The Arizona sentinel., 1909-07-15
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS, A Lesson in IntenSive Farming by K Ii. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University Of Arizona,
 January h Iqn7

January l5, 1907.
 Just west of Yuma, Arzona, in the alluviai | food plain Of the Colorado lies q little farm
 Of 7.2 acres which rit Mdy l. 1905, was virgin ] bott0mand, covered with saltweed, arrow brush and creOsUte bushes. The original
 t,itrpOss of tliu tract was for planting selected
 varieties of date palms imported by the U x. Department of Agriculture from the Old World. The EX pertinent station May 2 be- g%iI preparing the ground, and on May 20 the work of levelling, bordering and irrigating the tract and the planting of l52 palms, was completed.
 THE PLAN OF woRa
 Recognizing, however, that 9 farmer with his living to make meantime, cannot afford to wait for an orchard to come into bearing 1t was planned to plaflt crops for quick re- turns between the tree-rowS, thus putting the
 wOrK feasible basis from the small farm CTS point Of view. In order to econOIniZe ground tie irriGating borders were so placed as to coincide with tie rows of palms, thus utilizing space otherwise usually WaSted. The tract waS divided by the borders into 1 lands, for the most part one-half ;tn acre in size. lrrigating water from thes Colorado Valley F. &I. Canal was obtained in the GUS tOmary manner and F.. l.. Craneg Himself a Yuma Valley farmer, undertook tIetcare of what was GicknaIncd our play faFIn.''
 In size, as well as in the intensive character CT the work planned, this farm is the Op- pOSite of the average holdings of this locality. The prevailing crops of the region arc alfalfa, corn. barley, and forages in general, com para lively little attention being given to vcge
 ttDf'S ana lflS cost OI tPN6lllDS land in this region is high, rarely falling be- low twenty dolals 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 bc about SS.jO an acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items of expense in connection with the establish ment Of a farm in this region, intensive crops of q more renluncfatiVe character than those now in vogue, arc essential. It was partly, therefore, as an object lesson bearing upon HfGl pSI ItpfFf Inc ci ton, that this cultural work was planned. RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND. The soil of our tract, a warm, sandy Oam well adapted to gardening operations, was levellcd, ditched and bOI dered at contract price Of $l7.2D an acre, considerably less than the average for the locality, reckoning the
 labor Of men and teams ai c$rrent rates. In addition, bar5ei wire and posts for fencing cost S61 I1; l9nlisef fO.' headglteS cost S39.57: q driYe well point and pipe, ptcher-Spout
 pump ana a barrel, Sl3.t3; d small lumber two--oon house, including five aNd one half days carpenter hire, SI52.75 and a BTuSh-rOof shelter for horses, about S5.e9. Only skilled ditching the ground, and for part cOnStruc- tiun of the rouse, is included in the above estimates, ss the common labor required or diAarily wG;tld be, and in this case was, fur niShed by tie farmer himself.
 To bring this ground under cultivation and make iS h5bilTb'e for a small farmer and his family aS stated above, therefore required d cash outlay of a5OJ:t SI00N. Tn addition, in the average instance must be included team, wagon. plOw, harrow, having equip
 ment shoveis hoes and other small to0s.