The Arizona sentinel., 1910-09-01
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
A Lesson in Intensive Farming by F fl. Forbes, Director and Chemist Of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University of Arizona,
 I.l1,t.nVxr T., lND-

University Of Arizona, January l5, 1907. 1 f1ood-plain of the Colorado, lies little farm l Of 7.2 acres which on May l, l905, 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 SXSR.S. 1 department of Agriculture from th6Bd World. The Experiment station, May 7, be- gan preparing the ground, and on May 2O the work of dwelling, bordering and irrigatine | the tract and the planting of l52 palms, was completed.
 THE PLAN OF WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that a farmer with l his living To make meantime, cannot afford | to wait for an orchard to come into bearing, 1 1t was planned to plant crops for quick re- turns between the tFee-rowS thus putting the %ork OH jL feasible basis from the small farm CTS point of view in order to cconOmiZe ground the iErlgating 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, Tor the most part oae-half an acre in size. lrfigatlhg water from the Colorado Valley r. & l.. .NaHal was obtained in the GUS tomary manner and l.. l.. Crane, himself a Yulna Valley farmer, undertook the care of what waS nicknamed our play farm.
 In size, as well as in the intensive character or the work planned this farm" is the Op- poSlte or the average holdings of this locality. The prevailing crops of the region are alfalfa corn, barisy, and foTages i!I general, com para lively little attention being given to vege- Cl 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 irrigating system DOW under construction will bc about S3.5U an acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items Of expense tn connection with the establish mcnT of a farm in this region, intensive crops of a more reinunerative character than those now in Vogue are essen tial. It was partly, therefore, as an object lesson bearing upon hos isll nI nf hn Cif tio" 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 levelled, ditChed and bOrdered at a contract price Of Sl7.20 an acre, considerably less than the average for the locality, reckoning the labor or men and teams at current rates. In addition, barbcd wire and posts for fencing cost 2G0.l0; lumber for headgateS cost S39.57; drive well point and pipe, q pitcher-spout puInP and a barrel, SI3.i1; q small lumber tWo-rOom house, including five and one half days carpenter hire, Sl52.7J; and a brush-rocf shelter for horses, about S5,00. Only skilled labor employed in leVelling, bordering and ditching the ground and for part cOi!struc- ton oi the house, is included in the above estimates, as the common labor required dinarily would be, and in this case was, fur niShed by the farmer himself
 To bring this ground under cultivation and make it habitable for a small farmer and his family, aS stated above, therefore required cash outlay of about S4U90O. In addition, in the average instance must be included a team, wagon. blow, narrow, haylGE equip ment shovels hoes and other small tools.
 CROPS AND MARKETS.
 The crops selected for the season of i9HG were Early Rose potatoes White Bernuda onions. Rock ytord CantaioupeS, Dwarf Cham pion and Burpee'S Quarter Century tomatoes, and alfalfa, besides a few hills of watermelons and scEdry vegetables.
 The produce was marketed in H0ma with the exception of tomatoes, which, for the largest part, were expressed to Tucson and BiSbee. The following statements for the various crops are on the basis of net cash re- turns to the small farmer, who with aver age family of five and a team of horses Is aS- SUmed to do the work required. as explained below. Items nCcesSitating cash outlay, as seed. irriEating water. and crates are deducted from gross returns. Water costs an average of J0 cents for irrigation per acre for the crops grown. The yields in certain instances are low, due to the unimprovcd condition Of the soil, which, like desert soils in eeE~Idl, was low in nitrogen and organic matter Some small salty areas also affected yields locally.
 White Bermuda onions; 1T acres; Seed planted Sept. 27-Oct 3, 1905. Young onions tTaneplanted, Feb J-: l5Oh. Crop m1tured about June ' Yield 39l6 pounds Of dry oN- ions. Highest price received, 2>ac pound. lowest price received, I.Sc a pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.