The Arizona sentinel., 1910-05-26
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
A Lesson in Intensive Earning by R ii. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment. Station
University of Arizona, Ilni1nrx- Ih INll-

Just west Of Yuma, Arizona, in the alluvial ] flood-p of the Colorado lies a little farm
 Of 7.2 acres which on May l, 1905, was virgin | bottomand, covered with Saitweed. arrow l brush and creCsote bushes. The original purpose of the tract was for planting selected varieties Of date palms imported by the U. S. 1 department of Agriculture from the Old | World. The EX pertinent station May ?, be- gan preparing the ground, and on May 20 the
 work Of levelling, bordering and irrigating
 the tract ana the planting of l52 palms, was completed.
 THE PLAN oT WORK.
 Recognizing, however, that a farmer with | his living to make meantime, cannot afford | 10 wait for an orchard to come into bearing, | it was planned to plant crops for quick re- | turns between the tree-r0ws, thus putting the work on 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. 1 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 P. G l. Canal was obtained in the cuS- tomary manner and l.. 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, corn, barley and fOrageS in general, com para 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-
 
 for labor and teams. Moreover the cost, eX- elusive of maintenance, of the Government | irTiEating system EOW under construction will Ec about S3. 50 an acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items | of eXperSe in connection with the establish
 menU Of d farm iE 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 the general situa- | tiOn that this cultural work was planned. RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND. | The soil Of our tract, a wArm, sandy lo&m well adapted to gardening operations, was
 levelled, ditched and bordered at a contract l 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, barhed wire and posts for fencing cost S60.l0; lumber for headgateS cost S39.57; 1 a drive well point and pipe, pitcher-SpOut pump and a barrel, Sl345: a small lumber
 Iwo-rOom house. including five and one half days carpenter hire, Si5210 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 ill 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 habitabe for small farmer and his family, as stated above, therefore required cash outlay of about S400.00. In addition, in | the average instance must be included team, wagon. blow, harrow, having equip
 ment shOvels hoes and other small tools. CROPS AND NARkETS.
 The crops selected for the season Of 1906
 were Early Rose potatoes, White Bermuda onions, Rockyford cantaioupes, Dwarf Cham pion and BuTpee'S Quarter Century tomatoes, and alfalfa, besides a few hills of waterInelOns and sHGdry vegetables.
 l 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 le- turns 10 the small farmer, who with ar aver age family Of five and a team of horses is
 stunned to do he work required. explained below. Items neceSSitating cash outlay, as seed, irrgating 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 unmproVed condition of the soil, which, like desert soils in geEoIdl, was low in nitrogen and organic matter. Some small salty areas also affected yields locally. White Bermuda onions; fl acres; Seed planted Sept. 29-Oct. 8, 1905. Young onions
 transplanted, Feb. 5-9. l90G. Crop matured about June I. Yield, 39l6 pounds Of dry on ions. Highest price received, 2l@c pound: lowest price received, ISc pound. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash