Bisbee daily review., 1914-07-31
BLOCKING ID H0MESTEADS IN
 NORTHERN ARIZONA

cultural Extension Service of the University of Arizona Experiment Sta. uon. has returned enthusiastic oyer the agricultural resources of that rec zion The soils generally are of ex- cellent quality, varying from a light blow sand' to a heavy clay. The most common soil type may be said to be a good sandy loam with a sufficient in holding Che moisture The lighter admixture Of clay to assist materially soils are more abundant than the heavier types Most important Is the fact that the majority Of the soils are we'll suppnsd with bumus: indeed. this would rather be expected at the higher elevations where the evapora- tion heat and sunshine are les sthan in Southern Arizona. thus reducing the oxidation or decay of organic matter and permitting more natural vegetation to grow Go replenish Che store Of humus in the soil. Alkali Is found in some of the irrigated lands; the waters O fthe Little Colorado con tain more or less black alkaH In depth and uniformity the soils very consid- erably it being important for the dry farmer especially to investigate this matter before choosing a location. A good dry-farming soil should be of uniform texture Ito a depth of to 10 feet with no intervening strata of coarse gravel, caliche or heavy clay: a sandy loam, silt loam or light clay loam with an abundance of humus is best adapted to this purpose. There are thousands of acres of soil Of this description I'm Northern Arizona.
 Generally speaking. the rainfall in- creases with the elevation Thus in the Verde Valley with an elevation of from 5000 to $500 feet. the annual rainfall is about 12 inches; the evap- oraton there is too high for dry-farm- ing At Prescott. elevation $500 rect, the average rainfall is 17 inches. vary ing from 10 to 21 inches in different years dry farming is successfully practiced there. Williams. 6.000 feet and Flagstaff 1000 feet. have a heav- fer rainfall than Prescott and raise excellent dry-farm crops Holbrook. 5000 feet has 2 inches of rainfall an- nually and must irrigate. Snowflake. coco feet. rainfall 12 to 20 inches is dry-farmed. while Show Low. Lake. side and Lindon. 1000 feet and more. average 20 inches of rain per year and scarcely know a failure in dryfarm- ing st. Johns and Springine are other dry-farming sections in this To- cality Irrigation is practiced through out this region, water usually being plentiful; of course. the greater the rainfall and the lower the evaporation, the lessirrigating water is needed to produce crops.
 As the elevation increases. however. the growing season becomes cores pondingly shorter At the higher ele- vation there is freezing winter wealth CT with snow, and early and late frosts may nip or kill crops that have been long in maturing or planted too early. L. It is moi an all-the-year-round climate such as exists in Southern Arizona, but undoubtedly is much pleasanter in summer The winters are not severe enough to prevent the growing of win ter grains
 The crops grown are those of the
 temperate wheat, oats, barley rye, orn, potatoes, alfalfa, clover. peas, beans. cowpeas, apples, strawberries, peaches, plums, grapes raspberites, ! blackberries. melons and the like are among the most common ones. At the lower elevations, some of the longer season crops are successfully raised. Prof Morse saw many perfect stands of corn. potatoes and small grains in the higher dry-farmlng section. The moisture noted in the soil at eleva tions of 1000 feet and over, was aoun. dant and ample for crop production. While the crops now rafsed are good
 there is great room for improvement Acclimated seed and better methods oi dry farming and irrigation will result in greatly increased yields. O..
 When the early settlers came to this section of Ariona, they found the
 forest parks and the prairies covered
 with waving grass and legumes knee
 to waist high. This resulted in the es
 tablishment of a thriving cattle bust
 ness which, however eventually
 caused an over-stoczing of the range ]. greatly reducing the abundance Of iti
 plant covering Nevertheless. cattle
 are among the most profitable pro
 ducts of Northern of Northern An
 dona Last year it is said that over
 S2OO.0O0 worth of cattle were shipped
 from Holbrook alone. Horses. sheer
 and Angora goats are other money
 making livestock that thrive there
 Withal 1t is important to note thai
 the present carrying capacity of th' been demonstrated by Prof J. q Thorn ranges may be much increased Gas hal
 ber, Botanlst, of Arizona Agricultura l Experiment Stationl by a system O laoofnv or huvfnp afgaahla fracfa o