1931 Narrative Report Navajo County Item Type text; Report Authors University of Arizona. Agricultural Extension Service. County Agricultural Agents.; Fillerup, Charles R. Publisher University of Arizona Rights Permission to use or to order reproductions must be obtained from the University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections. Contact us at [email protected], or (520) 621-6423. Download date 13/05/2021 19:25:10 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/580179
Transcript
1931 Narrative Report Navajo County
Item Type text; Report
Authors University of Arizona. Agricultural Extension Service. CountyAgricultural Agents.; Fillerup, Charles R.
Publisher University of Arizona
Rights Permission to use or to order reproductions must be obtainedfrom the University of Arizona Libraries, Special Collections.Contact us at [email protected], or(520) 621-6423.
Coop�rative extension work in agriculture and home economicsin I�ava�o County, Arizona is conduc ted cooperatively by the NavajoCounty ]arm Bureau, a corporation,. the University or Arizona College of Agriculture, and the U.S.Aepartment of Agriculture underthe Smith-Lever �ct of 1914.
Local County extension agents under the direction of theseorganizations promote work in agric.ulture and home e conond cs ,
chiefly thru demonstrations ,according to definite progressiveplans and progranls directly supervised by the Extension Servieeof the University of Arizona College of Agriculture. Ehe extension agents are the County Agricultural Agent and the Home Demonstration Agent, the latter on part time.
The County Far.m Bureau is supported by and has membershipfrom local community farm bureaus, Each of these is organized witha president, a vice pr-ec idcrrt , secretary,and membership. J?rom the
membership con�ittees and project leaders are selected or elected.
A program or work is made usually jointly by the Extension
Director or his representative, the county agent. and local or
ficials of the Farm Bureau, It aims to serve each agmiculturalcommunity to best possihle progressive purpose. The working rela
tionship between the cooperative agencies and the rural peoplegenerally is mutual�y good.
Program of Work.
The program is formulated with special reference dIcfJ the
needs or the cor�unitiesl largely determined by the physical condi tions, material needs" and. wants of the· people concerned. 'llhe
:rollowing program formulated in written project form has been
Corn Production, This project has been run as a majorfor six years.E�forts have been made to secure and developvarieties high yields of silage and of grain adapted to thevarious elevations ranging from 5,000 to 7.000 feet elevation.
In corn production work we have had during the seasonfour res�t demonstrators and twenty nine cooperators fnrnishing records for comparoson purposes, Duncan white dent, 4X yellow dent, Reeds yellow dent, and certain native vareities havebeen leaders adaptability and yields. This season new seed or4X yellow dent ( In North Dakotatalled 4X fodder corn) �ase beenshipped in from lJorth Dakota. Duncan white dent �rom Graham coun
ty, and Reeds yellow dent from Colorado, in an effort to get purestrains of best quality, In most cases we find that varieties thathave been crown and selected locally are superior. This has notbeen true of buncan-- we get best results from �ortea seed. Thismay be true because our season is not quite long enough to fullymature 'seed every year. The corn has a tendency to adapt itsel:t toa shorter season and ofcourse changes size characteristic inorderto do so. Native white dent and native yellow dent are both satis
factory varieties as are also some other varieties under localco�ditions, Cream dent, Hopi sdtApache, and Minnesota 13.
Yield records from thirty-four fields are at hand. Theserecords cover, acreage, number stalks and number ears per acre,total weight per acre, total weight of ears per acre, and percentage or ear weight compared with total weight. The yield recordswere made at actual harvest time. In nearly every case the cropwas used for silage and put in at harvest time.
The table below shows representative yields or fivevarieties;
Locality · Variety · Total wmight; Wmight of ;Stalks . Ears :Ear %, , 9
· : :Qer acre ears per Ai�er A : :Qer ).1 : b:y: wt ,·
In the tables all calculations are based on weights at
harvest time. 'I'he ears weeeiin the husk and green.Duncan white dent leads in yield of silage while Native
white dent leads in percentage wei§ht of ears, native yellow dent
coming second. 4 X yellow dent is second in tonnaee yield.
