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Dry-Farming in Arizona

Item Type text; Book

Authors McOmie, A. M.; Fillerup, C. R.; Bates, L. L.; Heard, H. C.

Publisher College of Agriculture, University of Arizona (Tucson, AZ)

Download date 09/07/2018 19:08:29

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194879

http://hdl.handle.net/10150/194879

University of Arizona, College of Agriculture

Agricultural Experiment Station

Bulletin 84

A pioneer- home, Gila County, Arizona

Dry-Farming in ArizonaBy A. M. McOMIE

ASSISTED BY C. R. FILLERUP AND L. L. BATES

Edited and Revised byH. C. HEARD

Tucson, Arizona, February 1, 1918

GOVERNING BOARD

(REGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY)

Ex-OfficioHis EXCELLENCY, THE GOVERNOR OF ARIZONA

THE STATE SUPERINTENDENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION

Appointed by the Governor of the State

WILLIAM V. WHITMORE, A.M., M.D ChancellorRUDOLPH RASMESSEN TreasurerWILLIAM J. BRYAN, JR., A.B SecretaryWILLIAM SCARLETT, A.B., B.D RegentJOHN P. ORME RegentE. TITCOMB RegentJOHN W. FLINN RegentCAPTAIN J. P. HODGSON RegentRUFUS B. VON KLEINS MID, A.M., Sc.D President of the University

Agricultural Staff

ROBERT H. FORBES, Ph.D Dean and DirectorJOHN J. THORNBER, A.M BotanistALBERT E. VINSON, Ph.D .. . . BiochemistCLIFFORD N. CATLIN, A.M Assistant ChemistGEORGE E. P. SMITH, C.E. . . .. .Irrigation EngineerFRANK C. KELTON, M.S. . . Assistant EngineerGEORGE F. FREEMAN, S.D. . . Plant BreederWALKER E. BRYAN, M.S Assistant Plant BreederSTEPHEN B. JOHNSON, B.S Assistant HorticulturistRICHARD H. WILLIAMS, Ph.D .. .. . . ^ Animal HusbandmanWALTER S. CUNNINGHAM, B.S. . . . ...Assistant Animal HusbandmanHERMAN C. HEARD, B.S. Agr Assistant AgronomistCHARLES R. ADAMSON, B.S. Agr., Instructor, Poultry HusbandryAUSTIN W. MORRILL, Ph.D ..Consulting EntomologistCHARLES T. VORHIES, Ph.D ZoologistEsTEs P. TAYLOR, B.S. Agr Director Extension ServiceGEORGE W. BARNES, B.S. Agr Livestock Specialist, Extension ServiceLELAND S. PARKE, B.S State Leader Boys* and Girls' ClubsAGNES A. HUNT Assistant State Leader Boys' and Girls' ClubsMARY PRITNER LOCKWOOD, B.S State Leader Home Demonstration AgentsIMOGENE NEELY County Home Demonstration Agent, Maricopa CountyHAZEL ZIMMERMAN County Home Demonstration Agent, Southeast CountiesARTHUR L. PASCHALL, B.S. Agr County Agent, Cochise CountyCHARLES R. FILLERUP, D.B County Agent, Navajo-Apache CountiesALANDO B. BALLANTYNE, B.S County Agent, Graham-Greenlee CountiesW. A. BARR, B.S County Agent, Maricopa CountyW. A. BAILEY, B.S .. County Agent, Yuma CountyDELoRE NICHOLS, B.S County Agent, Coconino CountyHESTER L. HUNTER .Secretary Extension ServiceFRANCES M. WELLS Secretary Agricultural Experiment Station

The Experiment Station offices and laboratories are located in the UniversityBuildings at Tucson. The new Experiment Station Farm is situated one milewest of Mesa, Arizona. The date palm orchards are three miles south of Tempe(co-operative U, S. D. A.), and one mile southwest of Yuma, Arizona, respec-tively. The experimental dry-farms are near Cochise and Prescott, Arizona.

Visitors are cordially invited, and correspondence receives careful attention.The Bulletins, Timely Hints, and Reports of this Station will be sent free to

all who apply. Kindly notify us of errors or changes in address, and send in thenames of persons who may find our publications useful.

Address, THE EXPERIMENT STATION,Tucson. Arizona,

PREFACE

Since the rainy season of 1905, when accidental plantings ofbarley by teamsters feeding their animals by the roadside attractedthe attention of land-hungry settlers, a persistent and increasinglyingenious effort has been made to discover methods of utilizing oursemi-arid lands for farming purposes. In the southern part of theState at the altitudes of the great valleys it is fairly well determinedthat the ordinary rainfall should be supplemented by stored orpumped irrigating waters, used at critical times to start or save acrop. Subsequent work in the northern part of the State at some-what higher average altitudes indicates that it is possible, with goodmanagement and skillful handling, to produce a fairly reliable out-put of dry-farmed forages without the help of irrigating water.

In the southern part of the State the crops apparently bestadapted to altitudes of 4000 feet with a long growing season, includeKafir, Club-top sorghum, milo, and tepary beans. In the northernpart of the State, under less stringent conditions, the crops thatmay be grown include not only Kafir, Club-top sorghum, milo, andtepary beans, but also various Indian corns such as Papago sweetcorn, White Ilopi corn and other quick growing, drought resistantvarieties. Sudan grass for hay, potatoes and several varieties ofbeans, and even orchard fruits, have been found feasible under theseconditions.

But of equal importance with the production of these forageshas been their preservation as silage, in which form but a small per-centage of nutritive value is lost as compared with the very greatloss in nutritive value incidental to the common practice of cuttingand shocking such forages. It has been found possible at the Pres-cott Dry-farm to produce from 3 to over 20 tons of silage per acregrown on an average rainfall of 13.4 inches for the past six years.This silage is used to great advantage in connection with live stockof all kinds, particularly range cattle which are subject from yearto year to a period of shortage during which an average of two pet-cent or more die, the remainder coming through in very poor condi-tion for the next season's operations. Experiments with silage atthe Prescott Dry-farm last year, which are being repeated on a

larger scale this year, Indicate the profitableness of this applicationof the results of dry-farming operations. A most desirable coopera-tion therefore may be established between the dry-farmer on theone hand and the range stockman on the other. The silo in fad, prop-erly developed, is the range stockman's salvation if he will but utilize itto the best advantage. Silos should be recognized as necessary insur-ance f( >r the range stockman's business.

This publication is a digest of the results of several years oidry-farming experiments in different parts of the State and relatesto methods of culture, crops to grow, feeding of live stock, preserva-tion of crops as silage, and cooperative management between dry-farming and range stock interests. Along these lines of develop-ment we believe that large areas of semi-arid lands within the Statemay be developed to advantage in cooperation with range industries.

K. II . FORHKS,Director.

CONTENTS

PAGEPrefaceGeology and Soils 4Q9

Colorado Plateaus Province. .490Soils 500Water supply 500

Arizona Highlands Region 502Climatology 503

Temperature 503Atmospheric movements 504

Principal dry-farming regions 514Little Colorado drainage area 514Valleys of Western Colorado Plateaus Province and Northern Arizona

Highland Regions 518Lonesome and Little Chino Valleys 518Big Chino Valley 521Aubrey Basin .521Hualpai Valley 522Big Sandy Valley 522Detrital and Sacramento Valleys 523

Valleys north of the Grand Canyon 523Pipe Springs Valley 523Short Creek Basin 525Antelope Valley 525Hurricane Valley 525Houserock Valley 525Kaibab Forest Reserve 526

Valleys of Southeastern Arizona 526Indian Agriculture in Arizona 530

Tribes and their characteristics 530The Piman family 530The Yuman family 535The Athabascan family.. 535

Home life of the Indians 537Farming by early white settlers 537Experimental work in dry-farming 540

Snowflake Dry-farm 540Beans L 542Com 547Potatoes 553Small grains 557Sorghums 560Miscellaneous crops 564Floodwater, summer fallow, and continuous cropping 566Moisture storage 570

Prescott Dry-farm 570Alfalfa 571Beans 574Corn 578Fruit 583Potatoes 585Small grains 590Sorghums , 596Miscellaneous crops 604Cultural practices for dry-farms 605Silos and ensilage 607

Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm 608

PAGEAlfalfa 610Beans 610Corn 615Potatoes 623Small grains 624Summary of Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm data 641Sorghums . . . 628Miscellaneous crops *. 638

ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGEFig. 1. Reid's Yello\\ Dent corn, Prescott !>»•> f i r m . . . . FrontispieceFig. 2. Scene in the Petrified Forest, Northern Arizona 501Fig. 3. Scene in the Petrified Fores»t, Northern Arizona 501Fig. 4. Amount and distribution of precipitation 510Fig. 5. Amount and distribution of precipitation 511Fig. 6. Amount and distribution of precipitation 512Fig. 7. Amount and distribution of precipitation 513Fig. 8. Ranch in open park in Northern Arizona forest 515Fig. 9. San Simon Wash near Solomon ville, Ari/ona 528Fig. 10. Papago rloodwater ditch, Pima Count}, Arizona 531Fig. 11, Papago well, showing method of raising water 531Fig. 12, Chemuc\ I Indian licit! subject to annual inundation .534Fi«:. 13. Yuma Indian field of corn and beans 534Fig. 14. Apache village and farms, Northern Arizona 536Ing. 15. Wash on the Snowflake Dry-farm, showing uniformity of soil 541Fig. 16. Dent corn and beans, Snowflake Dry-farm 544Fio. 17. Corn, Snowflake Dry-farm, 1911 548Fi«. 18. White Dent corn, Snowflake Dry-farm, August 17, 1912 549Fig. 19. Corn, Snowflake Dry-farm, June 22, 1915 549Fig. 20, Potatoes and oats, Flagstaff, Arizona 555Fig, 21. Potatoes and corn. Flagstaff. Arizona 555Fig. 22. Turkey Red wheat, Snowflake Dry-farm 558Fig. 23. Winter wheat, Snowflake Dry-farm 558Fig. 24. Spring wheat and oats, Snowflake Dry-farm 559Fig. 25. Spring planted oats, Snowflake Dry-farm 559Fig. 26, Three-year-old dry-farm orchard, Pinedalc, Ari/ona .567Fig. 27. Beans, Prescott Dry-farm 572Fig 28. Papago Sweet corn" Prescott Dry-farm , 576Fig. 29. Potatoes damaged by potato stem borer, Prescott Dry-farm 585Fig. 30 California Club wheat and Koffoid, Prescott Dry-farm 583Fig. 31. Marquis wheat and winter killed barley, Prescott Dry-farm 5^8Fig. 32. Winter rye, Prescott Dry-farm 596Fig. 33. Club-top on bottom land, Prescott Dry-farm ,... .597Fig. 34 Sumac on bottom land, Prescott Dry-farm., 599Fig. 35. Feterita on bottom land, Prescott Dry-farm 599Fig. 36 Dwarf milo, Sudan grass, and Sumac on bottom land, Prescott

Dry-farm .601Fig, 37. Broom corn, Prescott Dry-farm , 603Fig. 3S. Dry-farmed milo, melons,*and beans, near Cochise, Arizona 612Fig. 39 Bean harvester in use on Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm 614Fig. 40 Dwarf milo, grown near Cochise, Arizona. ,. .629Fig. 41. Shallu, grown near Cochise, Arizona , .629Fig. 42. Feterita, Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm , .......632Fig. 43. Club-top, Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm. .632Fig. 44. Dry-farmed Kafir, planted thinly , .636Fig. 45. Dry-farmed Kafir, planted too thickly 636Fig. 46. Dry-farmed late cowpeas, grown near Cochise, Arizona 641

Dry-Farming in Arizona

By A.M. McOmieAssisted bv C R PILLERUP and L I BATHS

Edited and Revised by H C HEARD

GEOLOGY AND SOILS

Arizona is divided into two main physiographic provinces, theColorado Plateaus and the Arizona Highlands; but some phy-siographers recognize a third, including the southwestern part ofthe State that lies within the Colorado Desert Because of the verylimited rainfall in this last division it cannot be considered a regionwith dry-farming possibilities; consequently, only the first twoprovinces are discussed in this bulletin.

THE COLORADO PLATEAUS PROVINCE

The Colorado Plateaus Province includes northeastern Ari-zona, southeastern Utah, southwestern Colorado, and northwest-ern New Mexico. In Arizona its southwestern border runs fairlystraight from the northwest corner of the State to a point slightlysouth of the middle of the eastern boundary. The Colorado Pla-teaus Province consists, mainly, of a series of table lands 5000 ormore feet above sea level with occasional intrusions and extrusionsof igneous rocks, particularly in the southeast portion.

In the geologic history of the region three erosion cycles areevident. The first, a monoclinal folding and faulting, gave a pro-nounced relief to the region. This deformation formed a series ofplateaus, descending from west to east, which were subsequentlyeroded to a peneplain. The second period of faulting left featureswhich are still prominent and reversed the general slope, causingthe descent of the series of plateaus from east to west. In the sub-sequent erosion there was no great vertical reduction of surface, thechief result being the denudation and horizontal stripping back ofsurface strata. In this period a widespread system of shallow butmature valleys was formed. In the third erosion cycle deep can-yons and gorges were formed, the most interesting example being

500 BULLETIN 84

the Grand Canyon of the Colorado. The peculiar erosion at thistime was probably due to both a gradual uplift in the vicinity of thepresent canyons and downfaulting of neighboring regions. Threedistinct periods of volcanic activity are evident, the last being insome cases very recent

SOILS

Many strata outcrop in belts on the surface of the plateaus,sandstones and shaly sandstones covering the largest area. Soilsresulting from the weathering of these strata as a rule are rich iniron, poor in clay, and infertile. In some places sandstone strataare covered with a thin veneer of limestone, and the resulting soilis somewhat more productive. Strata of lava cover the next largestarea. Soil formed by decomposition of this material is usually highin fertility, but in the Colorado Plateaus region most of the lavahas appeared too recently to allow of much more than mechanicaldisintegration. Limestone strata outcrop on quite extensive areas,the principal one being the Kaibab Plateau, most of which lies northof the Grand Canyon. Well weathered limestone soils are very fer-tile. A considerable area of alluvial soils is found. The abruptslope of the Colorado Plateaus Province, averaging about 200 feetper mile, assists rapid erosion by the young rivers of the region.The finer and more disintegrated portions of exposed strata aretransported great distances, separated by gravity, and depositedin the broader valley bottoms. Soils thus formed, composed of thefinest materials of various strata, are very fertile. No general state-ments apply to mountainous parts of the district since they areregions of complex and profound faulting.

WATER SUPPLY

The general arrangement of strata in the plateaus is unfavor-able for economic development of groundwater. In places wellshave been drilled to a depth of more than 1500 feet without success.However, water is occasionally found near the surface of the pla-teaus, but only in localized spots, and in many cases it is so chargedwith minerals that it is unfit for domestic use. Water may usuallybe developed at a slight depth along the main courses of the valleys,but it is often strongly alkaline. In some places, notably near St.Joseph, artesian water has been found at depths of 200 to 800 feet.

GF,OLO;',V A N D SOILS 501

'.g. 2.—Scene in the Petrified Forest. Northern Arizona.

Fig. 3.—Scene in the Petrified Forest. Northern Arizona.

502 BULLETIN 84

About an inch of precipitation is the normal increase for every500 feet of added altitude on the border of the plateaus, and for every250 feet within the border of the plateaus. However, the abrupt-ness of the southwestern and western boundaries of the regioncauses precipitation of moisture from passing winds to such an ex-tent that the lower elevations in plateaus be}ond are arid or semi-arid. In general, only the highest plateaus have an annual precipi-tation of more than twenty-two to twenty-four inches. There aredistinct summer and winter precipitation maxima and great differ-ences between temperatures at the various elevations.

ARIZONA HIGHLANDS REGION

The Arizona Highlands Region, a continuation of the GreatBasin, is a mountainous belt from 70 to 150 miles wide, crossing theState from northwest to southeast. It is characterized by shortand nearly parallel mountain ranges of monoclinal structure andrarely above 8000 feet elevation. For the most part these moun-tains are abrupt and denuded of soil except in timbered places.Alluvial soils of many of the valleys and basins that occur through-out the area are valuable for agricultural purposes.

Throughout the Arizona Highlands Region precipitation mostlyfalls in local torrential showers, and the resultant water erosion isexcessive and important. The surface of the region exposes manystrata, intrusions, and extrusions, and there are few large uniformareas of interest to dry-farmers, except in the southeastern partwhere extensive fertile limestone soils are found. The localized pre-cipitation varies greatly from year to year, and over no large areais the average more than sixteen to seventeen inches. Tempera-tures are generally higher and precipitation lower than in the Colo-rado Plateaus Province. The entire Arizona Highlands Regionmust be classed as arid and semi-arid.

CLIMATOLOGY

It is essential that the climatic conditions of Arizona be under-stood by farmers, since they are not duplicated m any other partof the United States, excepting in adjacent regions of borderingstates, and are subject to extreme variations in relatively shortdistances.

TEMPERATURE

Arizona, in common with all of the region between the RockyMountains and the coast ranges, is subject to great variations be-tween minimum and maximum temperatures, the former being rela-tively low at a given altitude and latitude, and the latter relativelyhigh. The effects of extreme temperatures, however, are not sopronounced as in a humid climate. The wide variation in tempera-tures of night and day has a decided effect upon plants. Certainsorghums, for example, which will mature in a given number ofdays in a region having approximately the same maximum tempera-ture as Snowflake fail to ripen at the latter place in a considerablylonger time, though they may not be at all injured by frost. Nighttemperatures of the frost-free season in the higher altitudes ofArizona, while not low enough to directly injure tender plants, aretoo low to permit proper development throughout a large part ofthe growing period. Extremely wide local variations are noted: forexample, in the Fort Valley Fofest Experiment Station, west ofFlagstaff and directly at the base of San Francisco Mountain, lowertemperatures occur later in spring and earlier in autumn than onethousand feet higher on the mountain side, and the same frost tem-perature at each of the two points shows less effect on vegetation onthe mountain slope than in the valley bottom. Likewise, in placesat the base of Cinder Mountain, east of Flagstaff, temperatures atthe same elevation vary decidedly. This inconsistency is due to lo-calized atmospheric movement controlled by the abrupt topography.

Furthermore, there is a greater variation between average andextreme dates of the last killing frost in spring and the first inautumn than is ordinarily expected. See Table I. For this reasonit is more or less risky to plant crops which demand all of the ex-pected frost-free season for their maturity.

504 84

TABIh, I. RECORDS Or LAST KILLING FROSTS IN SPRING \ND FIRST KILLING

FROSTS IN AUTUMN

Station

Prescott Diy-farmHolbrookPrescottSt John'sSnowfkkeFlagstaffMesaTempe

Lengthof

recordi Yeats' 6

8884

11168

Elevation

f e e t50085069532056505600670012441165

Averagein

autumn

Oct 20sî" 18« 2-4

Dec 1Nov 24

Averagein

spring

Mav 1"" 19" 21" 15

June 87

Feb 27" 26

1 First Last1 m ini autumn spring

Sept 22171225

52^

Oct 21" 23

May 26June 4

" 5May 25June 18

" 16Apr 2Mar 3

Phoenix Experiment . ,Station 17 1108 Dec 6 " 16 \ov Q l " 31

Phoenix IS ! 1108 Nov 27 Mar 8 Oct 22 Apr 19Peona 10 1150 Dec 14 Feb 2\ Xov 9 Mar 29Buckeye 16 | 980 Nov 23 Mar 6 Oct 21 Apr 6

ATMOSPHERIC MOVEMENTS

As a whole, Arizona has low wind movements, but in certainlocalities the topography is responsible for a number of windy days,especially in spring. The Little Colorado drainage area, a funnel-shaped basin 200 miles long and 150 miles wide at the lower end,backed at the source by the White Mountains, and having a gentleslope from side to side, is subject to high atmospheric movementsin certain seasons.

In localized areas topographic features make probable frequentrecurrence of destructive blast winds. Two high winds, one ac-cording to reports a tornado, passed over a portion of Andersonmesa and the upper Willow Valley, the paths being about fifteenmiles apart. Three slightly destructive blast winds have occurredat Tucson in as many years, but there are no reasons to supposethat a well defined tornado path exists in any part of the State.

The Sulphur Spring Valley, heading at the base of GrahamMountain, terminates at a much lower elevation some one hundredmiles south in Mexico, and has topographic features favorable toconsiderable atmospheric movements. A low range of hills cross-ing the Valley near Pearce checks the lower currents somewhat;but, in general, the entire region may be characterised as havingfairly high wind movements, especially in spring.

In southwestern Arizona the low hot areas which are adjacentto cooler elevated regions are subject to sudden and rapid wind

CUMATOIyOGY 505

movements, especially at changes of season in spring and fall.These winds often carry considerable dust and are unpleasant butnot destructive. Table II records the average hourly wind move-ment as observed for a number of years at various representativelocalities of the State.

II. AVERAGE WIND MOVEMENT, MII,£S P£R HOUR

Station

Flagstaff .....Fort GrantFort ApachePhoenixTucsonYuma . . .

o

o cd

rri ^

£|

5129

188

35

coJ

606450364763

K

d

»QCDfe

707361425768

otn

1

907468475670

c3908082485972

>»1

1007579505668

o3

1-3

907477485561

3

7063604751

1ho

505Q544646

67 |61

!o

02

707058434651

otsO

706861415651

t,,0

11

606754385257

,,Q

1

<Ua706 SS I364962

"5c

5a746063445262

In general there are two precipitation maxima, one in midwin-ter and one in midsummer. Winter precipitation, which is of great-er importance m northeastern Arizona, occurs either as snow or agentle downfall of rain and penetrates quite completely into theground. Individual showers usually cover a considerable territorySummer rains, of primary importance in southern Arizona, occuras local torrential showers often lasting but a few minutes andrarely continuing more than a couple of hours. It is difficult tohave these rains penetrate well, since one-half inch of precipitation,occurring in a few minutes, is apt to start a considerable surfacerunoff, and occasionally more than 75 per cent of the heaviershowers is lost in this way. The mean annual precipitation varieswith the altitude; but, owing to local topographic features, thisvariation is usually not m direct proportion. For example, the meanannual precipitation at Tucson, altitude 2425 feet, is slightly greaterthan at Snowflake, altitude 5644 feet. This is due to the somewhatabrupt southwestern border of the Colorado Plateaus Region Thesudden increase of altitudes causes precipitation of a great deal ofmoisture from southwestern winds, and it is not until these windsreach a considerably higher altitude that much further precipitationtakes place. A second example is that of the Prescott Dry-farmwhich receives fully two inches less moisture each year than Pres-cott, about seven miles south, while Jerome Junction, about tenmiles north, receives still less. The difference in altitude between

506 BULLETIN 84

these places is insufficient to account for the variation in precipita-tion. Table III records the rainfall in these three localities in thesummer of 1912.

TABLE III. LOCAL VARIATION OF RAINFALL, 1912

Date

July 13" 14" 1541 164 1 17 . . . ." 18i t 19" 20' 214 24.• 25• 26' 27< 28" 29" 30" 31

Total

Aug 121314192223

" 244 < 25

1 261 27

2 8 . . .k 30 . .< 31

Total

Sept 30

Oct 1 ." 2 . .

3 . . .45

' 61 10 .1 27..' 28' 29

Total

rVand Total

PrescottElevation 5320 ft.

Inches

.16

.98

.16

.75

.20

.05

.02

.23

.851.93.18.11.22.1224

6.20

02.26

LOO

05.04

.08

.27

37•^2.09

.30

13.3103.92

1.8801OS86

4,22

12.81

Prescott Dry-farmElevation 5008 ft.

Inchct.56

.02

.112.07.43.15.02

.30

.60

.95

.40

".60.49

6.70

.05

.11

.05

,35

"62

.58

2617

2075

61

1

1 99

9.27

Jerome JunctionElevation 4650 ft.

3.66

.07

.10

.02

02.25.07

17Ii2

,72

.01

21

247506

! 0127

! 1.54

5,93

CLIMATOLOGY 507

A third interesting example of localized precipitation is foundin the Sulphur Spring Valley. McNeal, having an altitude of 4150feet, receives a mean annual precipitation of 15.70 inches; Cochise,altitude 4219 feet, receives 11.41 inches; and Willcox, about thesame elevation as McNeal, receives only 10.67 inches. Table IVrecords mean monthly precipitation, and for convenience in studyis grouped into four districts as follows: (1) The Little ColoradoDrainage Basin; (2) Other localities above 4000 feet elevation; (3)Localities between 2000 and 4000 feet; (4) Localities below 2000feet.

While the mean annual precipitation is indicative, the distribu-tion of rainfall is of primary importance. For illustration, indi-vidual showers of one-quarter or one-third inch, occurring at inter-vals of two or three days have no real value, and often necessitateconsiderable work to preserve a mulch. An inch of precipitationfalling thus intermittently may be detrimental; whereas, if theshowers had come very close together, or if an inch of precipitationhad fallen in one or two showers, the effect would have been bene-•ficiaL While an inch of precipitation falling in one hour moistensthe soil to some extent, it is largely lost by surface runoff; whereasan inch of precipitation falling over a longer time more completelyenters the ground.

The amount of moisture lost by surface runoff is great, often"being sufficient to close all traffic for several hours at a time evenon main roads. Since so much value is lost in this manner one ofthe problems of successful farming is proper utilization of floods.In this Arizona Indians are masters. There are thousands of acreswithin the State which may be irrigated occasionally by these floods.Figures 4, 5, 6, and 7 graphically illustrate the amount and distribu-tion of precipitation at representative Arizona localities.

CLIMATOLOGY 511

CANY- ON

6

3

P/ZJZ3COTT

\ i l i

P&zjcorr DRY FA&M

\ i T

I

1 1

Fig. 5.—Amount and distribution of precipitation at representativeArizona locations.

PRINCIPAL DRY-FARMING REGIONS

LITTLE COLORADO DRAINAGE AREA

While soils of the Little Colorado drainage area are quitevariable, they may be divided roughly into four classes: river bot-tom, first mesa, variegated intermediate, and timber soils. A com-paratively large area of fairly uniform soil of each type may befound.

The river bottom soils are deep and very fertile, but often con-tain excessive amounts of alkali which in some cases render themvalueless. Usually river bottom soils occur as clay loams withoccasional patches of clay or adobe soils. The fine texture and lackof humus causes them to crust and bake during dry weather, andoften they are hard to till except when they contain the optimumpercentage of moisture. Being deep and fine, soils of this type re-tain moisture very well, though water penetration is not rapid.

Soils of lighter texture are found in extensive areas, notably atWoodruff, Winslow, and St. Johns, and the broad mesas north ofHolbrook and Adamana. These lands, classed as first niesa soils,are easier to till because of their lighter texture, and are morereadily permeable but less retentive of moisture. No alkali is foundin the first mesa soils, which have resulted from the decompositionof red and brown sandstones. The fertility is not so high as thatof the bottom lands.

The variegated intermediate soils occur at the mouths of num-erous draws and arroyos, and in little valleys along small creeksbetween low rolling hills. Because of their diverse origin varie-gated intermediate soils are not uniform and usually occur in smalltracts, notably areas of silt soil of considerable depth in the DryLake region, at Cottonwood Wash, and on Silver Creek, all in thevicinity of Snowflake. Soils on the higher elevations in this vicinityare too shallow for dry-farming, usually being from one to four feetdeep. Thus, the large, gradually rising region extending southwardfrom Holbrook to Shumway is characterized by a shallow soil, onlythe wider valleys containing soil adapted to dry-farming. Exceptfor grayish brown silt soils near Snowflake the prevailing color isreddish brown as a result of decomposition of sandstone capped bya thin veneer of limestone. Mechanical and chemical analyses of

PRINCIPAL DRY-FARMING REGIONS 515

soil samples from the Snowflake Dry-farm, which are typical of thevalley soils of this region, are reported in Tables V and VI. Themechanical analysis shows a high percentage of clay and silt in thefourth foot, and a high percentage of very fine sand and low per-centage of clay in the eighth foot. The soil is a fine sandy loamcontaining sufficient clay to insure lasting fertility, and enough siltand very fine sand to prevent baking. Soil of this type is easilytilled and allows the economical use of moisture. The chemicalanalysis indicates a fairly rich soil, free from injurious amounts ofalkali.

Fig". 8.—Ranch in open park in Northern Arizona forest, 6500 feet elevation.

516 BULLETIN 84

TABLE V. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL FROM SMITH FIELD,

SNOWFLAKB DRY-FARM

Sample

1st foot2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th

Average . .

Finegravel

0.4.2.0.0.0.5.0.2

.16

Coarsesand

432.61.1.4.5

2.61.1

7

1.66

Mediumsand

4l3.51.3.6.6

2.71.61.1

2.02

Finesand

27°729.415.313017.721825.024.0

2173

Veryfinesand

23*925.127.623031022.932038.6

2801

Silt

21.622334.440.632.428.322.920.1

27.82

Clay

17̂ 216.720.422.417.621.017.415.0

1846

Nate' The separates referred to in the mechanical analyses Riven in thisbulletin are those of the IT. S. IX A. Bureau of Soils. Fine gravel, diameter 2 to 1mJhmeters; coarse sand, 1 to 0 5 mm.; medium sand, 0.5 to 0.25 mm.; fine sand, 0.25to 0.10 mm.; very fine sand, 0.10 to 005 mm.; silt, 005 to .005 mm.; clay, lessthan 0.005 mm.

TABLE: vi. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF soil, FROM SMITH FIELH,SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM

Compositesample

1st 4 feet2nd 4 feet

Av# 8 feet

Acidin-

soluble

%8147082.959

83.714

Pot-ash

(K2O)

%517,834

.675

Phos-phoricacid

(P205)

%089.075

.082

"Lima(CaO)

%2.Q873533

3.260

Nitro-gen(N)

<%.037055

046

Humus

%079540

.310

1

Solu-ble

solididried?

at110* C.

%.123.128

128

Alkal

Chlo-rides

aiNaCi

<y0.004.004

,004

iCalcium

and mag-nesium

sulphatesand chlo-rides asCaSO*

%.033.065

049

Note' The chemical analyses of dry-farming- soils reported in this bulletinrefer to that portion of the soil soluble in hydrochloric acid. 1.135 sp. ST., accordingto the methods of the Association of Official Agricultural Chemists. The alkali de-terminations refer to the salts soluble in water when 50 grams of soil are digestedwith 1000 C.C. water for ten hours on the water bath. Arizona Agricultural Experi-ment Station Twenty-fourth Annual Report, p. 275.

Extensive areas of agricultural lands are found in open parksand on the larger flats of the timber belt. These soils are largelydecomposed lava of very fine texture in the bottoms, and coarseand gravelly on the slopes.

The best agricultural soils within the timber belt are loams ofmedium texture, though coarser types produce well under the rela-tively heavy precipitation of the region* These soils are fairly per-meable and retain water very well with reasonable cultivation. The


bottom lands are of fine texture and lack organic matter. Waterpenetration is slow but moisture is retained efficiently. Adobe soilsalso are found in the bottoms. They are low in humus and nitro-gen, baked in the dry season, and are difficult to till. They are rela-tively fertile, however, and if plowed in the fall and exposed tofreezing and thawing in winter are handled with less difficulty. Themost interesting lava soils within the timber belt are found nearLakeside, east and north of Showlow Creek and around Flagstaff,but soils little affected by lava occur at Scott's Flat, the mesa south-west of Showlow, the Linden vicinity, and the Pinedale region.Table VII records a chemical analysis of soil from a farm nearLinden, which had been under cultivation for two years. It showsless nitrogen and humus than the lava soils around Flagstaff butcontains nearly three times as much lime.

TABLE VII. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL FROM NEAR LINDEN

Compositesample


Avs: 8 feet /

Acidin-

soluble

<%84.98384.100

Pot-ash

(KaO)

%.402.500

Phos-phoricacid

(P/>5)

%

.097

.105

84.541 451 | .101

Lime(CaO)

%3.2583.233

Nitro-gen(N)

%.052.028

3.245 .040

Humus

%.700.750

Alkali

Solu-ble Chlo-

sohch ridesdried! as

at NaCl110° C.

% 1 %.128 1 .004.140 .012

.725 .134 | 008

CaandMgrsulphatesand chlo-rides as

CaSO4

%.000.022

on

Another type, a scoriaceous soil, occurs on slopes of volcaniccones and ridges. It is quite coarse and porous, absorbing waterreadily and giving it up easily. This soil is composed of a mixtureof slag and pumice-like detritus, and is red, gray, or yellow in color.The cinder soil east of San Francisco Mountain is worthless foragricultural purposes and is barren, save for a few quick growingannuals which utilize moisture from summer rains.

In Tables VIII and IX are recorded mechanical and chemicalanalyses of a typical lava soil sample, taken from a field at Cliffs inwhich grain and potatoes had been grown for five or six years.The lava soil contains more coarse material than the soil fromPipe Springs Valley or from Linden, but the larger amount of clayand silt insures lasting fertility. The percentages of nitrogen andhumus are relatively high, and there is a medium phosphoric acidcontent.

518 BULLLIIN 84

TABL3 VIII. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF TYPICAL LAVA SOIL FROM CLIFFS

Sample

1st foot . .2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th

Average . .

Finegravel

3°012501.642161938

2.79

Coarsesand

9498

10.131595.27.6

10.3

7.67

Mediumsand

63405.01.42930486.1

4.19

1 VeryFine finesand sand

15°0 12 3°144 140152 12369 15994 115

119 167170 175208 17.9

13.82 14.76

Silt

408419390523477476409305

42.59

Clay

13.214513.218818214210.611.0

14.21

TABLE) IX. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF TYPICAL L WA SOILS FROM CLIFFS

Compositesample


Avg, 8 feet

Acidin-

soluble

%8011270596

75354

Pot-ash

(K20)

%413892

.652

Phos-phoricacid

(P205)

%083075

079

Lima(CaO)

%962

1265

1113

Nitro-gen(N)

%061108

.084

Humus

%1.160.560

.860

Solu-ble

solid idrie3

at110° C

%

Alkali

Chlo-ridesai

NaCl

%

CaandMg1

sulphatesand chlo-rides a&>

CaSOi

%

*

VALLEYS OF WESTERN COLORADO PLATEAUS PROV-INCE AND NORTHERN ARIZONA HIGHLANDS

REGION

The area described below extends westward from the ArizonaDivide, which diverts drainage from the Little Colorado on theeast and north to the Colorado River, and southward from Fre-donia to Wickenburg. There are wide variations in soil, tempera-ture, and precipitation. The larger valleys of importance includeLonesome, Big Chino, Little Chino, Aubrey, Hualpai, Detrital,Sacramento, and Big Sandy. The smaller interesting valleys areWilliamson, Skull, Kirkland, Peeples, and McMullen, which areoccupied mostly by cattle ranches.

LONESOME AND LITTLE CHINO VALLEYS

Lonesome and Little Chino Valleys, having the same topo-graphic soil and climatic conditions, and merging into one another,

PRINCIPAL, DRY-FARMING REGIONS 519

should be considered together. Probably 150,000 acres suitable fordry-farming are included. Granite Mountains on the south andwest, and the Black Hills on the east and north almost completelyenclose these valleys. The two principal drainage streams, Graniteand Willow Creeks, flow north and east, and in the rolling to-pography of the valleys numerous floodwater courses have beenformed. All drainage courses converge near Del Rio, forming oneof the main tributaries of the Verde River.

Rapid water erosion takes place in the flood season, and me-andering of the larger streams causes depositions of great quantitiesof sediment on either side of the floor of the valleys forming a veryfertile silt soil. A fairly coarse loam is found on the first mesa im-mediately adjacent to the creek bottoms, and a gravelly loam occurson frequent knolls in the valleys, though neither of these loams is asfertile as the silt soil of the bottoms. All three soil types are foundon the Prescott Dry-farm. Tables X and XI give the mechanicaland chemical analyses of the silt soil deposited in limited areasalong the stream courses of the Little Chino and Lonesome Valleys.It contains a large percentage of nitrogen and humus, and is veryfertile. Tables XII and XIII give the mechanical and chemicalanalyses of the intermediate loam on the Prescott Dry-farm. Thesample is typical of the prevailing soil type of the region. The highpercentages of silt and clay classify this soil as a fine loam. It ispermeable and retains moisture quite well. The percentages ofnitrogen and humus are fairly low, though the soil shows relativelyhigh fertility.

TABLE X. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS 01? SOIL FROM BOTTOM LAND, PRKSCOTT

DRY-FARM

Sample

1st foot . ..2nd '3rd ' . .4th '5th ' , .6th * . .

Average . . .

Finegravel

74397.65945

11.2

6.75

Coarsesand

15810414815486

230

14.7

Mediumsand

7̂ 642647,24.18.2

6.28

Pinosand

202147213225171231

19.81

Veryfine

sand

180232205204226144

19.85

Silt

22.931.921.520830,8134

23.5

Clay

801138176

1186.6

8.90

520 84

XI. CHKMICAIy ANALYSIS OF SOIL FROM BOTTOM LAND,, PRESCOTT

DRY-FARM

Compositesample


Avg. 8 feet

Acidin-

soluble

%8082084917

82.868

Pot-ash

(KaO)

%532430

481

Phos-phoricacid

(PjOs)

%190164

.177

Limo(CaO)

%16501320

1.485

Nitro-gen(N)

%085C63

074

Humus

%14001CCO

1200

Solu-ble

solidsdried

at110° C

%019201(0

146

Alkali

Chlo-rides

agNaCl

%012008

010

CaandMg-sulphate*,and chlo-rides as

CaSO*

%041-Oil

! °27

I

TABL3 XII MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF INTCRMXDI VIfr} LO\M, PRtSCOIT

DRY-FARM

Sample

1st foot .2nd "3rd '4th ' ....5th '6th '7th ' ...8th ' . . ,

* Average . . ,

Pinegravel

%4051407650

1122484

5.96

Coarsesand

%647679

15612913832

179

10.66

Mediumsand

9t2028307068521076

4.42

Finesand

%506685

16620713644

180

1167

Veryfinesand

^174126124109116122162150

1353

Silt

%483334351246266264522228

3367

Clay

%169317292174167175206104

2005

TABLE: xm. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF INTERMEDIATE LOAM, PRESCOTTDRY-FVRM

Compositesample


Avg 8 feet

Acidin-

soluble

%8005980863

80461

Pot-ash

(K20)

% *395510

452

Phos-phoricacid

(PÔs)

%.328.209

268

Lima(CaO)

%17601457

1.608

Nitro-gen(N)

%0044

013

028

„

Humus

%600310

455

Solu-ble

solidsdried

at1101* C

%148148

148

Alkal

Chlo-ridesas

NaCl

%012016

.014

i

CaandMgsulphatesand chlo-rides afo

CaSOt

i %k 022044

033

The native vegetation consists of gramas, six weeks' grass, andscrub oak. Water for domestic purposes may be obtained at depthsranging from 40 to SO feet in the center of the valleys, and from 300


to 350 feet at higher elevations. Excellent dam sites are availablewith sufficient drainage areas to allow the irrigation of possibly15,000 or 20,000 acres Precipitation varies from twelve to fifteeninches annually.

BIG CIII NO V

The Big Chino Valley, about seventy miles long and an aver-age of seven miles wide, joins the Little Chino on the north andslopes towards the northwest The soil is a fine sandy loam, largelyof granitic origin, and is somewhat similar to that of the first mesasof Lonesome and Little Chino Valleys

No precipitation records are available, but the average annualrainfall is probably between twelve and fifteen inches Apparently,there is ample underground water near the surface for domestic useand a supplemental irrigation supply. A dam site at the upper endof the Valley, subjacent to a large drainage area, makes irrigationof a considerable acreage feasible

AUBRKY BASIN

Aubrey Basin, forty miles long and an average of ten mileswide, lies between Aubrey Rim on the east, Yampai Cliffs on thewest, the Santa Fe Raihoad on the south, and the Grand Can-yon on the north. Drainage is toward the south with no outlet,and there are no water courses of importance in the Basin. Theelevation in the center of the valley is about 5200 feet. The soil isa fine loam resulting from decomposition of red sandstones and graylimestones In the center of the valley the soil is probably twenty

"feet deep, while near the edges it is only two or three feet deep.The basin is mostly covered with a growth of native grasses,

including grama and galleta, but barren spots are found where thegrasses probably have been killed out by overgrazing. In theseplaces the soil is shifted badly by winds. The average annual pre-cipitation is probably about fifteen inches. Groundwater is far be-low the surface. Along the Santa Fe Railroad a small quantityof water is obtained at a depth of 1200 feet; while a strong flow,which rises to within 1000 feet of the surface, is found at a depth of1600 feet. In the center of the valley a well 680 feet deep furnishesa fairly large quantity of water of excellent quality.

522 BJIXUIN84

HIT U.PM V\LU;Y

Hualpai Valley, approximately sixty miles long and twenty-five miles wide, extends in a north and south direction and lies im-mediately west of Peacock and Music Mountains. Except at thenorth end, it is an undrained basin. Accumulation of floodwater inthe center of the basin foims Red Lake, a big muddy flat exceptduring the few weeks of flood season. The valley floor is approxi-mately 3000 feet above sea level, and is surrounded by abruptmountains on either side. The only stream of importance is Trux-ton Creek \\hich is dry most of the year

The soil is a light loam. "Caliche" appears in places but, ingeneral, the soil depth is satisfactory. In the center of the Valleythere is considerable soil movement by wind. The native vegeta-tion consists of grama and galleta grasses.

At King man, located in the low hills on the west border of theValley, the average annual precipitation for three } ears was 7 65inches, which is insufficient for dry-farming. Underground watermay be obtained only at great depths. A well sunk to a depth of700 feet near the head of the llualpai Wash failed to go through thetop stratum of rock debris. Storage of the water of Truxton Creek,which does not seem feasible, appears to be the only method bywhich Hualpai Valley can be reclaimed for agricultural purposes.

BIG b V X D Y V\W,ICY

Big Sandy Valley lies south of Hualpai Valley beyond Pea-cock Mountains and Hualpai Peak. Aquanous Cliffs and AquariousMountains form the eastern boundary and Aubrey Hills the west-ern. The elevation at Hackberry on the northern border is 3552feet, and the slope southward is quite abrupt. The Valley is drainedby Big Sandy Wash and its tributaries, White Cliff, Trout, Abapuk,Spencer, and Sycamore Creeks and Delude Wash, all of which aredry most of the year. The soil is largely decomposed granite andin many places is shallow. The average annual precipitation isprobably from $ix to eight inches. Little is known concerning thegroundwater supply, but it is probably limited and far below thesurface.


D3TRITAI, AND S\CRAM#NTO VALLEYS

Directly west of Hualpai and Big Sandy Valleys, extendingnorth and south from Williams Canyon to the Colorado River, arethe Detrital and Sacramento Valleys. Because of similarity of geo-graphical and agricultural conditions these Valleys are consideredtogether. They are approximately 130 miles long and from five tofifteen miles wide. About midway occurs a divide which divertsdrainage northward through Detrital Wash into the Colorado Rivernear Stone Ferry, and southward through Sacramento Wash toYucca, thence westward around the end of the Black Mesa into theColorado River near Mellon. North of the Grand Canyon the de-pression continues in the valley of the Virgin River. The centerof Detrital and Sacramento Valleys is probably about 3400 feetabove sea level. The southern half slopes more abruptly than thenorthern, and the altitude at Yucca is approximately 1800 feet.

Precipitation probably averages six to eight inches annually.The underground water is very deep, and wells must be sunk ap-proximately 1000 feet to obtain small amounts for domestic use.The diversion of floods or their storage for supplemental irrigationis feasible in some places. Climatic features of the southern endof Sacramento Valley adapt the region to the growth of sub-tropicalcrops wherever the water problem can be satisfactorily solved,

VALLEYS NORTH OF THE GRAND CANYON

PIPE) SPRINGS VAU,EY

Pipe Springs Valley extends north and south for approximatelythirty miles, has a width of approximately twelve miles, and liesbetween Vermillion Cliffs on the east and a local fault line ofAntelope Valley on the west. The northern and southern bounda-ries are indefinitely determined, the former being a short, abruptrise in Short Creek Valley, and the latter a gradual slope to KanabCreek. The soil of the eastern half of the Valley is mostly de-composed sandstone, while in the center and in the western halfthere is a considerable mixture of disintegrated limestone. Through-out the Valley the soil is deep, uniform, fairly fertile, and easy to till,but is shifted somewhat by winds. The Valley derives its namefrom water piped from springs in the Vermillion Cliffs. There areno data concerning the groundwater supply, but from appearances

524 BULLETIN 84

it is far below the surface. Precipitation at various points averagedabout 14.5 inches in 1914. About 300,000 acres of land in this val-ley are adapted to dry-farming, but reclamation will probably berestricted to the area which can be operated by settlers obtainingtheir domestic water supply from Pipe Springs. Mechanical andchemical analyses of a sample of soil from Pipe Springs Valley arereported in Tables XIV and XV. It is a very fine sandy loam char-acteristic of the region, easily cultivated, and shifted but little bywinds. The percentage of clay increases in the deeper samples, andthe soil appears to have lasting fertility. It is free from alkali ininjurious amounts, fairly well supplied with nitrogen and humus,and rich in lime. This soil closely resembles that of the SouthernUtah Experiment Farm at St. George.

TABLE XIV. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL FROM PIPE SPRINGS, NORTH

Off THE GRAND CANYON

Sample

0-15 inches15-3030-4545-6060-75

Average . . ,

Finegravel

00.000.0

00

Coarsesand

*01.5.0.0.1

01

Mediumsand

03.4.1.1,7

03

Finesand

1751038098

103

11.1

Veryfinesand

46554.7304431346

41.8

Silt

268291449334352

33.9

Clay

8° 851

163134191

12,5

TABLE XV. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL FROM PIPE SPRINGS, NORTH

OF THE GRAND CANYON

Compositesample


Avg. 8 feet

Acidin-

soluble

%7614475492

75818

Pot-ash

(K20)

%.343.835

589

Phos-phoricacid

(PaOs)

%.128.112

.120

LimoCCaO)

%5.1705733

5452

Nitro-gen(N)

%.028.036

032

Hunius

%.480.660

.570

Solu-ble

solidsdried

at110° C

%

...

Alkal

Chlo-rideh

a?NaC

%

i

CaandMgsulphatesand chlo-rides asCaSOi

%

...


SHORT CREEK BASIN

This basin, immediately north of Pipe Springs Valley, is namedfrom a creek which originates from springs in the Vermilhon Cliffsand sinks in the sand at a place about three miles from its sourceThe soil is similar to that of Pipe Springs Valley. Native vegeta-tion consists of a good growth of white sage, grama grass, and oc-casional patches of bunch grass. The construction of a submergeddam across Short Creek, successful operation of which would makepossible the irrigation of 4000 or 5000 acres, is apparently feasible

ANTELOPE VAU,EYAntelope Valley, named from Antelope Springs, which rise at

its northern boundary, continues south and west from Pipe Springsand Short Creek Valleys and extends in a north and south directionfor forty miles with an average width of about twelve miles. Itcontains about 350,000 acres, and has soil and climatic conditionssimilar to Pipe Springs Valley.

HURRICANE

Hurricane Valley is separated from Antelope Valley by Hurri-cane Ledge, a red sandstone fault escarpment, which forms its east-ern boundary. The soil is similar to that of Pipe Springs Valley,but it is probably not adapted to dry-farming because of the lowprecipitation and relatively high temperatures.

HOUSEROCK

Houserock Valley, about thirty-five miles long and six mileswide, is bounded on the north by abrupt cliffs in southern Utah, onthe east by the Vermillion Cliffs, on the west by Kaibab Plateauand on the south by the Colorado River. Soils of the eastern por-tion are of red sandstone origin and relatively infertile, while thoseof the western side are from limestone. "Caliche" is found in manyplaces, and the depth of soil is varied and generally unsatisfactoryfor water storage. The native vegetation is not uniform, though itfurnishes considerable winter grazing for stock pastured in summeron the Kaibab Forest Reserve. The only buffaloes in the State arefound in this Valley. There are no data concerning either thegroundwater or precipitation, but the practicability of reclamationby dry- farming is questionable.

526 BuLLE/iiN 84

K VIB \B FOREST

The Kaibab Plateau is a large region capped with surface soilof limestone origin. The maximum elevation is about 9000 feet.The annual precipitation probably averages more than twentyinches, and mostly sinks into subterranean courses which reappearas springs, one of the largest forming Bright Angel Creek whichflows into the Colorado River about 2000 feet below the canyon rim.Numerous small drainage courses run through the northern andwestern parts of the Reserve, chief of which is Tenney's Gulch,which empties into Kanab Creek. Summit Valley, one of the prin-cipal agricultural areas of the north end of the plateau, merges intoTelegraph Flat which is continued in the area east of Kanab alongJohnson Run Numerous small parks of fifty to two hundredacres occur at \ arious places on the plateau, but elevations of 7000to 9000 feet render dry-farming somewhat precarious. Precipita-tion falls largely as snow, and the frost-free season is short

Reclamation by dry-farming in this region is feasible, not somuch on the plateau proper, as in the lower valleys bordering theplateau, such as Kanab Creek Valley and Johnson Run A suc-cessful dry-farm on White Sage Flats, sixteen miles southwest ofFredonia, has been operated since 1910, and has satisfactorily pro-duced wheat, rye, barley, potatoes, beans, and corn. TelegraphFlat, slightly east of north of White Sage Flat, offers a consider-able area of similar soil. On the east side of Kanab Creek nearFredonia, somewhat extensive areas of dry-farm lands have beensuccessfully operated for many years. In this vicinity the soils aredeep fine loams, except in small basins where they are quite adobe.Alkali is frequently encountered both in the soil and in the under-ground water. About 100 acres near Fredonia with irrigation haveproduced good crops of alfalfa, small grains, corn, and deciduousfruits

Throughout the region there are excellent opportunities for acombination of livestock and dry-farming where the summer rangeof the Kaibab Forest Reserve can be supplemented with dry-fannedfeeds in winter.

