The Arizona sentinel., 1910-12-29
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
R II. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University of Arizona,
 Innn ,r., ..r- IAA-

Just west of Yuma, Arizona, in the alluvial | food-plain of the Colorado, lies little farm Of 7.2 acres which on May l, 1905, was virgin bottOmland, covered with saltweed, arrow i brush and creOSote bushes The original l purpose of the tract was for planting selected l varieties of date palms imported by the U. S. ! Department of Agriculture from the Old l World. The Experiment station, May 2, be- gan preparing the ground, and on May 20 the work of levelling, bordering and irrigating the tract and the planting of l52 palms, was | completed.
 THE PLAN OF WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that a 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 feasible basis from the small farm | CTS point of view. In order to ecOnomiZe | ground the irrigating borders were placed | as to coincide with the rows of palms, thus | utilizing space otherwise usually wasted l The tract was divided by the borders into l lands, for the most part one-half an acre in size: lrrigating water from the Colorado | Valley F. & ]. Canal was obtained in the cuS- | tOmary manner and k. l.. Crane, himself a Yuma Valley farmer, undertook the care of what was nicknamed our play farm"
 | In size, as 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, l corn, barley, and forages ill general, compara- | lively little attention being given to vege | tables and fruits. Withal, the cost of levelllng l land in this region is high, rarely falling be- low twenty collars an acre at current prices | for labor and teams. Moreover, the cost, eX- l elusive of maintenance, Cf the Government irrigating system now under construction will be about S}.50 acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items | of exp penSe in corr H2CtiOu with the establish ment of a farm in this region, intensive crops | of a more remunerative character than those | now in vogue, are essential. It was partly, | therefore, as an object lesson bearing upon these financial aSpects of 1he general situa- l tioU that this cultural work was planned. | RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND. | The soil Of our tract, 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 of men and teams at current rates. In | addition, barbed wire and posts for fencing cost S6OlC lumber for headgateS cost S39.57; a drive well point and pipe, pitcher-spOut pump and a barrel, SlS45 a small lumber | two-room house, including five and one-half | days carpenter hire, Sl5275; and a bruSh-roof | shelter for horses, about S500 Only skilled labor employed in levelling, bordering and | ditchinS 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 l family, as stated above, therefore required cash outlay Of about S400.G0. In addition, in | the average instance must be included team, wagon, blow, harrow, having equip ment shovels hoes and other small tools. CROPS AND MARKETS.
 The crops selected for the season Of 1906 were Early Rose potatoes, White Bermuda onions, ROckytord cantaiOupes, Dwarf Cham pion and Burpee'S Quarter Century tomatoes, and alfalfa, besides few hills of watermelonS 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 re- turns to the small farmer, who with an aver age family of five and a team of horses is sumed 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 Der acre for the crops grown. The yields in certain instances are low, due to the unimproVed condition of the soil, which, like desert soils in geEUIal, was low in nitrogen and organic matter. Some small salty areas also affected yields locally
 White Bermuda onions; AZ acres; Seed planted Sept. 27-Oct. 8, 1905. Young onions transplanted, Feb. 5-9, l906. Crop matured about June |. Yield, 39l6 pounds of dry on icns. Highest price received, 21&c a pound lowest price received, l.8c q pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash
 outlay. returns. Seed ................ 2.SS
 O Tr,.irr fiTNrNS inc bod aud