The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1922-03-30
DATE PALMS THRIVE
IN COACHELLA VALLEY
(By A. ID. Moe)
Indio, Coachella Valley, Calf,
Moroh TX 1000

gradually built barrier across the
gulf and in course of time the waters
evaporated, leaving a great basin OF
million acres. which became desert.
the lowest part of which was over 300
feet below sea level. Ten years ago
the Colorado again broke through and
formed the Salton Sea, being stopped
at a cost of Sc, 100000. Had it not
been stopped the entire basin would
again have filled up in time. Only
half of the valley is now covered by
irrigation from the Colorado. The
proposed Boulder dam will furnish
water for another half million acres,
and the Imperial valley will be the
greatest garden spot in the world.
Leaving Holtville, we drove to Ell
| Centro, then north through Imperial to
Brawley, one of the three big towns of
the valley. Calexico, Ell Centro and
Brawley have each a population of
between 6. ZOO and 1000. fine business
blocks and residences. The shade
trees are beginning to reach a good
size and are a protection against the
hot sun. Most of the business blocks
are built out over the sidewalk, Mexi-
can style, affording protection from
porches or enclosed rooms. The roads
of the valley, where not paved. are
made in peculiar manner. In the
center the dirt is graded up. a few
feet. while the travelled road is on
either side. Owing to the peculiarly
of the soil the dirt roads are mostly
rough. Where the soil is sand it gets
very soft, while the heavier clay. or
adobe dries in ridges hard as brick:
When the roads get too bad they flood
one side while the other is used. When
dry it is dragged and used while the
other side is flooded.
About 20 miles northwest of Brawley
the land arises above the ditch and we
are again in the unwatered desert
along the west side of the Salton Sea.
The road is paved, although part of it
only one track wide at present, with
plenty of turnouts. Paving crews are
at work now widening the road. The
desert flowers are in bloom and it is
| wonderful sight. Purple, yellow and
white flowers carpet the desert waste.
and as we climbed out above sea level
at the head of the valley. many yucca
plants are seen. These have a large
stalk with flower at the end 10 to 10
feet high, but the blooming season is
| in December and January.
From the north end of the Salton
Sea to Palm Springs, it is called the
| Coacbella valley. This section is above
the present ditch, and is irrigated by
wells, some of them at the lower end
flowing and the others pumped. There
are about 100, 600 acres in this valley.
The proposed Boulder dam will cover
this area with water, also strip ID
| miles wide from the west mountain
ridge and larger strip along the east
ridge of the Colorado river. This
project will cost $54. 900, 900 and an
| immense power plant will also be built
at cost Of $24, 100000. Only about
Is. 900 acres are now under cultivation
in the Coachella valley and irrigated
| by wells. Electric power is used to
| pump the water, at cost OF one-siXth
to two cents per hour per miners inch.
The date gardens are the coming
industry of this valley. Here the
choicest specimens of the choicest
dates are raised. At present they are
specializing on the Deglet Moor selling
as high as 81. so per pound. The plants
are very hard to obtain. The original
plants came from Algiers. and the
government is now collecting a large
shipment in that country to be placed
in an experiment station and propa-
gated. They will be distributed in
limited quantities to growers. The
plants are off shoots from the bearing
palm, and each palm throws off but
10 or Is shoots in its lifetime. The
female trees only bear dates, while the
pollen from the male palm must be
placed on the blossom of the female
tree, either by tying the male blossom
to the female blossom. or by shaking
the pollen on cotton and tying the
cotton to the female blossom. The
blossom starts to bloom usually in
November, but the present cold winter
has DELAYED the blossoming time until
it is Just beginning. 1t takes about
three months to complete the blossom
of the entire stem or bunch of dates.
This pollen must be kept there all this
time. While the wind or bees do some
pollenzing, were it not for artificial
polIenation but a few dates would
mature from the natural agents. The
dates ripen from October to the latter
mart of December. The trees are
picked each day as the dates ripen, a
| w.
hut one date is taken from tree. In
the packing house the dates are put
through a cleaner, then fumigated to
kill all infection from pests, then
placed on drying trays. They are then
sorted for size and color and packed
in small wooden boxes for the fancy
trade. They then go into the cold stor-
age room, where the temperature is
few degrees above freezing. They
must be stored in cool. dry place.
standing order from the Harvey eating
houses and finest confectioners in the
east take the entire output. The
fancy pack costs about 81 pound at
the packing house.
Date palms begin to bear at four
and five years old. At 10 years they
will average 100 pounds per tree. AT
the Risher gardens we visited some of
the nine-year old trees which had a
crop of over 400 pounds, but this Is
excessive, and overladen trees are
thinned out, or they will not bear the
next year, much the same as an over
loaded apple tree. One male tree will
produce enough pollen to fertlilize an
acre. In the first planting if there are
too many male trees, they are thinned
out and new paintings made until the
female trees predominate. As the
male trees cannot be determined until
they bloom, it is long wait. 1t costs
about 81. .OO0 an acre to bring date
garden to bearing. The cost of grow
ing dates could not be learned. The
industry is new, many experiments
still being made, labor is high, and
many economies will be developed
when the industry is reduced to 9
science. The growers feel encouraged,
however. that there will be big profit:
at half the present prices. The gross
returns now from l0-year old trees are
about $1,000 per acre.
Outside the small area in date gar
dens, the Coachella valley is raising
large quantities of Bermuda onions,
grapes, eantaloupes, cotton, alfalfa,
II Nafa