VALLEYS OF SOUTHEASTERN ARIZONA

At elevations of 3500 to 5000 feet large areas of dry-farm landsare found in valleys of the southeastern part of the State. Chief

PRINCIPAL DRY-FARMING Rtcioiss 527

among these is Sulphur Spring Valley, containing appioximately1,000,000 acres.

The soil is a fertile decomposed limestone, and "caliche" ap-pears in many places. A large alkali flat lies east of Willcox andCochise, and alkali spots, in the vicinity of Whitewater and through-out the southern end of the Valley, make reclamation of a large partof the area by dry-farming impracticable Considerable agricul-tural development has occurred since 1907. In the valley proper,underground water is usually found at less than fifty feet depth andoften in quantities sufficient to make irrigation with pumped waterpracticable. A small acreage in the vicinity of Whitewater is re-claimed in this way. On the first mesas of the valley the watertable is from 75 to 200 feet below the surface but the soil is oftenconsidered superior to the lower lands for dry-farming *

Farming conditions in San Simon Valley are comparable tothose of Sulphur Spring Valley. Flowing artesian wells have beendeveloped near San Simon; and near Bowie artesian water hasrisen near enough to the surface to make pumping for irrigationfeasible.

The upper San Pedro Valley contains a large acreage of dry-farming lands similar to Sulphur Spring and San Simon Valleys.Intermittently successful dry-farming has been carried on for aboutten years.

In general the soils of the three valleys are loams and sandyloams. They are quite fertile and well supplied with lime Waterpenetrates them readily and is quite efficiently retained. The soilsamples of which the/ mechanical and chemical analyses are re-ported in Tables XVI and XIX are from the Sulphur Spring ValleyDry-farm, near Cochise, and are representative of the soils of thethree valleys. The bottom land soil reported in Tables XVI andXVII is a loam with a coarse textured stratum at the fifth foot,which hinders the rise of capillary moisture from below. The finetexture of the surface foot retards water penetration, especially thatof light summer showers. For these reasons many farmers preferthe sandier mesa soils. The bottom lands contain fair quantities ofnitrogen and humus in the first four feet, but the lower four feetare deficient in these materials. Potash, phosphoric acid, and limeare present in ample amounts. The lighter type of soil is repre-

*For a detailed report on geologic and soil conditions in Sulphur Rpring Val-ley, see Paper No. 320 U S. Geological Survey, "Water Resources of the SulphurSpring Valley "

528 BULLETIN 84

sented by the sample of fine sandy loam from the Sulphur SpringValley Dry-farm reported in Tables XVIII and XIX. It absorbswater readily and with cultivation retains moisture well. The largeamount of lime is due to the presence of a calcareous hardpan.This soil is not so fertile as the bottom lands reported in TableXVII.

Fig. 9.—San Simon Wash near Solomonville, Arizona.

S XVI. M E C H A N I C A L ANALYSIS OF BOTTOM SOIL, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM

Sample


Average . . .

Pinogravel

0.9284.56.8

12.07.06.19.5

6.2

Coarsesand

2.65.09.5

10313.59.6

10.112.3

9.11 !

Mediumsand

1.4°2.14.03.75.14.24.55.1

3.76

Pinosand

7.498

16.516016012.9150168

13.8

Veryfine

s;and

13.615.217.120.311.89.6

12.814.9

14.41

Silt

48.338.628.824.925.340.135.326.1

33.42

Cla>

25726.419.817.816.416.616.115.2

19.25


TABLE XVII. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF BOTTOM SOIL, SULPHUR SPRING

VALLEY DRY-FARM

Compositesample


Avg, 8 feet

Acidin-

soluble

80.46170.295

75.378

Pot-ash

.429

.465

447

Phos-phoric

acid

121.127

.124

Limo(CaO)

1.1962.420

1808

Nitro-gen(N)

.065

.023

.044

Humus

1.2800510

.895

Alkali

Solu-ble

solid'?dried

at110° G.

0.1360.100

.118

Chlo-rides

a jNaCl

.008

.004

.006

CaandMgsulphatesand chlo-n'dea asCaSO4

.087

.087

.087

TABLE: xvm. MECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF LIGHTER TYPE OF SOIL,SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM

Sample


Average . . .

Finegravel

%66

11011.195

124108544.8

895

Coarsesand

%13011915114.914.39.38.19.7

1203

Mediumsand

%5.44.65.4665.92.9354.3

4.82

Finesand

%20516418624821610.113113.5

17.32

Veryfinesand

%15.913913.814613.210813914.0

13.76

Silt

%24125023.919.4219350381328

27.52

Clay

%14.317.012,110.210.621.117,720.8

15.47

TABLE XIX. CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF LIGHTER TYPE OF SOIL, SULPHUR

SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM

Compositesample


Avg. 8 feet

AcidIn-

soluble

%84.89459.831

72.362

Pot-ash

(K;0)

%.487.394

.440

Phos-phoricacid

(PaOa)

%.064083

.073

Lime(CaCO

%2048

13062

7.555

Nitro-gen(N)

%.059.020

,039

Humus

%.540.360

.450

Solu-ble

solididried,

at110° C.

%.132.180

.156

Alkali

Chlo-ridesai

NaCl

%.004.008

.006

CaandMgsulphatesand chlo-rides asCaSO4

%.011

.005

INDIAN AGRICULTURE IN ARIZONA

The Indians of Arizona, numbering from 40,000 to 45,000, havecontributed very materially to agriculture in the State. Dry-landcrop varieties, which have been grown by them for an indefiniteperiod, are among the most promising; and their cultural practices,with some modifications, are the bases of successful dry-farming inArizona. The total area within the State at present set aside asIndian Reservations is about 17,500,000 acres. According to care-ful estimates it is possible to irrigate nearly one-quarter millionacres of these lands, 109,992 acres now being under projects. Theagricultural value of lands in the Reservations varies from worth-less to the best in the State

TRIBES AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

-The Indians of Arizona mostly belong to three families, thePiman, Yuman, and Athapascan.

THE PIM VN F \MII,Y

The Piman family is represented in Arizona by two tribes, lo-cated in the southern and southeastern parts of the State, the Pimaand Papago. Tradition indicates that the Hopis of the north cen-tral part of Arizona, formerly belonged to this family, but theirdialect is distinctly Shoshonean, and their family relationship isquestionable Their tribal customs and agricultural practices cor-respond quite closely to those of the Pimas and Papagoes, however,and their contribution to the science of dry-farming has been asgreat.

The Pima and Papago Tribes * Exploration of prehistoric ruinsindicates that ancestors of the Pimas and Papagoes have been agri-cultural people for a great number of years. Corn, beans, wheat,chiles, and cotton have been their principal products; though theynow purchase most of their cotton supply. Among the promisingcrop varieties secured from them are tepary beans and Papagosweet corn, both of which have been bred up and standardized bythe Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station.

Pimas and Papagoes are particularly expert in the utilizationof floodwaters for supplemental irrigation Of late years they have

INDIAN AGRICULTURE IN ARIZONA 531

Fig. 10.—Papago floodwater, ditch west of Coyote Mountain, Pima County, Arizona.

Fig. 11.—Papago well, showing method of water raising.

532 EuUvETiN 84

devoted considerable attention to stock raising and have developedan interesting system of range management. In winter they moveall their belongings into the mountains and higher valleys. Herethey stay until well toward the end of the hot, dry spring and fore-summer. Shortly before the usual summer rains are expected, theyreturn to their homes at the lower elevations and plant their cropsof corn and beans, bringing them to maturity by means of occa-sional irrigations with floodwater. After harvesting their summercrops they return to their homes in the mountains where the range,which has been refreshed by summer rains, furnishes a maximumamount of forage for their livestock. Thus they are able to guardagainst famine because of their wise range management and by tak-ing immediate advantage of summer precipitation for dry-farming.

The Ho pi Tribe- The Hopi Indians (sometimes called Moqui)like the Pitnas and Papagoes are peaceful, though anything butcowardly. They are comparatively short in stature, stockily built,and possessed of great physical endurance, excelling in their longdistance races. Usually they live in villages; while their fields areoften several miles away. These Indians commonly make a run often or twelve miles to their fields, do a full day's work, and returnhome again in the evening without being much fatigued. Authen-tic reports indicate that occasionally they have run as far as onehundred miles in a day and at times they have been used to helpcatch wild horses, their efforts on foot being as valuable as those ofwhite men on horseback in tiring wild range stock.

As far back as their history is known, the Hopis have beenagricultural people. They are essentially religious and are dividedinto a number of clans, the chief ceremonies of each clan beingcentered about agricultural occupations. The interesting and well-known "Snake Dance/' for example, is a ceremony of the SnakeClan, assisted by the Antelope Clan, for the purpose of winning thefavor of the rain gods in order that summer rains may be ample toinsure them good crops of corn and beans. This ceremony is heldabout the middle of the summer rainy season. The "Flute Dance"is a ceremony of the Flute Clan for the purpose of winning the favorof the gods controlling the supply of subterranean water which ap-pears on the surface as springs.

The principal crops of the Hopis are corn and beans; and, likethe Pirnas and Papagoes, they have contributed several important

INDIAN AGRICULTURE IN ARIZONA 533

varieties for dry-farming, including Hopi Lima, White Hopi, andBates' beans, and White Hopi and Blue Hopi corn.

The agricultural implements of dry-farming Indians are few.While a number of them have plows, many have none. Virtuallyall cultivation is done with hoes, and planting with a long hardwooddibber. Oftentimes the land farmed is covered with a thin veneerof sand which acts as a mulch and renders comparatively little culti-vation necessary. At certain times of the year, often regardless ofclimatic conditions, they make their plantings, usually several inchesdeeper than varieties developed by white men will emerge from.In planting corn, the dibber is inserted twelve or fifteen inches deepand, as it is pulled out vertically, horizontal pressure is appliedleaving a wedge shaped opening into which "a little boy's handful"or about twelve kernels are dropped. The seeds are covered looselywith soil, and the plants emerge with astonishing rapidity. The In-dians have long since learned to properly space their plants, andrarely seed too thickly. Weeds are kept down by hand labor, andthe farming is quite intensive.

When the season is especially dry and summer rains are de-layed, seeds are often inserted in balls of moist clay, and themasses thrust into the dry earth. The moisture in these balls ofclay is usually sufficient to germinate the seeds and supply theyoung plants until rain conies. An advantage of two or threeweeks' additional growing season is thus secured.

Fruit growing is not practiced to a great extent among theIndians, though numerous peach orchards exist and oftentimes afair quality of seedling fruit is produced. The trees grow in clumpsand are never pruned or cultivated. The shifting of sand by windoftentimes covers the tree trunks well up past the first forks of thelimbs. Most of the orchards are planted in sandy and silt loamsalong washes and river bottoms where underground water existsnear the surface. There are a few small irrigated orchards of ap-ples, pears, and plums as well as peaches.

While the Piman family has contributed a number of verydrought resistant varieties, natural selection must be given thecredit. These Indians farm under extreme conditions, and destruc-tion of the unfit through a long period of time has left only droughtresistant strains. Since "seed is seed" with Indians, varieties arebadly mixed: for instance, in a field of supposedly white corn, white,

534 j;TiN 84

Fig. 12.—Chemehuevi Indian field on land subject to annual inundat ion bythe Colorado River.

Fig. 13.—Yuma Indian field of corn and beans in a Colorado River slough afterthe annual flood.

INDIAN AGRICULTURE; IN ARIZON \ 535

dark blue, black, deep red, pink, yellow, and various combinationsof the above may be found.

The modified characters of their corn varieties are interesting.Collins* reports that Indian varieties of corn emerged when theseed were planted at a depth of thirty-two centimeters, while thegreatest depth through which Boone County White could penetratewas twenty centimeters. He found that the combined length ofcoleoptyle and mesocotyl of Indian corn was thirty-five and one-half centimeters, while that of Boone County White was but fifteenand four-tenths centimeters.

The thorough acclimatization of Indian varieties is further il-lustrated by the fact that tepary beans will form seed during thehottest part of the summer in the sub-tropical, irrigated valleys ofSouthern Arizona, while improved American varieties will fail un-less flowering takes place in cooler weather, and oftentimes eventheir leaves will drop off.

