Arizona republican., 1912-04-25
SOILS
 REDEEMABLE
Professor McOmie Tells Valley Farmers Some Things They Ought to Know; Institute and Fair Fixed for July.

Acording to the announcement made
 Professor McOmie in his lecture a5
 the high school yesterday a farmers
 institute and fair will be held in
 Phoenix the latter part of July. Two
 of the prizes which will be offered
 are of special interest to the students in high schools and the other schools
 of the valley.
 The plan is to offer five prizes,
 ranging from twenty five dollars for
 the highest award to the fifth prize
 of two dollars and a half for the best acre of Milo maize grown by a school
 boy in the valley this season. This
 contest is open to boys in ',he grades
 as we'll as in the high school.
 Four prizes of from one to ten
 dollars each, will be awarded to the
 women who bake the best lOaves of
 bread This contest is open to the hOusekeepers of the valley as well as
 to the domestic science students of
 the schools. The requirements for
 both contests are that each contestant
 shall keep a detailed record of his methods so that the best of them may be published for general use.
 Many other prizes will be offered. and the object will be in every case to show how natural resources may be developed to the fullest extent, whether in flour or in farm land. A large number of vital subjects have been treated by Professor Me Omie in his lectures this week. Ac- tn In slick lands of the valley are non productive simply because of their mechanical condition. These slick lands, contain excessive amounts of gypsum ana the surface soil is very readily pulveriZed by weathering agents. When the land is irrigated lthe finely divided earth forms a paste on the surface through which the water cannot penetrate. If slaked lime is sprinkled on this land l it will serve to bind the fine particles l together in larger grains and the land will then readily absorb water. Slick soils" when thus treated become very | productive, as they are rich in plant | food and are barren only because they are so nearly impenetrable tO water. l Soils are generally classified ac- cording to the size of their soil grains. and each soil will produce good yields i of the particular crops suited 60, it. The finer grained soil, the heavy clay or adobe, is best adapted to the 1 growth of such crops as sugar beets, 1 turnips, peas. beans, sorgum and al fa1fa for see1 These soils are also adapted to the production of pears 1 olives and date palms.
 l Alfalfa thrives best in a loose l porus soil Strawberries and peaches prunes, plums, apricats and other
 stone fruits, are also best adapted to large grained soils.
 l Climatic conditions alter the fOoJ 1 content of crops. Exhaustive expert l ments with corn, wheat, oats, peas potatoes and sugar beets, have proved that if these crops are given from four to eight inches of water the yield is of much better quality thar if more water is applied. Dry farm ing wheat invariably contains more protein anu makes better flour thar irrigated wheat.
 l Professor McOmie believes that the farmers of the Salt River valley lower the quality of their crops and injurt their soils by excessive irrigation.