The grain ymelds cannot be given at this time because the
corn has not been shelled. It is in storace and will be shelled
and the weights tabulated.
'Ilhirteen thousand tons of silage haae been put up, a gainor 2000 tons over last year. Cattle feeding interests have doubled,�he largest single plant is at Taylor where 220 hend of steers
are being �attened.
6. Cereals. Continued
Wheat , eats, BarleyFor a number of years the treating of seed grain to preventsmut has been stressed. This year a survey was made to learn the
what extent the practice is effective. Smut counts were made in25 oat fields, 12 w�at fields, and one field of barley.
There were 12 cooperators in the wheat smut survey. Bunt wasfound in only two fields, one carrying .007 % and the other .044All fie1qs except two carried a little loose smut ranging from 0
. to .49�. 'I'he two highest records are .4.g� and .21 % •
Twenty-five cooperators in the oat smut survey. The countvaries from 0 up to �.88 % • Only three fields were found carrying more than 1 %, their infestatinns are 1.88, 1.08, aaI 1.03 %In six fields no smut was found. ��
One field of barley was inspected, no smut was found.
The copper- carbonate method of treating seed wheat is inquite general use while for oats formaldehyde is used.
IThe grain fields of Snowflake and Taylor suffered greatly
from hail latter part of July near harvest time. In many of thefields one half to three fourths of the grain was threshed outand beaten Lnto the ground. Some of the farmers harvested their
crops as straw considering threshing not worth whi1e.
I. .Annual Re+or-t , Navajo County, Arizona. 1931
Snowflake , Arizona. November 30, 19011
Legumes and Forage Crops ( ProjectlIo.7,Crop Rotation)
.
A goo� example of the v�lue of a legume as a fertilizer agent�s shown bJ the record of ;f.W.Lewis of Taylor. rs;wo two-acre plotswere p:�ted to.W�ite W�nder corn under identical soil type and
preparat�on�c�ndlt�ons.une plot had been planted to corn for three
years prece dlng the demonstration, while the other had been in alfalfa for fo years. Co�arison follows:
per A. per A per acre Ears per A.Comp.with total17,940 ; 16,560 ; 31,050-l5.5T.;159l80 : 48.8 %
Corn pl. 13,800 ; 11,040 ; 14,490- 7.2T : 5,020 ; 38,4,140: 5,520; 16,560- 8.3T ;10,160 ; 10.8 ��It may be noted that the germination and consequent stand on
the rotation plot was much better than on the non-:notation plot.there was a decided gain on every "item. We note specially thatthere was a gain of" 8 ..3 tons of silage per acre, 10,150 pounds of
gain in weight of ears per acre, and an increase of 10.8 �b inweight of ears compareQ with the total weight. The calculations were
made at the time the corn was harvested, nicely mature for silage.
Two result demonstrations were started with tepary beans,oneat Linden ,the other at Aripine. Both are dry fram areas. Both denlon
strations failed to yield sufficiently for record purposes. We much
need an easily grown crop for rotation purposes on the dry farms.Itwas thought that tepary beans used as a forage crop could serve this
need. We shall make another trial during the coming season. Sweet
clover is a good dry farm rotation crop but getting a stand is very
uncertain and fifequently difficult, hence the need of some other crop.
FO'Tr thousand pounds of alfalfa seed and three thousand poundsof sweet clover seed were planted in the spring, most of it Ln rota-
tion systems.
Project No. 7 will be continued next year stressing rotations
on the dry farms, as also fallowing.
Potatoes, ,
Three method demonstrations made Vii th 100 in attendance. Siy .J.'
farmers at Snowflake and Taylor treated 4500 pounds of seed potatoes
and nine other cooperators at Shumway, Show Low, and lakeSide,treated 8450 pounds • .I.'otatoes gr-own by these cooperators are pr-act f ceLl.y.
free from rhictonia and acab. Their crops carry a large percentageor smooth marketable potatoes.
The Alor and Hugh Larson ulanting from 900 pounds of treated seed
yielded 2300 pounds of good m;rket potatoes. 'rhe �.W .Tanner and Louis
Hunt cr9ps were nearly completely destroyed by ha�l.
