The Snowflake herald., 1914-11-27
TOP FOR DRY FARMS
repary Bean Has Big PosslbiIi-
ties for Arid Sections.
Professor CISthler of Arizona Expert
ment Station Says Plant Is One OF
q Most Wonderful Ever Pre-
sented to Public.

In bulletin written by Prof R. "
Clothier of the University of Arizona
and published by the Arizona expert
ment station, entitled, DRY Farming
in the Arid Southwest" Prof. Clothiel
will introduce to the world a new dry
farming crop which has wonderful pos
sibilities for the arid sections of the
world having a short rain period The
crop is the tepary bean, obtained from
the Papago Indians by Director R H
Forbes OF the Arizona experiment sta
tiOn in the spring of 1909 and placed
in the hands of Prof Clothier at that
time to be tested for it's dry farming
possibilities. Writing of this bean.
Prof. Clothier says:
After three years of experimenting
with 1t am prepared to say that 1t Is
one of the most wonderful plants ever
presented to the dry farming public
If it has a growing season of Is days
it will make fair crop. and if it has
80 days it will make a good crop II
1t is struck by drouth it will ripen
the pods already set, and when the
drouth breaks it will set and ripen
new crop If 1t has five weeks in which
to do 1t. In 1911, beans planted June
IA were struck with drouth July. 20.
after but 334 inches of water had pen
etrated the soil The drouth continued
until August Is and was accompanied
by extremely hot weather, the Fahren-
heit thermometer frequently reaching
a maximum of 105 to 108 degrees and
averaging SO degrees as a maximum
for the entire period.
Beans Yield Well.
Notwithstanding these adverse con-
ditions, these beans ripened an aver
age of 319 pounds of seed per acre dur
ing this drouth. Then, when the rains
recurred, the beans again began set
ting pods and matured an additional
456 pounds of seed between Septem-
ber l and October 15, on 4.97 inches
more of penetrating rainfall, making
total yield of IT'S pounds per acre
Tor the season. Moisture determine
tions in the soil made before plant
ing showed that there was not over
five inches of water available for
plant production In the first four feet
of soil, and none in the subsoil below
that depth, when the beans were
rlanted. When we consider the ex
tremely dry character of the atmos-
phere In the arid southwest, with its
consequent great power to absorb wa
ter from soils and plants, these yields.
under such conditions, are remain
abia The pink bean. which has re-
putation itself as a drouth-rta lister,
made nothing whatever during the
drouth and only 100 pounds per acre
for the entire season under exactly
the same conditions.
Average Yield Large.
During three years Of experimenta-
ton 13 plots of one-Quarter acre each
OF tepary beans have been grown and
the average yield on all of them has
been 473 pounds per acre. Many OF
the plots have had extremely poor
stands, and on many of them the soil
was so dry at planting time that the
beans remained in the ground six
weeks before enough rain occurred to
sprout them and bring them up.
Eleven similar plots Of pink beans
grown during the same period aver
ages only 140 pounds per acre under
the some conditions. Three plots of
red Indian beans averaged 131
pounds; two plots of Leopard wax l19
pounds and two plots Of Hansen beans
lot pounds per acre.
In 1909, when only 6.71 inches OF
water penetrated the soil during the
growing season and only 89 inches
had penetrated it since August OF
the preceding year, tepary beans aver
ages 467 pounds per acre with a
poor stand. In 1910 the total water
penetrating the soil during the grow
ing season had received no water
other than this since the preceding
August. Tepary beans averaged $40
mounds per acre with extremely poor
stands in that year. In 1911 small
amount Of rail- had penetrated the
soil since the preceding August, but
1t had all dried out at planting time.
The penetrating rain during the grow
ing season was 8.31 inches. Four
plots of tepary beans averaged 527
pounds per acre on this rainfall, while
two plots that had three and one-half
inches of irrigating water added to
the soil two months before planting
time averaged TIA pounds per acre.
Pink beans averaged 81 and 100
pounds per acre respectively under
similar conditions. These yields GER
tainly give this new crop an ~enviable
place among the dry farming crops OF
| the world.