likewise, the study of the production of date palms in the Orient has established with considerable certainty that since the fourth century B. C, or during twenty-three centuries, in the date palm regions, there has been no appreciable climatic change. From generation to generation, the average climate, the world over, has been constant, and no doubt will remain so for ages to come. The only real climatic changes have been fluctuations from year to year, for climate, like a pendulum, swings with a somewhat irregular motion from one extreme to another. A dry year, the driest in a series of years, is followed by wetter years until the wettest is reached; then there is a gradual irregular return THE CONQUEST OF DROUTH 283 to the dry condition and the process is again repeated. ; Usually the cycle is short, from eleven to thirty-five years. The average difference between the coldest and the warmest years of such a climatic priod is small —seldom more than two degrees F. in temperature and the rainfall of the driest year is, on the average, ; only from one-eighth to one-fourth less than the rainfall of the wettest year. That is to say, in the driest year much rain falls, but ordinarily out of the growing season. Moreover, the driest year does not cover the earth at the same time. It is invariably local, and may occur in one place, at the same time that the wettest year occurs some other place. These variations are really so small that with improved methods of tillage they should interfere little with the progress of agriculture, yet they have been the cause of much human suffering, for the driest year in a short cycle of climatic change is the feared year of drouth. The Deadly Drouth The pages of history are crowded with the records of the disasters caused by the occasional deficiency of rainfall, the so-called drouth, representing the dry years in the cycle of climatic change. The Bible, which represents a very early period of man's history, abounds with references to drouth. The very beginning of the Hebrew nation is definitely connected with the great drouth which came over the countries adjoining Egypt, and which forced the people of these surrounding lands to come to this granary of nations for food. Even in Egypt itself, as will be remembered, the drouth raged for seven years, and had not Joseph saved the grain of the preceding fruitful years, not only the surrounding nations, but Egypt herself would have suffered. Later, when Israel entered into the promised land, their God took occasion to warn them that although it was a land flowing with milk and honey, if his law were not observed, drouths would overtake them and famine would destroy them. The early Assyrian code of laws, recently unearthed, declare, with the same fear of drouth, that when drouth settles upon the land the farmer who tills rented land shall be free from obligations to the owner of the land, for God has willed this irresistible evil upon the land. The literature of all ages, whether of prophet, poet, or the teller of tales, abounds in reference to the terrible danger of drouth. You will remember that even in the fables of yEsop the fox who fell into a deep well said to the goat who was passing by, and who inquired what the fox was doing clown in the well, "Have you not heard that there is going to be a great drouth. I jumped down here to be sure to have water by me why don't you ; come, too," upon which the goat jumped down, in great terror of 284 IMPROVEMENT ERA the coming drouth, and the fox, jumping on her back, was able to get out of the well. The year of drouth, the driest year in the cycle of climatic change, with its crop failures, stalks through the ages, past and present, as the supreme enemy of agriculture, and therefore of mankind. Drouth has been looked upon as a providence of God, which mortal men could only accept and die. In the trail of drouth, and following it closely, have always been its deadly brood: hunger, famine, pestilence and all manner of human distress. History, in its patient recording of famines, has indirectly given, often with minute exactness, the progress of drouth; and the burden Of the story is that if war and disease have killed their thousands, drouth has destroyed its tens of thousands. In view of the mission of dry-farming, it may be well to review, for a moment or two, the fearful effects of a few historical drouths. The famines of India have been recorded with terrible fidelity. The known drouths in this poor country run into great numbers, but a few of the great, outstanding ones will show their awful results. In 941 A. D. there was a famine of such terrible degree that cannibalism was permitted, and men ate their fellows, so that some might live. In the following seven centuries there was a rapid succession of drouths and famines, averaging above ten years per century. In 1344 the drouth was so intense that even the emperor had difficulty in securing food for himself and his immediate family. In 1769, in one of the great provinces, onethird of the