Arizona miner., 1868-02-08
Farming in Yavapai County.
tcoNrINuEp,l


 most of which was planted with corn-per- ] haps 7j acres with wheat and barley. The !. average yield of corn per acre, according to the estimate of competent judges, was about 2,50O pounds. or 4j bushels of 56 pounds. In some favored spots, yield of 6O bushels ol corn per acre was reported; 4i bushels oi barley, and jl of wheat, were raised from an acre.
 Several different varieties of corn were planted and in tEe immediate vicinity ol Prescott, the preference is given to American flint corn and the hard New England variety known as King Philip. These varieties both grow rapidly and mature quickly, and are well suited for this locality, where, from the elevation, lover 5000 feet at Prcscott,) late and early frosts prevail In other localities, as in the Verde valley, fifty miles east, and at Walnut Grove, thirty miles south, from Prescott, the large yellow dent natures well and yields finely
 So small an area of ground was sown with wheat and barley, that no average of the general productyeneSs Of the country can be given.
 The estimates of the number of acres cul- tyated refer only to that cultivated by white men, which is but a 1.-the of the quantity planted by Indians in the eastern portion of the county Reliable men who have accom- panied the different exploring expeditions to the White Mountains, Tonto Basin, and other localities inhabited by hostile Indians, report seeing patches of ground, containing from ten to three hundred acres, covered with splcn- did crops of corn; and the different military expeditions have destroyed the crops of corn and wheat, in the eastern and southeastern portions of the county, on hundreds of acres. The manner of cultivation has hitherto been of the rudest description. The ground has been ploughed, and the corn planted, and left to itself till harvest in very few instnn- ces, if any, has a plough or cultiyator been used in the field while the crop was growing. Around the stables in the towns are large piles of manure, some of which have been | accommodating for more than three years; yet we see farmers leaving town with empty wagons, when the removal of these heaps would be benefit to several parties, and l sure source of profit to the farmer Espe- cialiy Is 1t desirable to enrich with manure | the ground used for gardening. Economy is profitable and if few loads of manure, to be had at little cost, will enable man to double his crop from an acre of ground, as often has been done, 'tis cheaper to use the manure than to cultivate two acres. In these days, when guano is conveyed thousands of miles and sold in all seaboard towns as a fer 
 becoming a nuisance here.
 The formation of the mountain ranges is generally granite, though in few localities slate predominates. It is almost needless to say that the water through this region is of the finest quality, and near the hills can gen orally be found by digging from twenty to thirty feet. There Is a scarcity of running streams, for SO hilly country most of those which at this season are of respectable size, are dry for a portion of the year, that is, they have their sinking spells. But where water can be easily got in wells for use of men and stock. 1t does not SD much matter. There are two wet seasons, and two dry; and ob- servaton for four years past shows that they have occurred with much regularity. com mencing from the goth of November to the 10th of December-frequent rains, (snow, in the mountains, continuing till the middle of March, and less frequently and with less fall of water, till the middle of April, from which time to the goth of June no rain need be looked for; about June 20th, thunder show CTS begin. some of which are no joke, and in crease in frequency till the lst of August, be- coming thence more seldom, and from about the 10th of September the second dry term sets in, lasting till the commencement of the winter rains. Wheat and barley, sown in the fail or early winter, will mature before the summer rains Most other crops must get
 their growth after the rains commence; and
 the rapidity with which all kinds of vegeta-
 tion spring up and reach maturity after
 that time, must be seen to he appreciated. There are several species of excellent grass covering the ground-two or three varieties
 of gramma grass, which are good feed for
 cattle the year round this grass grows luxu-
 riantly over most of the valleys, plains, and
 mesas, or high table lands, through the Ter
 ritory while the mountains are (most of
 them) covered to their tops with bunch grass,
 which keeps green through the year. These
 facts offer great Inducements to stock raisers,
 and are appreciated by many of our citizens.
 Our population IS composed of men from every
 State in the Union, and all agree that this is
 a good stock country, but-there tis but
 the lndians-the Apaches, the WalIapais- , that is the trouble. Other States and Terri } tories have suffered and grown strong, and
 still suffer, under Indian hostilties and dep- relations; and our farmers. who have come hither from Missouri, Kansss, Colorado. and other frontier States-who have fought h.
 dians from their infancy in some instances
 say the Apaches are better neighbors than
 Sioux, Blackfeet, Cheyennes, and COmanches f and they are here with their families, and will live here, and have sent to their friends at home to come, for the land is good.
 ! One motive for writing these lines, was the
 many letters received here by different per. sons, from widely different sources, asking 5 questions, which are thus easier answered
 than in any other way and if any one whc reads is made more contented with his pres.
 ent lot, or, being determined to go somewhere IS by this statement encouraged to come tc Arizona, the writer is amply rewarded.