The Arizona sentinel., 1911-01-05
TIMELY HINTS
 FOR FARMERS.
A Lesson in Intensive Farming by R H. Forbes, Director and Chemist of Agricultural
 Experiment Station
University of Arizona,

University of Arizona,
 January l5, 1907. Just west of Yuma, Arizona in the alluvial flood plain of the Colorado, lies little farm of 7.2 acres which on May l, 1905, was virgin botIomland, covered with saltweed, arrow brush and creOsOte bushes. The 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 ?, be gan preparing the ground, and on May 20 the work of levPliing, bordering and irrigatiDg 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 " as planned to plant crops for quick re- turns between the tree-rOwS, thus putting the worK on feasible basis from the small farm er's 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 P. x l. Canal was obtained ill the GUS tomary manner and k. l.. Crane, himself a Yuma Valley farmer, undertook the care of what was ntcknamed our play farm"
 In size, as well as in the intensive character of the work planned, this farm" is tue op- pOSite of the average holdings of 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. Withal, the cost of leyelllng 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 $50 acre annually for ten years. To meet these and other heavy items of eX PeliSc in connection with the establish lenJ of a 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 situ6- tion that this cultural work was piaTned. ~ RECLAMATION OF TIE GRUUSD.
 The soil of our tract, a warm, sandy loam well adapted to gardening operations, was leveled, diJched aud bOrdered at a contract price Of Sl7.21 an acre, considerably less than the average for the locality, reckoning the labor Of men and teams at current ratSS IIt addition, barbed wire and posts for fencing cost St0.lO; lumber for headgateS cost S9957; a drive well point and pipe, a pitchcr-spout pump and a barrel, Sl3.45; a small lumber two-room house, including five and one half days carpenter hire, Sl52.75; and hrush-roOf shelter for horses, about $500 Only skilled labor employed in levelling, bordering and ditching the ground, and for part cOnStruc- tion 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 small farmer and his family, stated above, therefore required 8 cash outlay of about $400.D. In addition, in the average Instance must De 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 onions. Rock yfOrd cantaioupeS, Dwarf Cham pion and Burpee's Quarter Century tomatoes, and alfalfa, besides few hills Of watermelons and SuRdry vegetables.
 The produce was ma rk eted in Yuma with the exception of tomatoes, which, for the largest part, were expressed to Tucson and ElSbee. The following statements for the various crops are on the basis of net cash Ie- turns to the small farmer, who with ar 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, which, like desert soils in geEu1al, 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. 8 lS05 Young onions transplanted, Feb. 5-9, l9@. Crop matured about June l. Yield, 3Sl6 pounds of dry On- ions. Highest price received, 212c a pound; lowest nrice received, l.Sc ponnd. Entire crop marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash
 outlay. returns. Seed. ...............- ........ 2SS 9Irrigations in seed bed and
 SirrigatiOnS in field, about $50 Sacks and sundry, about. 256 99l6 pounds of onions l.t 2.5-
 l.Sc ...... S.3.G4 Net cash returns, not de-
 ducting labor. r............-.. 64.30
 S73A s78.2l The amount Of labor expended upon this crop was large for the area, especially at the trans plan ting time. one day's team work in preparing the land and about 32 days, mems 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 unfer- tiliZed character of the soil. onions requiring large amounts 0! organic matter in the soil to give good results.
 ila1.y Rose potatoes; .Si acres: Seed pota- toes planted Feb. l6-I9, l9J6. Beginning to bloom April l3. Crop all harvested June l3. Yield, 26l3 pounds. Highest price, May 2i, 3ac. Bulk Of crop, 2}4c. Al marketed in Yuma.
 Cash Cash
 outlay. returns 25O pounds seed-potatoes and
 freight on same ............ sos Irrigating water for seSbania
 used as fertilizer. 2.9S 2irrisatiC a~ for crop......-.. .M
 r'Ornaline for scab, includ-
 ing express cSS................. loo 26i5 pounds O. potatoes at
 .sA-L11 ....--....... S70,lN Net cash returns, not de-
 ductin2 labOr---...... 57l5
 s.OO0 s7O.o0 The amount Of labor required for the crop itself vas about l5 working days, with team IF days. The sesbania used as green mandr- irg C4 the vest half of the potato ground was given i7 lrriCa tionS. Bermuda grass more ever. lOGriSDed oaneath the seSbania to such s,n eXtoH' as subsequently, to roQuirc 2l days labor for cleaning up he .l3 ac-lS .a feT,ii2ed. Although thr ,af-er Nart of +iir cop came fIo n he sesbani; frrtiizcG poIti.l. c. .t.e po- tatocs, l., ~lathod o1 enricr;a- tha sOll gro. eJ verv costly ' days In",.s .,ne and 9 CaA tea-l-wcr< ocing required t2 ;.t he SeG- ana under a-I aHcrwar]S <, gii cf Ire .5.ru1, Ia grass Nevertheless, i!-- gbor en- tq eu cpulG silly have been manage! by 9 caiefui f.srtler. the RerI0Uaa ggiIg was con -, IanJ..-.y " uen other work Va not , | gent.
 ToL'aJoes, Dwarf Champiuu aEu burnee's 0Ua ,eG Century; .52 acres: Seed plaItCd m ro d. ''ar, Feb- l, l9nf. Transplant ed Gc!G- fa-ct l2-iJ Fir,t .gc .1matofa, .jUAC ia Last or ,na Ike ta ole crCp, Sept. $. Y.'lu, rfSt class. 1I2S2 pounds, second class, salable, -zi9