population, or 10,000,000 souls, died from hunger. In 1790, the famine was. so fearful that the dead could not be counted, much less buried, and were left in the fields and on the roads as they fell in 1838, in one province alone, 800,000 persons ; perished from hunger; in 1861, the whole of northwest India was scourged by drouth-famine in 1869, one and one-half million per- ; sons died of famine in 1876 to 1878 five million persons died of ; famine, and we all remember the drouth of 1899-1901, in India, when one million persons died. That is, in 132 years of the most enlightened age of the world, five drouths in India caused the death of nearly nineteen million human beings, not to say anything of the many minor famines. This appalling story makes one feel that the greatest problem of India is the conquest of drouth. While drouths have been recorded more completely in India than possibly in any other country, it does not follow that drouthfamines have not covered other lands. China has not yet opened her records, but we know that in recent times fearful drouths have devastated the Chines nation. In 1877-78 a famine occurred from which nine and one-half million persons perished; and in 1887-1889 another fearful drouth occurred in China. In the year THE CONQUEST OF DROUTH 285 436 B. C. the famine resulting from drouth in Rome was so in- - tense that thousands of people threw themselves into the Tiber rather than to face the agony of starvation. In Egypt a great drouth occurred 32 B. C, and in 1064 A. D. another seven years' famine rested upon that country other smaller drouths have since ; occurred in Egypt. Europe, from which most of us here have been derived, has been scourged by drouth from the very beginning of its occupation. There are recorded drouths of fearful magnitude in 879, 1016, 1162, and scores of drouths since the latter date. Russia, in recent days, has been subjected to several great drouths, among them one in 1891 and another in 1905, both of which caused large losses of life. In Germany the drouth of 1125 was so complete that one-half of the population died; in 1817 there was another great drouth, and as is well known, during the last two summers, Germany, especially in the northeastern part, has suffered seriously from a deficient rainfall. In Hungary, the drouth of 1505 was so intense that parents ate their children to save their own lives. England, which is supposed to be drouthfree, has had its share of recorded drouths, some of which have been national disasters. Great famines, with their consequent loss of life, that have accompanied drouth, are not likely to recur as frequently as in the past, for modern methods of communication by rail and water will enable the countries of good seasons (and droutns are always local) to supply the drouth-ridden countries with the necessary food. Nevertheless, though human life be not lost, great economic losses occur whenever crops are destroyed by drouth, and the loss in wealth retards, greatly, the progress of the people. It would be folly to attempt to estimate the gigantic losses that have been occasioned by drouths. Man the Master I have dwelt so long upon this matter, for it is one of the great problems of mankind that must be solved by an advancing civilization. With the historical record of recurring local drouths before us, and with the certainty of a practical permanency of climate, which means that the dry year is sure to recur, it is inconceivable that modern man will submit to the losses and distresses caused by drouths. Rather, he will rise in the might of the accumulated knowledge of the ages, and forever banish the years of drouth from the knowledge of man. How may it be done ? Naturally, by the proper conservation of moisture in the soil so that crops can pass through a rainless season without hurt. The rainfall even in the year of drouth, is usually large enough to produce fair crops, but it comes before ! 286 IMPROVEMENT ERA the growing season, and falls on lands depleted of moisture. The soils must be so tilled that moisture is carried over in them, from year to year, and that the rainfall, whenever it comes, may be absorbed by the soil and there held until needed by plants. That is dry-farming pure and simple. To dry-farming, then, is committed the task of so enlightening the world that drouths, hereafter, will be due either to ignorance or to indifference. This, the conquest of drouth in humid and sub-humid regions, must be hereafter one of the main concerns of dry-farming. And, let it not be forgotten that if dry-farming methods are applied to humid and sub-humid regions to prevent crop failure from drouths, the yields during normal years will thereby also be greatly increased. Aside from any protection against drouth, the methods of dryfarming might well be adopted by the occupied parts of the earth, because of the increased crop yields that would result, every year. The other and original problem of dry-farming is the extension of the area now occupied by man, by devising methods