"Within the semiarid region there are millions of acres of rich, fertile land, now barren, some of which will be reclaimed through irrigation, but most of which can not be irrigated on account of the limited water supply, and must be farmed, if at all, without irrigation.... This land is now attracting eastern farmers who are prone to risk failure in view of the possibilities in years of favorable precipitation. There have been many deplorable failures during the recent years which could have been averted had the unfortunate settlers fortified themselves against periods of drought by irrigating small parts of their land holdings. It is realized that to accomplish this requires an outlay of capital and if this outlay is great it precludes the possibility of such procedure. With a view to helping these settlers, this Office has investigated the use of windmills as a means of pumping water for the irrigation of small areas in connection with the farming of more extensive areas without irrigation. It is the purpose of this bulletin to set forth in a simple, comprehensive way the possibilities of irrigation, using windmills only as means of power." -- p. 5

Report discussing the results of experiments undertaken to determine the viability of early oats in different regions of the United States since early oats typically thrive only in the Corn Belt and Great Plains regions.