The Arizona sentinel., 1910-07-14
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
A Lesson in Intensive Farming by R ii. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University of Arizona,


 Just west Of Yuma, Arizona, in the alluVlal flood plain Of the Colorado, lies a little farm of 7.2 acres which on May l, l9O5, was virgin bottomland, covered with saltWeed, arrow brush and creoSote bushes. The original purpose of the tract was for planting selected varieties of date palms imported by the j.. S; Department of Agriculture from the Old World. The Experiment. station. May 7, be- gan preparing the ground, and on May 2O the work of levellimg, bordering and lrrigatlng the tract and the planting Of lo2 palms. was completed
 Recognizing, however, that a farmer Wltn his living to make meantime, cannot afford to wait for an orchard to come into bearing, it was planned to plant crops for qulck re- turns between the tr2e-roWS, thus puLtlnE the work on a feasible basis from the small farm CTS point of view. In order to ecOnOmiZe ground the irrigating 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 rart one-haif an acre Tn size. lrrigating water from the Colorado | Valley r. G l. Canal was obtained in the GUS | tomary manner and F. l.. Crane, himself a l. Yuma Valley farmer. undertook the care or | what vas nickpamed our play farm" | In size 6S 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 alaI'a' corn, barley, and forages in general, collpilrit- lively little attention being given 10 Nege- tables and fruits. Withal, the cost Of levoliinS land in this region is high, rarely falling ls- | low twenty dollars an acre at current fs1ccS | for labor and teams. Moreover, the cost eX- elusive of maintenance, of the Government | irrigatng system now under construction will be about $50 an acre annually Tor ten wears. To meet these and other heavy items | of expense in connection with the establish ment of a farm iE this region, intensive crops of a more remtneTatlVe character than those now in vogue, are essential. It was partly, I therefore as an object lesson bearing upon ! these financial aspects of the general SitEa- t;n that this cultural work was planned. RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND.
 l The soil of our tract, a warIn, sandy Ioani ! well adapted to gardening operations was | leveileh, ditched aud bordercd at a contract price Of ST. .2a an acre, considerably less than the ak craze for the locality; reckoning the labor of men and teams at current rates. In addition, barbcd wire and posts for fencing cost S6O.IO; lumber fol headgates cost S39.57; a drive well point and pipe, pltcher-spout ! pump and d barrel, SIS n; a small lumber tWo-room house. including five and one half days carpenter hire, Sl527j; and a brGSh-roof | shelter for horses, about S500 Only skilled labor employed in leVelling, bordering and ditching the ground, and for part conStruc- | ton 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 habilable for a small farmer and his | family, as stated above, therefore required a cash outlay of about S4G0.00. In addition, in the average instance must be included a team, wagon. blow, harrow, having equip ment shOvels hoes and other small tools.
 CROPS AND MARKETS.
 The crops selected for the season Of i90t were Early Rose potatoes, White Bermuda onions Rock yford cantaioupes, Dwart Cham pi0n and Burpees Quarter Century tomatoes and alfalfa, besides a few hills of watermeionS and SuBdEy vegetables.
 The produce was marketed in Yuma wltll P tSe exception of tomatoes, which, for the largest part, were expressed to Tucson and Bisiee- The following statements for the various sF9pS are on the basis of net cash le tarrss to the saIal farmer who with al. aver age fanlily OE five and a team of horses IS as sEHlless to q 9 the work required. as explained below. Items necesSit2ting cash outlay, as seed, irrigatihs water. and crates are deducted from gsoss retsrns Water costs an average of 50 cents f0f irrigation per acre for the crops grown. The yields in certain instances arc low cue so the euniTnPrOvCd-cOpditiOn of the soil which,, ike desert soils in eE.iSs, was low in nitrogen and organic matter. Some small salty areas also affected yields locally
 White Bermuda onions; .47 acres; Seed planted Sept. Z1-ttet. 3, l905 Young onions tranSpIanted, FeS. 5-9, l9ei. Crop matureC about June 5. Yield, 3iH6 pounds of dry on ions. Highest price received, 2l@e a pound lowest price received, ISc q pound. Entire } crop mark eted in YEiHa.
 Cash Cash outlay. returns | Goo :.