whereby la ids that receive little rainfall, lands that may be said to be in a tate of permanent drouth, may be made to produce profitable "ops also. t. The present occupied agricultural areas of the woi! I receive an annual rainfall of twenty inches and upward. The areas that receive less than twenty inches of rain annually, the arid and semi-arid areas, have been until recently untouched by the plow and in fact have been denominated "deserts." In fact, over many of them the average rainfall is smaller than during the fearful year of drouth in humid regions, before which the nations have bowed these many centuries. These socalled deserts cover more than one-half, nearly sixt-tenths, of the entire land surface of the earth, and offer an opportunity of conquest unequaled in any other domain. Until recent years the best use made of this vast area of land was for the support of herds of cattle and sheep, that grazed upon the scant natural herbage for a few months in the year. Five to ten acres were often held to be barely enough for the sustenance of one sheep, and often one hundred acres were required for a steer In the minds of the few who dreamed of the conquest of this measureless "desert," the ancient art of irrigation seemed to be the only method of reclamation. In fact, the certainty of splendid crops tinder irrigation is unsurpassed, and when irrigation water is placed upon the rich, arid land, a productive garden results. However, irrigation will always be of limited application. In arid and semi-arid regions, land is plentiful, and flowing water is scarce. When all the waters of the arid regions shall be properly stored, and led to the farms at the proper season, probablv not more than ten per cent of the available arid lands will be under irrigation. The larger the area over which the irrigation ; THE CONQUEST OF DROUTH 287 waters may be profitably spread tbe more successful will the irrigation project be. In this matter, also, dry-farming is destined to take a leading part. Irrigation Not a Primary Art Contrary to the popular idea, irrigation is not a primary art at its bestit is only supplementary to the natural rainfall. The more water that falls upon the land, the smaller the quantity of water that needs to be applied in irrigation. By the same token, the more thoroughly the rainfall is stored in the soil, the less irrigation water is needed. The beginning of irrigation wisdom is the conservation of the natural precipitation. The high value of applying dry-farm methods under irrigation has been well demonstrated in a series of experiments recently reported from the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station. It was there shown that the part of a full crop, raised under irrigation, due to the rainfall stored in the soil, in the case of wheat and oats, was approximately eighty-five per cent of the total yield of lucern about sev- ; enty-eight per cent, and of potatoes about sixty-eight per cent. That is, from two-thirds to five-sixths of the crops obtained on irrigated fields were in reality due to the natural precipitation carefully stored in the soil by the methods of dry-farming. The irrigation water saved by the proper storage in the soil of the rainfall, may be used in reclaiming other land, and thus, the irrigated area may be extended greatly by the application of dryfarming methods. As already said, however, a perfected world-system of irrigation will probably reclaim not more than one-tenth of the unoccupied portions of the earth before dry-farming, unassisted, ; lies the greater task of making the remaining nine-tenths, or more than one-half of the earth's surface, blossom and bear fruit for man. The area that formerly supported one sheep must be made to feed a family of men and women. This is the original problem of dry-farming, and in the end the largest one. Could we stop here and discuss the question of the food supply of the world, the ftill importance of the reclamation of the dry-farming areas of the world, would loom large in the economic salvation of mankind. With increasing population and expanding needs, the arid regions will be the safety valve of the engine of civilization. The Mission of Dry-Farming The misison of dry-farming is, then, of a three-fold nature. First,it must eliminate the drouths that from time immemorial have plagued the farmers of somewhat humid countries and also ; 288 IMPROVEMENT ERA increase the normal crop yields of such countries by a better utilization of the rainfall. Second, by teaching the proper methods of storing the natural rainfall and conserving the soil moisture, irrigation water must be made to cover larger areas of arid lands, and thus the irrigated area may be largely extended, and third, it must reclaim by correct methods of soil tillage and every other means, the largest possible part of the unirrigated half of the earth which is under a low rainfall. This is a vast program of ambitious purpose which of necessity must be carried out by dry-farming, as that branch of agriculture