8. .tlnnual Report. Navajo County, Arizona.. 1931.Snowflake t Arizona, l!ovember 30,1931.
Home Gardens and Home Beautification ( Proj.6,Truck Production
Six method demonstrations conducted, five result demonstrationsJ,£/1.".ut�J in progress. Demonstrator at Woodruff from three quarters ¢
-
gr an acr�1l3 sacks commercial onions which sold readily at�2.25 per sack. The Snowflake demonstrator cleared $525.00from an acre of � ground. He specialized on early vegetablesplanting hardy varieties in February and March. Spinach,lettuoe,green onions, and_ peas are his favorites f'or early sales. TheLakeside demonstrator sp.ecialized on onions,lettuce, cabbage,turnips,squash, and_ pumpkins. his net income was �180.00 anacre. The Joseph City demonstrator specializes on sweet corn,planting in succession thruput the season. He also grows cantaloupes and watermelons. He averages �200.00 an acre.
Green aphis were destructive pests in the early partror the season, later there were army worms, and every season
the flea beetle is a d_eatructive pest. six hundred gallonsof spray materials were used quite effectively against thesepests. Outstanding in control work is Q.R.Gardner of Woodruff, who effectively combatted all pests invading his home
grulden.
Twelve meetings at which lantern slides were used hsvebeen held relative to home gardens stressing the importanceor such an activity and advising rel;:·_tive to cropping,andcultural methods.
Nearly every farm family has had some sort of home garden,which has been a source of substantial saving rood purchases.All raIl families on dry farms could be seen cutting squashinto ringlets or strips and drying them for effective storageand use as needed, so also wi th sugar corn. �i�ore vegetableshave been processed for keeping than in any former season.
This is gratifying in this time of depression for it means
that the farm families may have a goodly variety of food products in fair abundance.
9. Annual Report. Navajo County, Arizona. 1<J31.
Snowflake, Arizona. November 30, 1931.
lliarket Gardens and Truck.(Proj. 6,Truck Production)The market for garden products has been good during the entire season� Production is far short of demand and consumptionexcept at tlmes of certain products such as green onions snapbeans, cab�age,. and. sweet corn. i[�e need better distribution ot:
produ�ts wlth respect to succession planting, and orderly marketing. �e also need more and better storage facilities.
Pests and control measures common to home gardens applyas wel� to market gardens. The products offered on the markethave largely been handled by Joseph City Produce Association,Turley &. Sons of "iloodruff, Hansen & Sons of Lakeside, and SnowflakeProducers Association. Considering the financial condition thisseason thmse operators have done well having handled productsamounting to $27600.00
Fruits. ( Proj. 2. Orchard Management,)Nineteen method demonstrations have been condu�ted with
300 in attendance. Three phases have been specially stressed:pruning, grafting, heating. February and March were devotedlargely to pruning. Orchards in every community were pruned moreor less completely.
Last week in Aprchl and first week chtt May was spray timefor ODcharQs • Work was done in done in five communities. The
prospect for fruit was still reaonably good not withstanding thecold wave of April 20 to 22 when much of the fruit was k�lled.
Eight orchardists secured orchard heaters. In heatedorchards ati Lakeside, and Shumway there was a fairly good cropof fruit. To successfully grow fruit it is necessary to protectagainst frost. The tt National tf is the type of orchard heatersecured. These eight cooperators certainly did eood work as
method demonstrators in orchard heating. Later on they had sruit
to sell and to use whereas others had little or none,
In a number of old orchards there are trees that producepoor Quality "cider" apples. Year by year they are being elimina
ted by grafting desmrable varieties on to them. Work of this sort
was done in four communities. This work was done in May and June
Nearly every scion grew, except in the case of wQlnuts.The scion
wood was not in good con�ition. A certain desirable late bloomingapple tree was found in an old orchard. Scion wood was �ut fr�mthis tree and grafted into what we call a brood tree. !he nbJect
being to promote and propag�te t�is particular sort because.itis so late in blooming that �t avolds nearly every frost per�o�,Fro� this brood tree scion wood will be cut next spring.
10. Annua.l Report.. Navajo County, Arizona. 1931
Snowflw(e, l�izonat November 30, 1931.
Beautification of Home Grounds.
The agent is a member of a communf ty comnri ttee to promotehome grounds beautification and ladnscaping. A plan and plantin�system for the streets of Snowflake city has been materialized.St::eet trees selected are, Chinese elm, IJorway maple ,native walnut,Ar1zona ash, Green ash, European sycamore. The old cotton woodt::ees are gradu�lly being EElliO·ved and the new trees planted. Boths1des of an ent1re street length will be planted to one variety,so placed at corners that only the one variety can 'be seen oneach street.
The agent has assisted in planning lawns and ornamentalfor mhe grounds at one ehhool house and three home grounds. Hasalso suggested and secures varieties of evergreen for parkand home purposes. During the season 1150 evergreen trees havebeen secured for one park ana school grounds, and six homes.
We plan to park or forest fourteen acres south of Snowflake on the irregular heights Bear the city water tank.
�odents and Miscellaneous' Insects. (Proj.8.Rodent Contro!.)
A good effort has been made to destroy rodents. We have 229cooperators who have received 2507 quarts of poisoned bait andhave treated 23,,120 acres of crop and pasture land. Most of the workhas been done against prairie dogs. The work has been effective incrop protection and eradication or rodents from pasture lands. From75 to 95 percent kill has'resulted. On home premises 100 per centkill or mice is frequently secured. Reinfestation occurs in thecourse of some months.
Carbon bisulphide has been used by Ben.E.Foster's representative in following up prairie dog work inorder to completelyexterminate this pest. Thus the Pinedale, Standard, and Linden districts have been completely cleared of prairie dogs as well as
a township west of Snowflake on the range holding of Flake Bros. andthree sections east of Taylor on the Bourdon holdings.,or ranee.For this purpose 640 quarts of CS2. have been used. Nearly all ofthe poisoned bait was dispensed direct from the agent's office.
12r. Issac Rogers of the Biological Survey, under the direction of
Mr. Ben E.Foster, State Rodent Control Leader has spent two weeks
at rodent externlination work in the County during the season.
1m May cut worms were very bad in the western part of the County.To combat them in a newly planted farn field 400 pounds of bran was
prepared with Paris green for bait. There are sixty acres in this
field. To our grief it was found t�at the worms did not come to the
surface as is usually the case. Nmghts were cold so the worms travel
ed under ground from plant to plant and our efforts were largely wast
ed.Under such conditions bait must be put out shortly after plowingbefore there is new gIant growth for the worms to feed upon. ....
11. Annual Report. Mavajo County, Arizona. 1931.
Snowflake, Arizona, November 30, 1931/
Pout,try • (Proj e et 1, Paul try Management)For a number of years chick brooding has been done by means
of oil heater�, in many cases they have not been satisfac�ory ,A new system nas been introduced • It co�sists of an under groundfurnace and pipe lines under the floor leading to the smoke stackon the opposite side of the brooder room from the furnace. Thiswhen coal or hard wood is used is reliab�e and satisfactory.
About one naIf of the brooding plants in the County are now
eauipped with the under ground furnace system. Thirty thousandchichs were shipped into the County during the season. Most ofthem are White Leghorn. The feeding system recommended by theExtension Service i! followed.
Two new poultry houses have been built according to plans'furnished by the agent. Thirty thousand chicks were shipped intothe County during the spring season. The death rate of chichs forthe first three weeks has been greatly reduced from seven to ten
per cent as cpmpared with ten to twelve per cent some years ago.
There are 5200 laying hens in commercial flocks. Of these2750 have be�n treated for intestinal worms by the use of worm
capsules and seven flocks have been treated for the extermination of external parasites.
Feeds have been comparatively low in price an advantage to
poultry keepers. "Eggs have sold regularly at $6.00 to �7.50 a
case. lJet on eGgs to farmers has been 20 cents a dozen duringmost of the season.
Dairy. (Project 3, Dairy Idanagement).
Fourteen method demonstration meetings have been held. Six
herds have been tested for abortion by the agglutinAtion method.
Two reactors were found. Dairymen have followed the practiceof isolatina abortion reactors with a result that the disease
has not spr�ad but has been eradicated from three herds.
Six cases of milk fever have been successfully treated.
The feeding of bone meal has been I!racticed by one dairy man,
apparently with good-results. At any rate there have been fe�ercases of milk fever. Considerable improvement hus been made �n
methods of feedinG dairy cows. ]'our pure �red d�iry bulls haverr
been secured for as many dairy herds and ln addltion an exchnnue
o'f bulls has been effected.
The market for fluid mille has been steady dU:ing the",year,tho the supply has beeu at times greuter than the o.em�nd: rriceshave averaged 5 ¢ a Quart lower than standardUftormal tlme� from
the retail standpoint. Usually milk hus sold ut 15 to 18 cents
retail, this year the price lias been 10 to 12 cents.
12. Annuai Report. Eavajo County, lITizona. 1931.
Snowflake, Arizona. IJovember 30,Other Livestock.
1931.
.
The agent is responsible for having 480 head of calves1n range- herds vaccinated to prevent blackleg. One re�isteredHereford bull has been secured for Ellsworth & Sons. F�urMorgan stallions have been sold to the Indian Service at CrownPoint.These young stallions are of the get of Melvin the �gaxGovernment stallion at Snowflake. Some very good saddle horsesare being produced. Fifty head 01' pure bred Hereford bulls havebeen sold out of the County. There are in the County five breeders of registered ilerefords.
Two Government sta]::i�ons are kept in tIle County, one byJames :r,�. Flake 'the other by 1j'im.R.Bourdon .Of their get there are
thirty fine colts this season.
InCident to activities of the agent three men are n8is�ngpure bred swine. Two keep Tamworth, the other Chester Whi te. ��li ththese men three boars and seven sows have been placed."
Four stock water tanks have been constructed according tospecifications furnished.
Cattle feeding has been stressed. �he new Taylor FeedingCompany is starting out wi th 220 head of feeders. 'l'hey are on
corn silae;e and alfalfa hay at this time.
Boys'and Girls' 4-H Clubs •
..I.ictivi ties have been conducted in home vegetable gardening,poultry keeping, swine raising, dairy heifer calf growing,andcorn production. One hundred twenty five different boys and tv/elveGirls have been enrolled.
�here were five garden clubs with a membership of 38 boysand :s:e:. ? girls , 36 of' the boys finished their projects submi t
ting records, reports, and stories, and ull the Girls fins$hed •
..Lhese younG people op6rated on 13 acres of ground and made a net
profit of �25G5. One of the garden club members, Dean Palmerof Taylor is the winner of the �anta Fe award to the Club Congress at Chicago November 30 to Decem.ber 5. Last year LloydBrinkerhoff of \/oodruff, was the Santa. Fe winner likewise on a
Garden project.
In the corn project the1!e. are seven clubs with u member
ship of boys, 37 of them all of whom cOLpleted their projects.r_tlhey opera ted on 64 acres of land and raised 683.6 tons of
silaGe corn at a profit of �2560.
There are four poul try clubs wi th 0. n.ember shdp of 17 boysand four girls. 1.1.11 the girls coiup l.c teu the ir -IJro j e cts and 15
of the boys. One boy died. in cTuly und one tloved out of the
County, these are the two recorded not CO.l.Jlp1(; ting.
l3. .Annual Report. Eavajo County, Arizona. 1931.
Snowflake, Arizona, lJoveruber 1931.
Boys'and Girls' 4-H Clubs. Continued.
In the pig project there are five clubs with a membership of34 boys and one girl. The girl completed her work and 33 boyscompleted theirs. There were 47 pigs in the project. They returneda profit or �422.08 to the �lub members.
There are four dairy heifer calf clubs with a meniliership of 28boys alt of whom except one completing projects. Each boy com
pleting has a calf. ,These animals returned a profit of �331.olto their owners.
�uite an interest has been developed in pure bred stock, bothpigs and calves. Eleven members had pure bred Chester White pigs,eight had Tamworth. and one Poland China.
Predatory Animals.
