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RAINFALL.—The most of the Staked Plains is in the belt known as the arid region, which is to be understood as a country where the rainfall is not sufficient to produce crops.

It has been estimated that where the rainfall was less than twenty-two (22) inches per annum it was too dry for a successful agricultural country.

The average rainfall on the Staked Plains is put at twenty (20) inches per annum, and yet good crops have been matured. There are two reasons why this is possible; one of them is; that the greatest average rainfall is in summer, during the season of growing crops, while the time of droughts is in the winter and spring. The second reason is, that there is a stratum of water-bearing sands at various depths underlying the entire area, and by capillary attraction this water is brought within reach of the rootlets of the growing crops. Any time during the growing season moist earth can be found only an inch or two below the surface at almost any given .point on the Plains. This sub-irrigation will mature crops even if the rainfall is below that which is ordinarily required for the production.

Agriculture west of the Staked Plains is entirely dependent upon irrigation, and will be considered under that heading in this report.

IRRIGATION.

The subject of irrigation in Western Texas demands a more extended consideration than it will be possible to give in this brief resume, for the success or failure of agriculture in the western part of the State is dependent upon the possibility of getting water in sufficient quantity and purity.

There are three possible sources of supply, and there are very few localities in which one or the other could not be made available-natural streams, wells (either shallow or artesian) and storage reservoirs. Each of these might be supplemented by one or the other where possible, and the area brought under cultivation increased considerably at such localities.

While it is true that on the Staked Plains, and in many places east of them, good crops can be raised without irrigation in ordinary seasons, it is nevertheless in all seasons a most valuable auxiliary, and there are seasons when it becomes a vital necessity; and the importance of being prepared for such seasons becomes apparent when we remember that it is impossible to foresee when they will occur. West of the Plains, however, the situation is entirely changed, for there irrigation becomes essential at all times, for on it successful agriculture is utterly dependent.

In the region east of the Staked Plains there are many streams of water that would furnish water for irrigating purposes, yet few of them have been utilized. The Conchos, San Saba, Colorado and Brazos