which concerns itself directly with the utilization for the production of crops of the water that falls from the heavens. To accomplish this purpose, dry-farming must be dove-tailed into all other agricultural practices. It may be asked in all candor if, indeed, any part of this program has been carried out, or if this is all only a dream that may never be realized. It is a joy to be able to answer that, already, the accomplishments of dry-farming are far beyond the reasonable hopes of its disciples. Dry-farming has "made good," and, from its practical results, holds out the promise that the day of triumph over drouth, whether in humid or in arid regions, is at hand. In the United States, over fifty years ago, adventurous spirits tried out, and with success, the possibility of reclaiming the desert without irrigation. In Utah, California, Washington, and even in western Canada, independent beginnings of dry-farming were successfully made, one to two generations ago, on lands that receive annually from eight to fourteen inches of rainfall. In the Great Plains area, which still presents very difficult dry-farm problems, thousands of men have grown crops successfully and profitably for a generation or more. In the western United States dry-farming is a firmly established system of profitable farming, and it is spreading with lightning rapidity. The Australian dryfarming conferences have shown that in their great continent during the last thirty or more years, numerous farmers have practiced dry-farming successfully on lands under a very low annual rainfall. In various parts of the drier sections of Europe the same is true. . At last, and as it were in confirmation of the claims for dryfarming, come now claims from southern Europe, from northern Africa and from a dozen places in Asia, that the practice of dryfarming was extensively successful there some thousands of years ago, and that we of this day are simply restoring to popular use an art that once belonged to the civilized portion of the world, but which, in the shifting of the scenes of the world's drama, had been forgotten !There is much truth in these claims, as the history of northern Africa, Spain, South America, and many other • THE CONQUEST OF DROUTH 289 lands, amply prove. If any doubting Thomas be here, let him look about him in this province of Alberta, and let him follow us over the western half of the United States, and he will return a converted man. Dry-farming has already reclaimed its millions of acres from the dominion of the desert, and the drouth, and its work is scarcely begun. The Foundation Stones This work of conquest, now well under way, is not based upon empirical rules. On the contrary it rests upon thoroughly established scientific principles. For that reason, dry-farming requires the application of high skill and intelligence, but it also nullifies the charge that it is precarious. It is not claimed that all is known but only that the steps that have been taken con- ; form with a well shaped system derived from scientific truths. Note the seven foundation stones of dry- farming: 1. One inch of rainfall is sufficient to produce from two to four bushels of wheat per acre annually, if it be made available to plants. 2. By proper methods of tillage, notably by deep plowing in the fall, from two-thirds to nine-tenths of the rainfall may be stored in deep soils from season to season for the use of plants. 3. By proper fallowing, the water stored in the soil one year may be carried over to another year, in order to give the crop the benefit of the rainfall of two years. 4. By the stirring of the top soil, the direct evaporation of water from the soil can be almost wholly prevented, so that nearlv all the rainfall that enters the soil may be used by plants. 5. By vigorous cultivation, by fallowing or by adding natural or artificial manures to the soil, the quantity of water taken from the soil by plants can be materially reduced. 6. The seed sown should be proportioned to the water in the so'l. The less water, the fewer plants should be produced, so that the soil water may not be exhausted too early in the season. 7. Plants may be so bred as to yield well even under conditions of small water supply. These are well demonstrated principles which form a secure basis for the conquest of drouth in the humid regions and of the ultimate conquest for the use of man of the vast unoccupied deserts. They should be taught to the race from infancy, and made as familiar to the men of tomorrow as are the common rules of arithmetic. Farmers, business men, engineers, doctors, lawyers and preachers should know by heart these elements of our material prosperity. Schools and colleges should teach them. Then will a time come when drouth, like the tamed lion, will bend before its master —man. Much remains to be done. The principles that we^ possess are general in their nature ; their application must be varied with 290 IMPROVEMENT ERA local conditions. New principles must be evolved; new applications must be