In cooperation with Er. Foster of the Biological survey goodwork has been done in the control of predatory animals. Threetownships of sheep and cattle range has been leept �airly free ofdestructive predatory animals. ].:.A.Candelariaand T.Ortegs are
the Kain cooperators. They report a kill or over a hundred destructive predatory annmaLs ,
14. Annual Report. Havajo County, Arizona, lQ31.
Snowflalre, Arizona, November 1931.
Summary.
Organization,The County Farm Bureau has a membership of 240 men
and women, its purpose is the promotion of agtensionwork in Agriculture and home economics. There areseven local community Farm Bureaus.
Cereals,Yield records of thirty four fields of corn have been
made, ':1abuLa tion of yields of repre sentative fields .
show that Duncan white dent is the. leader in silage production with 26.1 tons per acre followed by 4 X yellowdent wi� a yield of 22.5 tons, Native yellow dent 17.94,Reeds yellow dent 17.7, and lJative white dent 15.53.
D�nging from 1.88 per cent down to no infestation. Onlythree fields carred more than one per cent.
Twelve fields of wheat were inspected and records ma�e.Infestation ranges from .49 % down to no infestation. TheCopper Carbonate method of treating seed wheat is used.
There was no smut in the one field of barley inspected.
Legumes and Forage crops;One demonstrator comes forth with a remarkable record
shoVling the value of legumes as a fertilizing agent.-Underidentical conditions of soil preparation and culture corn
following alfalfa compared with corn following corn forthree years yielded 8 ..3 tons more silage and 10. 8 ��by weight more ears, and carried u better stand by 4140stalks per acre.
Potatoes;The New Zealand method of treating potatoes against
scab and rhiztonia is becoming general. Twelve thousandnine hundred fifty pounds of seed potatoes were treated in
five communities. The resulting yield is smooth fairlydisease free tubers.
Home and Commercial Gardens,The slogan has been-- a keeetable carden on every
farm. This goal has been measurably attained. Stored sup
plies processed and fresg may be found in fair quantityto abundance in nearly every farm home.
11. yield of 113 sacks of commercial onionsB- Sweet
Spanish-- is the record of a Woodruff truck grower.Another Woodruff man see:ured 95 p,allons of syrup from
14 a. Annual Report. �auajo County, Arizona.Snowflake Arizona, l;ovember 1931
1931
Summary, Continued
from one half of one acre of Honey Drip cane.
Fruits;Pruning, orchard heating, and grafting have been
the major activities this season. Orchard heating madepossible the production of fruit where otherwise therewould have been little or no yield. Grafting ¢'bas beendone chiefly to establish desirable varieties o�rruit on unprofitable trees by top-working them.
Beautification of Home Grounds;The selection of ornamental trees and shrubs for city
streets, school grounds, and home grownds has been stressed. Elp.ven hundred fifty evergreen trees have been se
cured for parks,school grounds, and home' �rounds. Mostof the 'trees are small being nut three years old.
Rodents; Insects.We have 229 cooperators in the County who have receiv
ed 2507 quarts of poisoned bait w¥ith which 23120 acres
of crop and pasture land have been treated tn destroyrodents, prairie dogs being the major factor. Follow upwork has been done with 640 quarts of carbon bisulphide.
Cut worms, plant aphis, a�d army worms have beenthe chief insecti pests this season. These have been combatted with poisoned baits and sprays.
Poultry;Thirty thousand chicks were shipped into the County
in the spring. There are 5200 laying hens in con®ercialflocks. Many flocks both home and commercial have beentreated for internal and external paraSites.
Dairy;Six cases of milk fever successfully treated. Blood
test for abortion applied to six herds of dairy cattle.
Other livestock;Fo�·r hundred eighty head of ranee calves vaccinated
to prevent blackleg. Fifty pure bred liereford bulls and four
Morgan stallions smld for stock purposes.
Pu�� bred foundation stock of hogs, Tamworth and
Chester White secured for three farmers.
Boys'and Girls' 4-H Clubs.
Boys enrolled 125, girls 12. Activities i� gardening,poultry keeping,swine production,dairy calf raislng, and
the growing of corn have been conducted. All of the eirlsand the boys except five completed their projects.