TH£ YUMAN FAMILY

The Yuman family includes the Maricopa, Mohave, Yuma, andHualpai tribes. The Chemehuevis, a Shoshonean tribe, from longassociation with the Yuman family have adopted the agriculturalcustoms of the Yumas. This family has done little to promote dry-farming but has become expert in farming lands subject to periodicflooding by the Colorado River. As the water recedes crops areplanted in the muddy ground, and the conservation and utilizationof soil moisture is sufficiently thorough to insure maturity of thecrops. Because of the irregular periodicity of the Colorado floods,the Yumas have not been able to insure against famine as com-pletely as the dry-farming Indians of the Piman family.

THE ATHAPASCAN FAMILY

The strongest numerically and of least importance agricul-turally is the Athapascan family, including the Navajo and Apachetribes. Their subsistence has come from the chase and raids uponstores of neighboring Indian tribes and white people.

In the early settlement of Arizona by Americans, some errorsin management made the Apaches enemies constantly to be feared;and, while the Navajos have ordinarily remained at peace, there

*Jour Affric Research, Vol. 1, No, 4, Jan , 1914, p. 993.

536 BULLETIN 84

has not existed the friendship that has been manifest betweenwhites and the Piman family.

Agricultural practices of the Apaches and Navajos are mostlyconfined to stock husbandry, the Navajos, particularly, raising aconsiderable number of sheep. These sheep are descended fromstock brought in by the early Spaniards, and their ancestry possiblyincludes both Karakul and North African blood. They are quitetall, but stockily built, and, though the .dressing percentage is low,the carcass is of good quality. The color is far from uniform, and,because of a high proportion of hairs, prices for the wool averageone-quarter to one-half lower than for wool from Merino rangestock.

F.'g. 14.—Apache village and farms, Northern Arizona.

In addition to sheep, goats, horses, turkeys, and some cattle areraised. The goats and cattle have recently been introduced, usuallyat the instigation of the United States Government. The horsesare descended from original stock brought in by the early Spaniards,and, while very small, are quite tough and capable of considerablework both under the saddle and in the harness. Formerly largenumbers of wild turkeys were found in various places in Arizona,and feathers from these birds have always been an important part

FYRMING BY EARI.Y WHITE: SETTLORS 537

of ceremonial costumes. With the advance of civilization the wildturkeys were largely killed out, and, primarily to supply feathersrather than for any other purpose, the Indians recently have raisedquite a number of domesticated turkeys.

HOME LIFE OF THE INDIANS

Tradition and old ceremonies are greatly cherished by the In-dians and carefully taught to each rising generation. Usually, theyhave an abiding faith in the "Great Spirit," and, while the concep-tion of the deity varies greatly with different tribes, they all areassured that he is watching over and helping them in their dailylife. They often worship things of nature and utilize natural re-sources to the fullest extent.

Their home life is simple, and usually they are contented, hon-est, and true to their friends. The women build and own most ofthe homes Within some tribes marriage is an important ceremonywhile in others men and women live together by common consentuntil they become dissatisfied, whereupon the "husband" moves hisbelongings, usually consisting of a horse, saddle, bridle, and blanket,to a new abode.

Ordinarily Indians do not care to take up the ways of whitemen, nor does it seem best that they should be forced to do so.

FARMING BY EARLY WHITE SETTLERS

Captain Weaver, a hunter and traveller along the HassayampaRiver, cultivated a little garden patch about 1830, probably the firstcrop planted in Arizona by an American. His garden includedmelons, corn, and beans, the latter two being varieties which hesecured from Indians.

Early settlers who engaged in farming on Sonoita Creek, atributary of the Santa Cruz River, included E. G. Pennington, TomGardner, William Kirkland, Tom Hughes, and John Cady, wholocated in the order named between 1857 and 1872. These pioneersprincipally grew corn, beans, and wheat with the use of occasionalfloodwaters, after the example of Pima and Papago Indians.

In the fall of 1864, about seven years after the first attempts atfarming on the Sonoita, Joseph Eagle and others put land in culti-vation in Skull Valley, an old battleground of the Indians so namedbecause of the large number of human skeletons found there. In

538 BULLETIN 84

the spring of 1865 they planted corn, beans, and other garden vege-tables, and in the succeeding fall harvested the first crops of pro-duce raised without irrigation by Americans in Arizona.

About the same time other Americans settled in WilliamsonValley, and a little later in Peeples' Valley. The main crop in thesesettlements was corn, the surplus being sold at Fort Whipple, nearPrescott, for about twenty-five cents a pound.

In the Del Rio and Little Chino Valleys, land was put in culti-vation in 1865 by George Bangheart and others. With irrigationthese men produced mostly corn, root crops, garden vegetables, andpotatoes.

The first farming by white men in the Verde Valley probablybegan in 1866, at the junction of Clear Creek and the Rio Verde.With irrigation the rich, alluvial soil produced good crops of corn.Considerable trouble with Indians was experienced in all of theearlier settlements, especially in the Verde Valley.

Because of reported possibilities for successful mining, theUnited States Government established a military post in 1863, atDel Rio, for the protection of prospectors against Indians. Thefollowing year this post was moved to Fort Whipple near Prescott.Most of the early settlers being interested in mining, only a fewfarmers persisted in following their vocation. High prices paid byminers and military authorities for farm produce, however, causedthe establishment of a number of other ranches in Skull, William-son, Peeples', and Verde Valleys as the mining population grew.

Attempts at dry-farming were made about 1870 in NavajoCounty, the early settlers following generally the example of HopiIndians. In March, 1876, four colonies of Mormons arrived fromUtah and settled on the I/ittle Colorado River at Sunset, BrighamCity, St. Joseph, and Obecl. Their inability to cope successfullywith the alkaline soil, and depredations by hostile Indians causedthe settlements at Sunset, Brigham, and Obed to be abandoned.Most of the people removed to the vicinity of St. John, Woodruff,Snowflake, and Heber. They were able to produce good cropsof corn, beans, and potatoes at Heber without irrigation, but atthe other settlements irrigation has been practiced from the begin-ning. About three hundred acres were farmed at Heber for fouryears when the settlement was almost entirely abandoned becauseof depredations by Indians and white cattle 'Vustlers."

About this time Pinedale, Pinetop, Fort Apache, and Tuba City

FARMING BY EARLY WHITE SETTLERS 539

were established. In 1875, William Mulligan located at Springer-ville where he cultivated about five hundred acres of land, his prin-cipal crop being barley, which was sold at Fort Apache for fivecents a pound.

In Yuma County, M. M. Redondo began farming in LagunaValley in 1871, cultivating about 1200 acres. His principal cropwas alfalfa which was sold for about seventy-five dollars a ton.Considerable irrigating water was taken from the Colorado River.

At Quijotoa in Final County, farming, by means of supple-mental irrigation with floodwaters, is said to have been commencedas early as 1883. Manuel Ramerez began to farm fifty acres in1887, at Picacho, in Final County by methods similar to those ofthe Indians. His success soon attracted other farmers, and a per-manent settlement was established.

Dry-farming began at Moccasin on the "Arizona Strip" in 1903when Jonathan Heaton planted about fifteen acres of rye, whichyielded about twelve and one-half bushels per acre. An additionalfive acres yielded fifty bushels of wheat.

While farming with floodwater was practiced at Fredonia asearly as 1884, no strict dry-farming was engaged in until 1910, whenthe Brown brothers and Owen Judd located on White Sage Flat,where they have produced as high as twenty-five bushels of wheatper acre.

In 1881, Thomas McWilliam grew si:& to seven tons of potatoesper acre, selling them at twelve and one-half cents a pound. At thesame time C. H. Shultz raised thirty bushels of corn per acre. A.H. Beasley grew good crops of potatoes and barley in 18§4, sellinghis products at three and two cents per pound, respectively.

Little information is available about the earliest farming inMohave County. In 1911, B. W. Hall planted eleven acres of wheatnear Salome on the Parker cut-off. The wheat attained a heightof four feet and yielded twelve tons of hay.

While a few cattle ranches were established in the earlyeighties in Sulphur Spring and the upper San Pedro Valleys, littledry-farming was attempted until 1907. Despite a number of suc-cessful attempts at dry-farming by the early settlers of Arizona, nogreat interest was shown until about 1910, and the ensuing fouryears mark the greatest acjvance of the industry, when fairly ex-tensive developments occurred in various parts of the State.

EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN DRY-FARMING

In response to a need for data on dry-farming in Arizona,Experiment Station farms were established in 1908 at McNeal, inSulphur Spring Valley; in 1909 at Snowfiake, in the Little ColoradoBasin; and in 1911 near Prescott, in Yavapai County. The landon the McNeal and Snowfiake farms was leased, but title was se-cured to the Prescott Dry-farm. In 1913 the Sulphur Spring ValleyDry-farm, a mile south of Cochise, was purchased and, since condi-tions were similar, the Experiment Station Farm at McNeal wasdiscontinued. The lease on the Snowflake Dry-farm was given upJuly, 1916, and to date no other Experiment Station farm has beenestablished in the vicinity. Detailed data obtained on the Snow-flake Dry-farm, the Prescott Dry-farm, and the Sulphur Spring Val-ley Dry-farm are given below, while Bulletin 70 of the ArizonaAgricultural Experiment Station records the results obtained fromoperations on the McNeal Farm.

SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM

Early in the fall of 1909, arrangements were made with Mr.W. J. Flake, Sr., of Snowflake, to use forty acres of his land, lyingacross Cottonwood Wash about one mile northwest of Snowflake,for experimental purposes. Part of this farm had been plowedseveral years before, but the sandy surface had been blown awayand a fairly stiff clay subsoil exposed. The remainder of the farmwas in sage brush. A layer of sand with a maximum depth ofabout seven inches covers much of the west thirty acres, and rockyspots occur frequently.

The shallow soil of the Flake farm rendered moisture conserva-tion difficult, and in 1912 experimental work was discontinued andmoved three miles up Cottonwood Wash to the farms of Mr. DonC. Smith and Mr. David Hancock where the soil was much deeper.The soil of the latter location is representative of a large area lyingnorth of northeast of Holbrook and southeast of Woodruff. It isalso typical of the valleys of 4500 to 5500 feet elevation lying be-tween St. Johns and Snowflake.

Thirteen acres on the east end of the Flake farm were plowedand harrowed during September, 1909, following heavy rains. Anadditional seventeen acres were broken in January and February,

EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN DRY-FARMING 541

1910, following light rains. The field was then harrowed lightly.After rains during the succeeding March it was again harrowed anda good seed bed prepared.

The Smith property has been farmed intermittently since 1902.No effort had been made to control weeds for at least two yearsprior to the establishment of the Experiment Station farm. As aresult, available soil moisture has been quite thoroughly exhausted,and persistent weeds seriously interfered with operations of the

Fig-. 15.—Wash on the Snowflake Dry-farm, showing uniformity of soil.

first two years. The soil, about ten feet deep, is a very fertile finesandy loam veneered with four or five inches of wind-depositedsandy soil from Cottonwood Wash, the high winds of spring caus-ing considerable soil movement. A part of the farm was plowedin the spring of 1912, and subsequently disced and cultivated witha knife weeder. The weeds persisted, however, and about one-halfof the field was plowed shallow in July. A second and deeperplowing was made during late August and early September, butthe weeds still persisted to send up sprouts until they were killedback by frost late in September. In order to expose undergroundstems of certain weeds to winter freezing, another plowing wasstarted in December, but was unfinished because of a heavy freeze.

542 BULLETIN 84

A portion of the farm was harrowed twice in April, 1913, and theremainder three times.

Five acres of the Hancock farm had been plowed in 1910, butthe troublesome growth of weeds prevented preparation of a goodseed bed for experimental cropping for more than a year. The re-maining fifteen acres were cleared of scattered trees and brush in1913. The Hancock farm lies on a low, gently sloping hill and hasa soil varying from four to ten feet in depth. Tillage of this farm,preparatory to the first experimental planting, was similar to thatof the Smith farm.

In the absence of reliable information, experiments on theSnow-flake Dry-farm were planned in order to sceure comparativedata on crops and varieties best adapted, times of planting, ratesof seeding, conservation and utilization of moisture, and economyof production.

Table XX records the results of a variety test of beans for asix-year period ending in 1915,

Most of the varieties tested are well known. They include anumber grown for an indefinite period by the Indians, and two localstrains, Little's and Bates', which, in the absence of more suitableidentification, are given the names of the gentlemen from whom theywere secured.

