Arizona republican., 1899-02-28
ing; and blossoms will appear again in April and May.

ing; and blossoms will appear again il April and May.
 A beautiful lawn and driveway now
 surround the office building and occu- pies a plat of ground devoted up to anC | including last season, to the culture of alfalfa. The driveway is a semi circular with ends of the bow opening | on Grand avenue. The outer edge Ot the driveway is graced with the date
 palms mentioned, which must ever re-
 main an object lesson of what can be done in southern Arizona. It is pro- 1 posed to plant number of other i palms on the inner side of the drive 1 way. When plans are completed, the l driveway will be beautiful sight
 i Brief mention only can be made of | the experiments now under way. under 1 Prof. McClatchie's instructions. One of the most practical, because it enters 1 immediately into the practical side of ] home life, is being conducted in a plat of ground immeditely east of the office building and consists in a test of the various kinds of vegetables with a view of determing their adaptabiIity, They are arranged alphabetically, be- ginning with beans and ending with
 tomatoes. There are eight kinds of peas in the patch, seven kinds of cauIi- flower, various species of cabbage, in- cluding the Russian, and others. Gar den farming in this section of Arizona is comparatively little understood and the experiments in this line promise to result in valuable experience and in formation.
 In the opposite direction from the office building, on the west side, Prof McClatchie is experimenting with eighteen varities of wheat. Each va inf1 5e i,,+ lo+.
 tral plat of each variety has been numbered, thus giving not only the re- suit of a variety experiment but fertilizer test as well. Sonora species of wheat is indigenous to this section. Flats have been sOwn in this grain at regular intervals down the field, thus giving, in time, accurate comparative results. A walk down the length of the plats was very interesting. It was noted that the characteristics of the various species were quite pronounced. The Russian wheat presented an eX tremely fine appearance, having fine growth and showing a deep shade of blue. The object of these experiments is, of course, to determine the value and adaptability of the various kinds of wheat to this section of Arizona.
 In the same portion of the farm as
  Clatchie has several plats devoted to barley, including variety introduced to this section by Fowler Bros.
 Still another experiment now being conducted in this part Of the farm is that of cultivating wheat and still an other of sowing alfalfa or other grain and using the furrOw method of ir rigating instead of flooding. The fur rows are shallow and only foot apart and results thus far obtained have been very satisfactory, as baking of the soil by rays of the sun is avoided the top soil being thoroughly damp ened when irrigated but mellow on drying out. This process of irrigating is largely used in Colorado and has decided advantages when the grade is rather steep and the tendency of the soil is to wash away whenever a fairy good head of water is applied.
 Prof. McClatcnie is firm believer in winter irrigation and has caused the orchard to be thoroughly soaked dur ing the months just passed. Water was, in fact, being applied on the day of the visit, finding it's way down the numerous furrows. Prof. McClatchie stated that he believed the soil in the orchard is saturated a distance of ten or twelve feet. He recently dug for depth of six feet and found the soil to be very moist. His theory is that thorough irrigation in winter, satu- rates the soil and creates a reservoir to be drawn upon during the hot, dry months of July and August.
 The director of the station will also experiment this spring with frost fighting devices, similar to those adopted at Riverside, Cal. These con sist of a number of wire baskets filled with bituminOus coal placed at inter ValS among the trees sought to he pro- tected. In times when the fruit is eX- posed to the danger of frost, these coal baskets will be ignited and allowed to burn during the hours of low tempera- ture, raising the air above the frost point. Some remarkable results have been obtained in California by this means. The experiment seeks not only to corroborate results obtained on the coast, but to ascertain the cost of the system under conditions existing here. | The coal used sells in Phoenix at S10 per ton and each basket, containing about a peck, costs the sum of eight | cents on each occasion fire is necas- | sary. In southern California, almond growers estimate that one crop in three is remunerative; hence, if a good | crop is obtained each season through l the use or IrOSJ-ngntlng appliances, | the profits of the crop create a con siderable margin that may be devoted | to this particular expense.
 A small greenhouse, constructed en- tirely of lumber and muslin at a cost of s for materials, stands close to the l house occupied by MT. Simmons, the foreman of the farm. At no time during the season has frost penetrated this little and seemingly f1imsy struc- ture. The greenhouse is devoted to the propagation of tender plants, l