The Arizona sentinel., 1910-08-18
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
R Ii. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University Of Arizona, ,January Is. 1907.

University Of Arizona,
 January Is, l9V7
 Just west of Yuma, Arizona, in the alluvi&l flood plain of the Colorado, lies a little farm of 7.2 acres which on May 1, 1905, was virgin bottomland, covered with saltweed, arrow brush and creOSote bushes Tne original purpose Of the tract was for planting selected varieties of date palms imported by the U. S. Department of Agriculture from the Old World The Experiment station, May 2, be- gan preparing the ground, and on May 70 the work Of levelling, bordering and lrrgatlng the tract and the planting of lo2 palms, was completed.
 THE PLAN OF woRK.
 Recognizing however, that 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 troe-rOwS, thus putting 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 part one-half an acre in size. lrrigating water from the Colorado Valley F. & l. Canal was obtained in the GUS tomary manner and k. l.. Crane, himself a Yuma Valley farmer undertook the care of what was nicknamed our play farm" Tn size, well as in the intensive character of the work planned, this farm" is the op- poste of the average holdings of this locality The prevailing crops of the region are alfalfa, corn. barley, and forages in general, compara- lively little attention being. given to Vege- tables and fruits. Withal, the cost of levelllng 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 now under construction will be about S350 an acre annually Tor ten years. To meet these and other heavy items of expense in connection with the establsh- ment of farm in this region, intensive crops of more remunerative character than those now in vogue, are essential. It was partly, therefore, an object lesson bearing upon these financial aspects Of the general Situa- tio" that this cultural work was planned. RECLAMATION OF THE GRuUHD The soil of our tract, a warm, sandy loam well adapted to gardening operations, was leveiled, ditched and bordered at a contract price of l7.2O an acre, considerably less than the average for the locality, reckoning the labor of men and teams at current rates. In addition, barbed wire and posts for fencing cost S60lO; lumber for headgates cost S39.57; drive well point and pipe, pitcher-spout pump and a barrel, Sl3.45; a small lumber two-room house, including five and one half days carpenter hire, Sl52.75; and a brush-roof shelter for horses, about $500. 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 habitable for a small farmer and his family, as stated above, therefore required a cash outlay of about S400OO In addition, in the average instance must be included team, wagon. blow, harrow, having equip meEt Shovels hoes and other small tools. CROPS AND MARKETS. The crops selected for the season or 1906 were Early Rose potatoes, White Bermuda onions. ROckytord cantaioupeS, DWaf Cham pion and Burpee'S Quarter Century tomatoes and alfalfa, besides few hills of watermeons and Sundry vegetables.
 The produce was marketed in Yuma 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 Ie- turns to the small f;lrmer, who with aL aver age family Of five and a team of horses is aS- stunned to do the work required. as explained below. Items neceSSitating cash outlay, as seed, irrigating water. and crates are deducted from gross returns. Water costs an average Of 50 cents for irrigation per acre for the crops grown. The yields in certain instances are low, due to the unimproved condition of the soil, W hich, like desert soils in general, was low in nitrogen and organic matter. Some small salty areas also affected yields locally.
 White Bermuda onions; AT acres; Seed planted Sept. 27-Oct. 3, 1905. Young onions transplanted, Feb; JS, l9M Crop matured ions. Highest price received, 2lsc pound; lowest price received, l.Sc a pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash outlay. returns. Seed .................. 2SS
 9 Irrigations in seed bed and SirrigationS in field about $50 Sacks and Sundry, about 2.56 39l6 pounds of onions at 25- l.SC. S.3,H Net cash returns, not de ducting labor. 63.30
 $73.24 S732i
 The amount of labor expended upon this crop was large for the area, especially at the transplan ting time. One days team work in preparing the land and about 32 days, mens time, were required to bring it through, al- though the work was not heavy and could have been largely performed by boys. The yield was low owing to the desert and unfeT- tiIized character of the soil onions requiring large amounts of organic matter in the soil to give good results.
 EaI,y Rose potatoes; .S4 acres: Seed pota- toes planted Feb. l6-l9, 1906. Beginning to bloom April l3. Crop all harvested June I3. Yield, 26l5 pounds. Highest price, May 2i 31ac. Bulk of crop, 24c. All marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash
 outlay. returns 250 pounds seed-pOtatoeS and
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