The Arizona sentinel., 1910-09-22
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
A Lesson in Intensive Farming by R fl. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University of Arizona,
 In,,.,n ,-ry fS Ifur7

January l5, lJtH. Just west Of Yuma, Arizona, in tho aliuvlal flood plain of the Colorado, lies little farm of 7.2 acres which on May l, i9O5, was virgin bottOmlaud, covered with saltweed, arrow brush and creosote bushes. The original pu rDoSe of the tract was for planting selected
 varieties Of date palms imported by the U. B. Department of Agriculture from the Old World. The Ex pertinent station, May 2, be giln preparing the ground, and on May 20 the | work Of leveling, bordering and irrigating the tract and the planting Of l52 palms, was completed.
 THE PLAN OF WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that n 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 work On d feasible basis from the small farm CTS point of view. In order to ecOnOmze
 ground the irrigating borders were so placed
 ns 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 Oue-haf an acre in size. lrrigatng water from the Colorado Valley r. x l. Canal wus obtained i'll the cus- tomary manner and E. l.. Crane, himseITa a Yuma Valley farmer, undertook the care of what was nick named our "play farm" In size, us 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, cOnIpaTa- lively little attention being given to Vegc- tables and fruits. Withal, the cost Of levelling l low twenty dollals an acre at currcnL prices for labor and teams. Moreover, the cost, eX- elusive of maintenance, Of the Government irrigating system now under construction will be about G3.5O m acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items l of expense in connection with the establisl- Inent of a farm In this region, Intensive crops of more Icnlunerative character than LhOSe now in vogue, are essential. It was partly, therefore, as an object lesson bearing upon these financial aspects Of the general siJua- tor that this cultural work was planned. RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND. The soil ot our tract, warm, sandy loam well adapted to gardening operations, was levelled, ditcfed and bOrdeTcd at a contract price Of Sl7 2l m acre, considerably less than | the average for the locality, reckoning the labor of men and teams at current rates. In addition, lclrbcd wire and posts for fencing cost SGG.l0; lumber for headgates cost s39.57; | a drive well point and pipe, pitcher-spOut pump and a barrel, Si3.i5; q small lumber two-roOm house, including five and Onc-half days carpenter hire, Sl52.75; and n bruSll-roof shelter for horses, about S5OO. Only skilled labor employed i'll levelitng bordering and ditching the ground, and for part construc- tiOn of the house, Is included in the above
 estimates, as the common labor 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 small farmer and his family, as stated above, therefore required d cash outlay of about Si00.0O. In addition, in the average instance must be included q team, wagon, blow, hurrow, having equip ment shOVclS hoes and other small tools. CROPS AND MARKETb.
 The crops selected for the season of 1906 were Early Rose potatoes, White Bermuda onions. Rock yford canta!oupes, Dwarf Cham pion and Burpee'S Quarter Century tomatoes, and alfalfa, besides a few hills Of waternelOns and sundry vegetables.
 The produce was marketed Tn Yuma with the exception of tomatoes, which, for the largest part, were expressed to Tucson and Disbee. The following statements for the various crops are on the basis of net cash re- turns to tine small farmer, who with aver age family of five and a team of horses Is stunned to do the work required. as explained below. Items necCSsitating cash outlay, as seed. irrigatiHg water. and crute3 are deducted from gross returns. Water costs m average of % cents for irrigation per acre for the crops grown. The yields in certain instances are low, due to the unim proved condition of tho soil, which, like desert soils in genufal. was low Tn nitrogen and organic matter. some small salty areas also affected yields locally. White Bermuda onions; .47 acres; Seed
 planted Sept. 27-Oct. B. 1905. Young onions
 transplanted, Feb. 5-9, l90G. Crop matured about June l. Yield, 39i6 pounds Of dry on- ions. Highest price received, 2isc 8 pound
 lowest price received, l.6c pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash
 outlay. returns. nah