The Arizona sentinel., 1911-03-02
TIMELY HINTS
FOR FARIliIIHIEEASS,
a Lesson in Intensive Farming by
K II. Forbes, Director add
Chemist OF Agricultural
Experiment Station
University OF Arizona,
January Is. 1901.


Just west of Yuma, Arizona. i'll the ailuVial
flood-piain Of the Colorado, lies u little farm
OF 10 acres which on May /, 1905, was virgin
bottomland, covered with e2itwccd, arrow
brush and creosote bushes. The original
purpose of the tract vas fer planting selected
varieties OF date palms imported BY lie u. :.
Department Of Agriculture from the Old
World. The Experiment station, May =, be-
gan preparing the ground, and On May 70 the
work of levelling, bordering and irrigntine
the tract and the planting OF l52 palms, was
completed.
THE PLAN OF WORK.
Recognizing, however, chat 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 trCe-rON (, thus putting the
WORK on a feasible basis from the small farm
cr's point Of view. In order to eCOnomige
ground the irrigating borders were 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-halr an acre in
size. lrTigating water from the Colorado
Valley y. " l. Canal was obtained in the Gus
tomary manner and =. l.. Crane, himself
Yuma Valley farmer, undertook the care OF
" hat was nicknamed our play farm"
In size, as well rs in the intensive character
of the work planned, this farm" is the OPP
pOsite OF the average holdings or this locality.
The prevailing crops of the region are alfalfa,
corn, barley, and fOrageS i'll general, compare
lively little attention being given to vege-
tables and fruits. Withai, the cost OF Ieveliing
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
viii be about $50 an acre annually for ten
years. To meet these and other heavy items
OF Expense in connection with the establish
ment of farm in this region, intensive crops
Of a more remuncratiVc character than those
now in vogue, are essential. 1t was party,
therefore, an object lesson bearing upon
these financial aspects Of the general situa-
ton that this cultural work was planned.
RECLAMATION OF THE GROUND.
The soil OF our tract, warm, sandy loan
well adapted to gardening operations, was
leVelled, ditched ana bOrdercd at a contract
price OF Sl1..N an acre, considerably less than
the average for the locality, reckoning the
labor OF laen and teams al current rates. In
addition, barbed wire and posts Tor fencing
cost SG0lU lumber for headgatcS cost SS9.57;
drive well point and rinc. pitchcr-spoat
pump and q barrel, Sl3.45; a small lumber
two-room house, including five and Onc-half
days carpenter hire $l52.75; and d blush-roof
shelter for horses, about 800. Only skilled
labor employed in ieveiling, 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, rs stated above, therefore required q
cash outlay of about Si00O. In addition, in
the average instance must be included d
team, wagon. plow, harrow, haying equip
ment shovels hoes and other small tools.
CROPS AND Markets.
The crops select ed for the season OF 1906
were Early Rose potatoes, While Bermuda
Onions. RoCkyfOrd cantaiOupes, Dwarf CHAM
piOn and Burpce's Quarter Century tomatoes,
and alfalfa, besides a few hills Of wateineons
anG sundry vegetables.
The produce was marketed in Yuma with
the exception of tomatoes, which, for the
largest part, were expressed TO Tucson and
Rs0re. The following statements for the
various crops are on the basis Of net cash re-
tr'1,s 10 the small farmer, who with ali aver
age family of i've and a team OF horses is as
sunIed To do the work required. as explained
heiow. Items necesSitatng cash outlay, as
seed, irTigaling water. and crates are deducted
from gross returns. Water costs an average
Of 20 cents for irrigation per acre for the crops
grown. The yields in certain instances are
low, due to the unimproved COZ di:ion 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 BernEda onions; AZ acres; Seed
planted Sept. 2f-Oct. 3, 1905. Young onions
transplauted, Feb. IS, 1896. Crop matured
about june ]. Yield, S9lG pounds OF dry on
ions. Highest price received, 2Isc pound;
lowest price received, I.Sc pound. Entire
crop marketed in Yuma.
Cash Cash