devised; machinery, especially adapted to the work, must be invented and, above all, the unoccupied part of the ; earth must be more fully surveyed as regards soil and climatic conditions. The depth, structure and fertility of dry-farm soils must be known rainfall and other meteorological stations must ; dot the land. Then on the frontier of the advancing area, demonstration farms must be established to try out for each locality the methods proposed. It is a vast work; but the prize justifies it. Only by governmental aid can this work be properly done, and it is a pleasure to mention that such aid is now given by most of the governments of the world. Here in Alberta, in Saskatchewan, and in other Canadian provinces, the departments of agriculture are giving vigorous aid to this movement. The same is done in many of the states of the United States of America, in Australia, in Mexico, in many of the South American republics, in the South African Federation, in Russia, France, Ger- many, Hungary, Spain, Egypt, Turkey, China and in many other countries. I am proud to be able to say that Utah, the state to which I belong, was the first in our country to appropriate money for dry-farming investigations, and that the Utah Agricultural College was the first to dignify dry-farming by giving it a place in the college course of study. In time, all these agencies will give us a great mass of information from all corners of the earth, which, however, to be of greatest use, must be made accessible to all, must be discussed by many men from many lands, and the conclusions must be given wide publicity. Some agency must be commissioned to labor by day and by night, throughout the year, for the collecting, unifying and publishing of the facts and achievements of the dry-farming movement, and for the periodic bringing together of the leaders in the work. Here, it seems to me, is the main function of the Dry-Farming Congress. While dry-farming is undoubtedly a popular movement, we must not depend too greatly upon this for its final triumph. In this day of advertising and great publicity, the gospel of dry-farming should be shouted to all the nations, and a definite organization should have the publicity and unifying work in charge. There is yet much prejudice to be overcome. As in the past, opposition, both honest and dishonest, will arise frequently and in unexpected quarters. The last voice against dry-farming has not yet been heard. We must assemble and have ready for use, when such opposition is manifested, the reason for our faith in dry-farming, and let those who have caught the spirit of the work stand squarely and firmly upon the doctrine that the basic scientific principles, and the work already accomplished, justify the THE CONQUEST OF DROUTH 291 belief that the deserts of the earth shall eventually be conquered by the plow and the harvester. It is now only a matter of a relatively short time until all the nations of the earth, afflicted with drouth or blessed with "deserts," will take to heart and adopt the lessons taught by those who, in the face of the blistering" sun, arc conquering the sleeping land. This Congress, as the clearing house of the world's dry-farming ideas, must be perpetuated and made greater. It has shown its value, for the interest taken in dry-farming by the states and countries of the world is largely due to the activity of this Congress, notably through the efforts of its efficient secretary, Mr. John T. Burns. We are engaged in making a new earth, and the work has only just been begun. Through this Congress inspiration must be given to the scattered workers in the various corners of the world. What has been done is a small part of what should be done for this great movement. The crying need of this Congress was discussed by President Worst at the last session, that of an endowment sufficient to establish permanent headquarters for it, from which it may go out once a year, or as often as may be, to the sections that desire the inspiration and the help it gives in the conquest of drouth. If we should all joint Dr. Worst in "a strong pull, and a long pull, and a pull altogether," I believe that we shall soon find the man or men who are willing to build for themselves a noble monument of service to all men by founding permanently this central bureau for the development of the truths that eventually will reclaim the larger half of the earth and make crtain the crop yields of the other smaller half. The Desert Will Be Conquered Of more importance, however, than material gifts, in making work permanent, is the attitude that we shall maintain this great towards dry-farming. We must keep well in mind that, in all probability, the final solution of the economic and socialogical questions that are tossing the nations as in tempest, will be the subjection of all unoccupied lands to agricultural processes, and the rational distribution of the population upon the reclaimed lands. This movement, which as a world-movement is scarcely half a decade old, may become, as it broadens, and as the multitude catch its spirit, the determining factor in the establishment of the world-peace for which every right-minded person is wishing, and without which the high destiny of humanity can not be realized. The successful conquest of the unoccupied parts of the earth will be accomplished only in the face of hardships —many of them. That must be admitted. But, the price all pioneers pay : ; 292 IMPROVEMENT ERA for their victory, is a period of stern struggle to change things from their wonted way. The hardships encountered by the present day dry-farmer are not a whit greater than those that faced the pioneers of the East who wrested their farms from the primeval forests, or the pioneers of irrigation who toiled in the making of canals long before the first crop could be planted. There is only one crop of pioneers in any section blessed be their mem- ; ory but do not let us say that their lives were less full of joy than ; are ours. In spite of all, dry- farming has gone onward millions ; of acres are yielding crops by its method where the desert lan- ; guished before, thousands of homes have there been established, in which men and women have found independence. We can give the system and its results our fullest confidence. Above all, however, those who labor in this cause must believe that man, by his understanding of nature, shall acquire dominion over all the earth. In the hearts of all who labor for the welfare of man must rest the certain faith that in all necessary things man shall triumph. As problems arise, they will be solved — one by one. If he sees through a glass darkly today, the vision will be transparently clear tomorrow. Before the eternal will of man the conquest of drouth shall be accomplished, and the account of the warfare shall molder in dusty volumes of musty histories, while the work will go on for the continued good of man. Our English poet has expressed it well "Yet I know that through the ages one increasing purpose runs, And the thoughts of men will widen with the progress of the suns." May I be allowed to close here, as I did in my paper before the first Dry-Farming Congress "The possibilities of dry-farming : are stupendous. In the strength of growth we may have felt envious of the great ones of old of Columbus looking upon the ; shadow of the greatest continent of Balboa shouting greetings to ; the resting Pacific of Father Escalante, pondering upon the mys- ; tery of the world, alone, near the shores of America's Dead Sea. We need harbor no such envyings, for in the conquest of the nonirrigated and non-irrigable desert are offered as fine opportunities as the world has known for the makers and shapers of empires. We stand before an undiscovered land through the restless, as- ; cending currents of heated desert air the vision comes and goes with stirring eyes the desert is seen covered with blossoming fields, with churches and homes and schools, and in the distance with the vision is heard the laughter of happy children." The desert and the drouth will be conquered. LOGAN, UTAH A Visit to Newcastle-on-Tyne BY LYDIA D. ALDER We sailed on the North Sea east of England from Stepney, not far from London, on the Tynesides, 360 miles to Newcastle-on-Tyne. We dreamed away the delightful evening on deck, but later a strong wind forced us to seek our state-rooms. The boisterous wind screeched and howled, sobbed or wailed, throughout the night, but there was no genuine storm. An aged Scotch lady, however, in an adjoining stateroom, frequently moaned, "O this is serious; this is serious!"Perhaps hurrying footstepsand the clanking of chains on deck, and the fact that nearly everybody on board, was seasick, added to her distress. But the morning dawned fair and bright, the wind subsided, and we rejoiced that "night had flown away," giving place to balmy breezes, and sunny, blue skies. The vessel majestically swept past South Shields, at the mouth of the Tyne, then slowly drew up to the pier at Newcastle. Awaiting our arrival there was our fellow townsman, Frederick A. Mitchell. This was a happy meeting for our company, consisting of Miss Farnsworth, my companion in the London conference, my daughter Mae and myself. We were taken to the conference house, 37 Cavendish Road, by President Mitchell. Here a number of missionaries were assembled, who, like ourselves, had come to attend the conference at Newcastle. Sister Parrish, wife of Elder Hyrum Parrish, of Centreville, was with her husband laboring in Newcastle. Sister Parrish is a lady of and gentle manner, and was the bright refined center of this conference home. She was both mother and sister to the elders who were laboring here, and who had left their own mothers, wives, and sisters, in their far away Utah homes. We ate the first home-made bread in Newcastle that we had tasted for two years. Sister Parrish had an influence for good upon all who came under her sunny smile. Her noble characteristics gained many friends for her, as well as welcome entrance into homes of