The Arizona sentinel., 1910-08-04
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
A Lesson in Intensive Farming by K Ii. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment. Station
University of Arizona,
 nn-

January 10, l.Uf
 Just west of Yuma, Arizona, in the alluvial flood plain of the Colorado, lies little farm of 7.2 acres winch on May l, l905, was virgin bottOmland, covered with saltweeu arrow, brush and creosote bushes. The orlglnal purpose of the tract was for planting selected varieties of date palms imported by the U. S; Department Of Agriculture rom the Oio World The Experiment station, May 7, be gan preparing the ground, and on May 70 the work of levelling, bordering and irrigatlng the tract and the planting of l52 palms, was
 THE PLAN OF WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that a farmer with his living to make meantime, cannot aHoru 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 feasible basis from the small farn- CTS point of view. In order 10 ccOnomlEe ground the irrigating borders were so placed as to coincide with the rows or palms, thus utilizing space otherwise usually wasted The tract was divided by the borders lnto 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 l tomary manner and k. l.. Crane, himself 1 Yuma Valley farmer, undertook the care of what was nicknamed our play farm"
 In size 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 ill general, com para lively little attention being given to Vege- | tables and fruits. Withal, the cost of leNelllng land in this region is high, rarely falling be- 1 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 SS.50 an acre annually for ten wears. To meet these and other heavy items | of ex pense in connection with the establish menJ of a farm in this region, intensive crops l of q more remunerative character than those | now in vOgue, essential. It was parLy, therefore, as an object lesson bearing upon 1 these financial aspects of the general SituH- | tio" that this cultural work was planned. | RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND.
 [ The soil Of our tract, warm, sandy loan l well adapted to gardening operations, was | Ievelled, ditched and bordered at a contract price Of Sl1. 20 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 $50. 10; lumber for headgates cost S39.57; a drive well point and pipe, pltcher-spout ! pump and a barrel, Sl3.45; a small lumber two-room house, including five and one half days carpenter hire, Slh2.10; and bruSh-roof shelter for horses, about S0GO Only skilled l 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 dinarly 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 S400.00. In addition, in the average instance must be included a team, wagon. blow, harrow, having e9u1p- ment shovelS hoes and other small tools.
 CROPS AND MARKETS
 The crops selected for the season of l99t were Early Rose potatoes, White Bermuda onions. Rock ford cantaiOupes, Dwarf Cham pjon and Burpces Quarter Century tomatoes and alfalfa, besides a few hills of watermelons and SHEdry 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 craps are on the basis of net cash le- turns tO the small farmer, who with &E aver age family Of five and a team of horses is as stunned to 0 the work required. as Xplained below. Items neeesSitating cash outlay, as seed, irYigating water. and crates are deGucted from gFeSs returns Water costs an average Of s cents for irrigation per acre for the crops groxYn. The yields in certain instances arc low due to the Hnimproved condition of the sOil 1 hieb, like desert soils in geTOial, was low in nitrogen and organic matter. Some small salty areas atso affected yields locally White Rersn nssss onions; 1T acres; Seed planted Sept 37-Oet- 3. 1905. Young onions transplante6, Feb. 5-A I9e6. Crop matuTed about guue s. Yieftt, 39iG pounds of dry on ions. Highest price received, 2lac a pound lowest price received, l.Se a pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma
 Cash Cash outlay. returns