The Arizona sentinel., 1909-07-01
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS, A Lesson ia Intensive Farming by F ii. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University Of Arizona, Jauu5ry I5. Ig07

Janufry l5, 1907.
 Jrst west Of Yuma, Arizena, in the alluvial fioOdplain of the Colorado, lies little farm of 7.2 acres which on May l, 1905, was virgin bOtiOmland, covered with saItweed, arrow brush and cTeOsOte bushes The original purpose of the tract was for planting selected Department of Agriculture from the Old World. The Experiment station, May 2. be gan preparing the ground, and on May 20 the work of leveiiing, bordering and irrigating the tract and the planting of l52 palms, was completed
 THE PLAN OF WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that a. farmer with his living 10 make meantime, cannot afford to wait for an orchard to come into bearing, 1t was planned tO plant crops for quick re turns between the trce-rOWs, thus putting the work on feasible basis from the small farm. er's point of view. In order To economiZe ground the irTigating borders were so placed as to coincide with the rows of palms, thus utilizing space otherwise usually wasted. The tract was divided by the borders into lands, for the most part Cne-half an acre in size. lrrigating water from the Colorado Valley F. X l. Canal was obtained in the GUS tOmary manner, and +. l.. Crane, himself a Yuma Valley farmer, andcrtGOk the care of what was 1liclInamed our play farm"
 In size, as well as in the offensive character of the work planned, this farm" is the Op- posfte of the average holdings of this locality. The prevailing crops of the region are alfi.ltl, corn, barley, and forages iD general, compara- lively little attention being given to vege- tables and fruits. Withal, the cost of leVelnng land in this region is high, rarely falling be- low twenty GOllalS an acre at current prices for labor and teams. Moreover. the cost, ex- elusive of maintenance, of the Government irrigating system now under construction will be about $50 an acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items of expense in connection with the establish menJ of a farm in this region, intensive crops of a 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 stua- tion, that this cultural work was planned.
 RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND.
 The soil of our tract, a warm, sandy loam well adapted to. gardening operations, was lcvelled, ditched and boIdcred at contract price of 20 an acre, considerably less than labor of men and teams Gt current rates. In addition, barbed wire and posts for feIscing cost SGOl0 lumber for headgateS cost S39.57; drive well point and pipe, a pitcher-spOut pump and a barrel, Sl3.t5; a small lumber two-rOOm house, including five and one half days carpenter hire, Si52 D; and d brush-roof shelter for horses, about $j.G0. Only skilled labor employed in dwelling, bordering and ditchiTg the ground, and for part conStruc- estimates, as the common laboF required or dinarily would be, and in this case was, fur nished by the farmer himself.
 To bring this ground under cultivation and make it habitabe for q small farmer and his family, as stated above, therefore required a cash outlay of about S+00.00. In addition, in the average instance must be included team, wagon. blow, harrow, having equip ment shoveis hoes and other small tools.