Bean yields on the Flake farm were low in both 1910 and1911. On the Hancock and Smith farms the highest yields in 1912were only about 200 pounds per acre, and the beans were mostlydestroyed by rabbits. High winds, drought and rabbits causedmost varieties to fail in 1913, the only harvest being from plots ofBayou and Pink beans, and the largest yield was 116 pounds peracre. In 1914 effects of efforts directed against weeds began tobe noticeable, and a more favorable season occurred with the resultthat yields of many varieties were high enough to insure someprofit. The best showing was made by White and Red Hopi beans,while Colorado Pinto, a variety introduced in 1914, which hassince been one of the best producers of the region, yielded 520pounds per acre. In 1915, the entire crop was more satisfactory

544 BULLETIN 84

TABLE xx.—Confirmed

Variety

1915 — ContinuedLittle'sColorado Pinto . . . .Red HopiValentineBayouPinkHopi LimaCasa GrandeAztecYellow HopiBlack TeparyYellow " .White " . .White "

Field

«

Hancock«(ta

Smitha

(f

(i

Hancock((it«

Dateplanted

6-26-26-26-26-25-85-195-195-205-285-215-215-216-17

Stand

%7070606570805065755080808580

Datehar-

vested

10-1510-1510-1510-1510-1510-9

10-2010-2010-1510-110 110-110-15

Sizeof

plot

Acres1/10

1/101A1AVAi/

1/401/401/80

VA.I/.'A.VA

y*

Yieldperplot

Pounds25456060

116150

5

205

6

60240280275125

Yieldperacre

Pounds250450240240464600

800

240960

11201100500

5—Failed to mature. 6—Destroyed by thrips.

Ill SAA-

Fig. 16.—Dent corn and beans, Snowflake Dry-farm.

than in any previous year. The yield of about half of the varietieswas sufficient to insure profit. Black, Yellow and White teparies


produced from 960 to 1120 pounds per acre. Yields from plots ofLady Washington beans were satisfactory and the desirability ofColorado Pintos and Bayous was again demonstrated. Hopi Limas,which have proven interesting on all of the Arizona AgriculturalExperiment Station dry-farms, again failed to mature.

The variety test of beans is summarized in Table XXL An-nual yields of each variety are calculated as the average of yieldsof all plots of that variety. The adaptability of Teparies, LadyWashington, Colorado Pinto, and Bayou beans is shown.

XXI. SUMMARY Off VARIETY TEST Off BEANS, SNOWffLAKE

DRY-ffARM

Vf)T1 AtV

While Tepary. ..Yellow " .. , ,Black "Lady WashingtonBates'PinkColorado Pinto .Red HopiWhite Hopi..... .Hopi LimaBayouValentineCasa GrandeStriped BunchTrammellLittle'sAztecYellow Hopi

1910

Pounds3642

50

80

1911

Pounds24

110

173123

132

...

Yield

1912

Pounds

116118

per acre

1913

Pound*

42

116

...

...

1914

Pound1:

304452480520600720

528200

420

400

1915

Pounds800

1120960611

600450240

464240800

250

240

Average

143212960457185235485420720i

369220800106420125

2

320

1—Failed to mature. 2—Blooms destroyed by thrips.

To determine the most favorable date on which to plant beans,a test which included the planting of one variety each year onvarious dates, was begun in 1912 and continued in 1914 and 1915.The Bates' variety was used in 1912, having been planted on datesranging from May 24 to July 10. See Table XXII. The earliestplanting was most successful, later plantings failing to mature.In 1914, Lady Washington beans were planted, the plot seededJune 24 yielding highest. Lady Washington beans were againused in 1915, plots seeded in May producing best results. Fromthe data of Table XXII and from general observations it appearsthat beans in the Snowflake vicinity should be planted in May;

546 BUI/UTIN 84

G XXII. B K V N b ; TIME Q$ PLANTING T£ST, SNO\\J?I,AK£ DRY-FARM

Vauety

1912Bates .

«1914

Lady Washington . .

1915Lady Washington . .

.; u

Date planted

5-245-256-257-10

• 4-286-247-7

5-35-266-196-24

Yield per acre

Pounds

11648

240424240

800820584240

Remarks

Beans half maturedNo beans maturedPods just setting

June and July plantings being oftentimes too late to mature andApril seedings usually too early,

It is obvious that because of the difference in the leaf area ofbean varieties a corresponding difference in spacing the plants

must be made. Experience indicates that rows of kidney beans andteparies should be not less than 36 inches apart, and that the dis-tance between the plants in the row should be from twelve toeighteen inches. Planted in this manner, from six to nine poundsof seed per acre must be provided for such varieties as Pink, Bates',and Lady Washington, while, of the smaller varieties, such asTepary and White Navy, from five to seven pounds are required.

Where soil moisture conditions are favorable it is desirable toplant beans with an ordinary planter. However, if a sub-surfacecrust appears in the soil or if soil moisture is low, planting in alister furrow is to be preferred. Beans must be planted well intomoist soil, if satisfactory germination is to be secured, the optimumdepth being usually from three to six inchees.

Where precipitation is light and where moisture dissipatingconditions are particularly effective, as in the Snowflake vicinity,very careful attention should be given to cultivation, which shouldbe continued persistently until the flowers are setting and the plantshave begun to spread to a considerable extent. Especially is itnecessary that weeds be destroyed as quickly as possible after theirappearance.

Several makes of bean hearvesters are sold by implementhouses. A home-made harvester, however, consisting of a culti-

EXPERIMENTu, WORK IN DRY-F\RMING 547

vator, with knives so placed that they will cut off the plants justbeneath the surface of the ground, is very satisfactory. The vinesshould be cut and piled when they are toughened by dew, a hayrake often being satisfactory for bunching. Threshing may bedone by a grain separator which has the speed of the cylinder muchreduced and the concaves removed. Many beans are apt to bebroken, but usually not enough to justify the trouble and expenseof securing a regular bean separator.

Table XXIII is a financial statement of costs and returns fromgrowing an acre of beans at the Snowflake Dry-farm in 1915. Itwill be noted that the yield per acre, 500 pounds, while not high, issufficient to return a fair profit.

XXIII. RETURNS FROM AN ACRE Off BEANS,DRY-FARM, 1915

Production costs per acre

Taxes .InterestPlowing 4One double disking1

Two harrowingsPlantingFour cultivationsHoeingHarvesting . , , . , . . . .SeedThreshing „

Total

Dollars.75.50

200.50.30.25.50

1.201.25,50

1.00

875

Yield peracre

Pou nds

500

Grossreturns per

acreDC lla rs

2000

Net gam

Dol ars

1125

CORN

Eight varieties of corn were planted in 1910 (see Table XXIV),and, as indicated by the table, most plots were replanted, No seedwas produced, but the best yield was obtained from plots of- RedDent.

In 1911, seed was produced on most plots, the best yields being"obtained from Yellow Dent and Australian White Flint. Fourplots received an irrigation of floodwater.

In 1912, only Australian White Flint and Yellow Dent weregrown, and the yields were small. One plot of Australian WhiteFlint was destroyed because of soil movement by wind.

548 BULLETIN 84

Nine varieties were grown in 1913, but, because of drought,no grain was produced except in a plot of Yellow Dent. The bestyields were obtained from Hickory King, and a variety obtainedfrom the Pima Indians.

In 1914, the season was much more favorable than in 1913, anda fair yield of ear corn was obtained from plots of White Flint,Blue Hopi, and Minnesota King. The best yield of forage wasproduced on a plot of Hickory King.

In 1915, 2133 pounds of ear corn per acre were produced on asmall plot of White Hopi, and 2000 pounds of ear corn per acre ona plot of Australian White Flint. In general, yields were quitesatisfactory and represent profitable returns from corn grown inthe Snowflake vicinity for ensilage purposes.

Fig". 17.—Corn, Snowflake Dry-farm, 1911.

EXPERIMENTAL WORK ix DRY-FARMING 549

Pig. 18.—White Dent corn, Snowflake Dry-farm, August 17, 1912.

Fig. 19.—Corn, Snowflake Dry-farm, June 22, 1915. Plot on left seeded May 10;plot on right seeded three weeks later.


As indicated in Table XXIV, early maturing and small grow-ing corns are safest in the Snowflake vicinity. In the timber belt,where the rains are apt to be more plentiful, some of the larger im-proved American varieties may be successfully grown for silage,but best results will probably be obtained from the larger Indianvarieties and the smaller and earlier eastern strains.

Table XXV summarizes the variety test of corn on the Snow-flake Dry-farm. Annual yields represent the average of all plotsof a given variety for the year specified.

To determine the optimum spacing of corn plants (see TableXXVI), six plots of White Flint were planted in 1913 in rowsthirty-six inches apart and in hills from two to thirty-six inchesapart. Because of the unfavorable condition of the season the dataare not especially valuable.

TABLE xxvi. CORN; SPACING TEST, SNOWJ?L,AK£ DRY-FARM, 1913

Variety

Wllite Flintaitu

st

Field

Sm ith

Sizeof

plot

Acres1/201/201/201/201/201/20

Distancebetween

rows

Inches363636363636

1 Distancebetween

hills

Indies246

122436

Fodderperplot

Pounds464338362530

Fodderperacre

Pounds902860760720500600

POTATOES

Potatoes were first grown on the Snowflake Dry-farm in 1910(see Table XXVII), when one plot each of Early Ohio and EarlyRose were planted. Both plots were so injured by shifting soilthat it was necessary to replant June 29. The quality of the smallyield, which was insufficient to replace the seed tubers planted,was inferior.

No potatoes were grown in 1911 or 1912, but in 1913 four vari-eties, all of which failed because of drought, were planted in theSmith field.

In 1914, five varieties, three standard and two local, weregrown, the best results being obtained from Peachblow, the twolocal strains coming second and third, respectively. Yields in 1914were sufficient to indicate that potato growing may be profitable.

554 BULLETIN 84

TABLE; xxvn. VARIETY TEST OF POTATOES, SNOWFAKE DRY-FARM

Variety

1910Early OhioKnrly Rose

1913White StarEarly OhioSnowflakeBurbank

1914Earlv OhioWrencher's Sur-

priseBlue Victor.SnowflakePeachblow

1915Vermont Gold

CoinMammoth Pearl..ShowlowPeachblowLakesideBlue VictorEarly Qhioit

ttttutttttt

Field

Flakef t

Smith

ttit

Cl

tt

a

t(tt

"

«

tf.tttttttt

tttt

tt

tttt

Dateplanted

5-165-16

6-36-46-66-5

5-20

5-205-205-205-20

5-135-135-135-135-135-135-105-105-105-105-105-105-105-10

Stand

%3030

80

80808085

8060803050407070707070707070

Dateharvested

11-311-3

10-25

10-2510-2510-2510-25

11-1311-1311-1311-1311-1311-1311-1311-131 1-1 311-1311-1311-1311-1311-13

Size ofplot

Acresy*y*

3/403/401/403/40

1AXA%*A54

3/401/403/401/401/402/401/401/401/401/401/401/401/401/40

Yieldper plot

Pounds1201701

660

1000550

10601400

80018065417616580

1101071009665

102120114

Yieldperacre

Founds

240140

2640

4000220042405600

106647200872070406600160044004280400038402600408048004560

1— Replanted June 29.

TABWS XXVIII. NUMMARY Q# VARIETY TEST Q# POTATOES,

p«r aere

Early OhioEarly RoseWhite Star.SnowflakeBurbankWrencher's Surprise ....Blue VictorPeachblowVermont Gold Coin .....Mammoth PearlShowlowLakeside

1910

Pounds240140

1913

Pounds

r . .

1914

Pounds2640

4240

400022005600

1915

Pounds4070.....

"16007040

106647200S7206600

Average

Pounds1737140

2120

400019006320

1Q664720087206600

556 84

In 1915, seven varieties of potatoes were planted and profitableyields secured from most plots. A small plot of Vermont GoldCoin yielded over 10,000 pounds per acre.

Table XXVIII summarizes the variety test of potatoes on theSnowflake Dry-farm.

To determine the most profitable rate to plant potatoes an ex-periment was carried out in 1915, in which eight plots of earlyOhio potatoes were planted at rates varying from 300 to 800pounds of seed tubers per acre, with the resultant spacing ofhills from eight to thirty-six inches apart in the row. The desir-ability of wide spacing is indicated by the yields (recorded inTable XXIX) which are greatest where planting is thin,

TALLE xxix. POTATOES; RATE off SEEDING TEST, SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM,1915

Variety

Early 0|iio

. . . . . .

Seed tubers per acre

Pounds800700500400375350325300

Distance between hills

Inches8

12141622243036

Yield per acre

Pounds400038402600 -40804800456044004280

Cultivation of potatoes is important, and, with each successivecultivation, soil should be gradually moved against the plant. Toomuch hilling exposes additional surface to moisture dissipating-conditions, but slight ridging has a most beneficial effect upon thequality of tubers produced. In the early stages of growth, soilsshould be cultivated close to the rows, but, as the plants approachfull size, close cultivation may interfere with the formation oftubers.

