The Arizona sentinel., 1908-12-23
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS. A Lesson in Intensive Farming by R Fl. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University Of Arizona, ,i January l5, lgU7.


 January l5, l9U7.
 Just west of Yuma Arizona, in the alluvial flood plain of the Colorado, lies a little farm Of 7.2 acres which on May ], 1895, was virgin bottomland, covered with saltweed, arrow brush and c.poSote bushes. The original purpose of the tract was for planting selected varieties Of date palms imported by the '. =. Department nf Agriculture fIoJa the Old World. The EXpcri iment -'tal!0n, May / be- gan preparing the ground, and Oil Hay SJ the work of "vclinC. bOTGarnG and irriaating the tract and Inc planting of i,,2 palms, was completed.
 THE YIAr o2 WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that a farmer with his living to make meantime, cannot afford to wait for an orchard to come into bearing, it was planned to plant crops for quick re- turns between the tree-rows, thus putting the worE on q feasible basis from the small farm er'S point of view. In order to economiZe ground the irrigating borders were so placed as to coincide with the rows OI palms, thus utilizing space otherwise usually wasted. The tract was divided by the borders into lands, for the most part one-half an acre in size. lrrigating water from the Colorado Valley P. & l. Canal was obtained in the cus- tomary manner, and E. If Crane, himself & Yuma Valley farmer, undertook the care of what was nicknanled our play farm" In size, as well as in the intensive character of the work planned, this farm" is the Op- pOsite of the average holdings of this locality. The prevailing crops of the region are alfalfa corn, barley, and forages in general, compara- lively little attention being given to vege- tables and fruits. Withal, the cost of lovelling land in this region is high, rarely falling be- low twenty dollars an acre at current prices for labor and teams. Moreover, the cost, ex- elusive of maintenance, of the Government iTrigating system now under construction will be about 8. .50 an acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items of eXp perse in connection With the establish- ment of a farm in this region, intensive crops of more remunerative character than those now in vogue, are essential. It was partly, therefore, as an object lesson bearing upon these financial aspects of the general Situa- ton, that this cultural work was planned
 PROCLAMATION OF THE GROUND.
 The soil of our tract a warm, sandy loam well adapted to gardening operations, was levelled, ditched and boTdered at a contract price Of Sl7.2G an acre, considerably less than the aI craze for the locality, reckoning the labor of men and teams at current rates. In addition, barbed wire and posts for fencing cost S60.l0; lumber for headgateS cost SS957 d drive well point and pipe, a pitcher-spout pump and a barrel, S3l3 H smalt lumber Iwo-rOom house, including five and One-h half days carpenter hire, Si32 75 and 2 hrush-roof shelter for horses. about S)00 Only skilled labor employed in leVelling, bordering and ditching the ground, ana for part construc- tion uf the house, is included in the above estimates, as the common labor required or dinarily would he, and in this ease was, fur nished by the fulner himself
 To bring this ground under cultivation and make it hubitable for a small farIEeF and his family, as stated above, therefore required a cash outay of about SV0.d0. Tn addition, in the average instance must he included q team, wagon. pinw, harrow. having equip Inent shnyels hoes and other sDa'l :Ools. CROPS AND AANKErs.
 The crops selected for tiita scason of lgG6 were Early Rose potatoes, White BerInuGa onions. RnCkYtDrd Cant;tiOupeS, DWart Cham pion and Burpee'S Quarter Century tomatoes, and alfalfa besides a few hills of watCrmconS and SundrY vegetables.
 Tine produce was marketed in Yuma with the exception of tomatoes, which. for the largest part, were expressed tu Tucson and Bisbee. The following statements for the various crops are on the basis of net cash Ie- lturns to the small farmer, who with al. aver age family of five and a team of horses is as stunned to do the work required. as explained below. Items necesstating cash outlay, :tS seed, irrigating water. and crates are deducted from gross returns. Water costs average of 50 cents for irrigation per for the crops grown. The yields In certain instances are lowHGuc to the unimpToved condition of the soil, which, like desert soils in geEuidl, was low in nitrogen and organic matter Some small salty areas also affected yields locally. White Bermuda onions 1T acres; Seed plant=d Sept. 27-Oct 8, 1905. Young onions 1 transplanted, Feb. 5-9, l90i. Crop maturcd about June l. Yield, 39l6 pounds of dry on- ions. Highest price received, 2lsc a pound: | lowest price received, l.Sc a pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.