Climatic and soil conditions at the higher elevations of Arizonaare oftentimes especially adapted to potato growing. The cropshould be standardized, and one or two varieties selected and con-stantly improved.

Market conditions are usually favorable. The population ofthe mining camps and warmer portions of Arizona consumes morepotatoes than are produced in the State at present. Because ofhigh freight charges when potatoes are shipped in from other

EXP&RIMENTAL WORK IN DRY-FARMING 557

states, prices are invariably high enough to insure good profitsfrom any reasonable yield.

SMALL GRAINS

Wheat: One plot of Koffoid and two plots each of TurkeyRed and Kubanka were planted in the fall of 1910, but failed toreach maturity. Other plantings, in the spring of 1913, failed be-cause of drought. In the fall of 1914, three plots of Turkey Redand two of Marquis were planted on dates ranging from August25 to November 15. The latest planting was winter killed but theremainder matured. It is interesting to note that biggest yieldswere produced from earliest seedings, and that yields consistentlydiminished with the lateness of planting. See Table XXX.

TABLE: xxx. VARIETY TEST OF WHEAT, SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM

Variety

1911Turkey Red... .

I t U

KoffoidKubanka

1915Turkey Red. . . .it a

a (i

Marquis«

Datoplanted

9-129-309-129-12

10-1

8-259-10

10-110-1511-15

Stand

%

85858570

Dateharvested

8-58-58-168-24

Size Yield per plot Yield per acreof

plot

Acres

%%%y>y>y*y*"4*A

" Gram

Pounds

480300217170

Straw

Pounds

588385297297

i

Gram I Straw

Pound*

19201200868680

Pounds

2352154011881188

1—Winter killed.

Barley: One plot of barley planted in 1915 reached full size, butthe grains were blasted by smut. See Table XXXI.

Bmmer: In the fall of 1910, a plot of emmer was seeded, butfailed to reach maturity. Black Winter Emrner, sown in the fallof 1914, yielded at the rate of 560 pounds of grain per acre.

Oats: Two plots of black oats, one from Utah and the othera strain grown locally for several years, were planted in the fall of1914 and spring of 1915 respectively. The former was badly winterkilled and yielded 128 pounds of grain per acre and 160 pounds ofstraw. The local variety, planted in spring, produced at the rateof 768 pounds of grain per acre.

558 84

Fig. 22.—Turkey Red wheat, Snowflake Dry-farm, June 22. 1915.

Fig. 23.—Winter wheat, Snowflake Dry-farm, June 22, 1915. Plot on rierht seededin September; plot on left seeded in November and winter killed


Fig. 24.—Spring wheat (left) and oats (right), Snowflake Dry-farm, June 22, 1915.

Fig. 25.—Spring planted oats, Snowflake Dry-farm, June 22, 1915.

560 BULLETIN 84

TABLE XXXI. TEST OF BARLEY, EMMER, OATS AND RYE, SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM

Variety

1911Kmmer

1915White Hulless

BarlevBlack Winter

KmmerBlack Winter

OatsBlack (Snow-

flake) Oats...Spring Rye —

planted

9-13

5-5

10-15

12-1

4-265-5

Stand

%

85

40

10

8090

Dateharvested

10-15

9-1

8-16

Sizeot

p'ot

'/4

X

y*y*

1/10

Yield p

Gram

Pound1;

70

16

19290

er plot

Straw

Pounds

,

20

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

560

128

768900

er acre

Straw

Pounds

160

1—Destroyed by smut.TABLE XXXII. VARIETY TEST OF GRAIN SORGHUMS, SNOWFLAKE

DRY-FARM

Variety

1910Standard Milo. .

tt a

White Kafir . .*!Broom corn....

1911Standard Milo .

ti (C

f t ( C

Black-h u 1 1 e'dWhite Kafir..

Black-h u 1 1 e dWhite Kafir..

Black-h u 1 1 e dWhite Kafir..

Broom cornit U

(( tt

1912Pink Kafir

White Kafir.. . .« (C

Dwarf Miloit ((tt <(

Standard Milo. .Broom corntt tiShallu ....!'.!!!

uit

Field

Flakeaa

d

1C

it

"

tt

ti

tt

"it

"

SmithHancockSmithHancockSmith

a

HancocknSmithHancockSmithHancockSmith

Dateplanted

5-125-175-135-13

4-214-234-25

4-21

4-23

7-254-214-234-25

6-105-206-105-206-106-255-225-224-275-226-115-226-10

Stand

%

70

4550

, .

60

. .

Datehar-

vested

10-510-2110-2010-11

icCio10-1

10-10

10-110-1010-1010-1

9-2510-149-26

10-149-259-2S9-21

10-249-26

10-149-269-269-26

Sizeof

plot

A crcs

l/2l/2l/2y2l/2yz*/4

1A*/2*Al/2l/2

54YA

%l/41A

3/201/10

H%1Al/4y41A/*\>

VA

Fodderperplot

Pounas

250517243590

....1230810

266

124014602054116

5161205

87640305

i1190910

1110510170436273

Fodderpe»"acrw

Pounds

5001034486

1180

24603240

798

....

496029204108464

20644820348

25602033

4760364044402040680

17441092

EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN DRY-FARMINGxxxii—Continued

561

Variety

1913FeteritaMiloWhite Kafir

« <<Broom corna ttBlack - h u l l e d

White Kafir..Black- h u l l e d

White Kafir..1914

FeteritaDwarf Milo

1915White Kafir. . . .FeteritaShalltiDwarf Milo. .. .tt tt

(i tt

Field

Smith

«

a

Smith

SmithHancock«Smith(t

(i

Dateplanted

6-146-146-146-146-26-3

6-3

6-3

6-15-1

5-266-176-75-35-266-19

Stand

%

6085

705

75958075

Datehar-

vested

10-1510-1

10-10

10-109-279-279-27

Sizeof

plotAcres

IA/4

*Ay*

%<A

3/403/403/40

Fodderperplot

Pounds

111

73l1

1

.. .1

166021000

2450,. .1800415332232753

Fodderperacre

Pounds

70?

66404000

9800

3200553342933666

1—Failed. 2—Immature. 3—Calculated from green weight.

Rye: A plot of spring rye, planted in the spring of 1915, pro-duced at the rate of 900 pounds of grain per acre. It is likely thatrye will become popular as a hay crop on dry-farms of the region.

SORGHUMSGrain Sorghums: Three varieties of grain sorghums were

planted in 1910 on the Flake farm (see Table XXXII), the bestyield being produced by Broom Corn. Of the sorghums adaptedfor feeding, Standard Milo was most successful. In 1911, Broomcorn again yielded highest, Black-hulled White Kafir second.

TABLE XXXIII. SUMMARY Off VARIETY T£ST Off GRAIN SORCHUMS,

DRY-FARM

Standard MiloWhite KafirBroom cornBlack-hulled

White KafirPink KafirDwarf Milo. .ShalluFeterita

1910

Pounds767486

1180

1911

Pounds1900

2497

1919

Yield of

1912

Pounds364014543240

344222641172

fodder p€

1913

Pounds

146

jr acre

1914

Pounds

4000

6640

1915

Pounds

9800

44973200

Average

founds157729721729

9593442358721862213

552 84

Several varieties were planted in 1912, the best yields beingfrom Pink Kafir, Dwarf Milo, and Broom corn.

Because of drought all plots failed in 1913, and no crop washarvested except on plot of White Kafir which yielded less than300 pounds of fodder per acre.

In 1914, the only grain sorghums grown were Feterita andDwarf Milo, the latter producing 1600 pounds of seed per acre,the first sorghum seed produced on the Snowflake Dry-farm.

Best yields of the entire test were secured in 1915, a plot ofWhite Kafir yielding 9800 pounds of dry fodder, while profitableresults were obtained from Dwarf Milo and Shallu.

XXXIV. VARIETY TEST Otf FORAGK SORGHUMS, SNOWFL,AK£DRY-FARM

Variety

1910Amber

1911AmberitSorghum

1912Amber(i

1913SudanSumacAmbert(

tittH

1914Sudan grassAmber

1915AmberRed TopClub TopSudan grass

ti tt

a tttt tt

Field

Flake

Flake

te

SmithHancock

HancockSmith<

t((<

SmithHancock

SmithHancockaSmith

Hancock

SmithHancock

Dateplanted

5-13

4-214-234-25

4-275-20

6-46-36-146-146-147-127-17

7-65-26

6-256-76-7S-$

6-2

5-86-2

Stand

%

65

506060

805

80808580

80

8080

Datehar-

vested

10-5

10-1010-1010-10

9-2410-14

10-20

10-1010-1010-107-9 }9-20$7-9 19-20$

10-1510-15

Sizeof

plot

Acres

i/2

Vz;/%y.'A

*/4JA3/20

*4A

1/40

1/40

1/405/40

Fodderperplot

Pounds

460

9242010810

4561115

ii

. i

. *

. iii

92228

391^1000750175

95

5525«

Fodderperacre

Pounds

920

184840203240

18244460

3688

2606400030007000

3800

200200

1—Failed to germinate satisfactorily 2—Immature. 3—Died from drouth,calculated from green weight. 5—Seed.

564 BULLETIN 84

Forage Sorghums: A plot of Amber sorghum was planted in1910, producing 920 pounds of dry fodder per acre. See TableXXXIV.

In 1911, two plots of Amber and a third of an unidentifiedsorghum were grown with fair success. One Amber plot yieldedover 4000 pounds of dry fodder per acre.

The test in 1912 included two plots of Amber sorghum grownin the Smith and Hancock fields, respectively. The latter pro-duced 4460 pounds of fodder per acre.

In 1913, all plots failed because of drought.The test, in 1914, included Sudan grass and Amber, the latter

dying from drought and the former yielding 3688 pounds of dryfodder per acre.

Amber, Red-top, Club-top, and Sudan grass were grown in1915, best results being secured from Sudan grass, while fairly sat-isfactory returns were obtained from all plots.

Table XXXV is a summary of the forage sorghum testTo indicate the optimum date to plant sorghums, a summary of

results is shown in Table XXXVI which, in general, favors earlyplanting.

The short frost-free season, combined with the relatively lowtemperatures of the Snowflake vicinity, is poorly adapted to thegrowing of sorghums. Seed is rarely produced and growth is notas rapid as it should be. However, profitable yields of ensilagematerial are often secured. Table XXXVII suggests proper ratesof seeding.

TABLE XXXVII. SUGGESTED RATES OF SEEDING SORGHUMS(Rows 36"-42" apart)

Grain

MiloKafirShallu .........KowliangBroom cornFeterita

sorghumsPounds per Acre

3^3-42-33-42-33-4

Forage sorghums

Sudan Grass" (drilled)

Amber . » . . . ....ûrnac . . . . .Club Top

Pounds per Acre6-8

10-154-6

"4-64-6

MISCELLANEOUS CROPS

Millet: There have been but two trials of millet on the SnowflakeDry-farm. In 1910, German millet was planted but failed, and in1914, Kursk millet yielded 800 pounds of seed and 1000 pounds ofstraw per acre. See Table XXXVIIL

566 BULLETIN 84

Alfalfa: Five varieties of alfalfa were planted in 1913 and grewto a height of ten inches. Three additional plots were seeded m1915 but were destroyed by rabbits. It is not probable that alfalfawill be successfully grown in the vicinity without irrigation.

Bromus Inermis, Bromus Inermis (common brome grass) wasplanted in 1911, but grew to a height of only about six inches.

Teosinte Teosmte, planted in 1912, made a growth of only sixinches.

Fruit No experimental work with fruit was carried out on theSnowflake Dry-farm. Orchards grown under similar conditions,however, indicate the desirability of a small orchard for home use.It is likely that such an orchard can be grown with little supple-mental irrigation, even after the trees have come into full bearing.

FLOODWATER, SUMMER FALLOW, AND CONTINUOUS CROPPINGThe only opportunity for comparison of continuous cropping,

summer fallow and floodwater farming occurred in 1911- TheSnowflake Dry-farm, as relocated, was not situated to catch floods.

TABLE XXXIX. COMPARISON OF FLOODWATER, SUMMER FALLOW, ANDCONTINUOUS CROPPING, SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM, 1911

Crop

SorghumsBroom cornStandard Milo .AmberKafir

Average

CornWhite FlintAustralian White

FlintYellow Dent

Average . . ,

BeansWhite TeparyPinkStriped Bunch

Average

Floodwater

Yield per acre

Seed

Pounds

252

2481488

663

32128244

135

Stover

Pounds

460324032404960

2975

1640

16403636

2305

Summer fallow

Yield per acre

Seed

Pounds,

440

380366

395

40204102

115

Stover

Pounds

4108246040202400

3247

2540

18601200

1866

Continuouscropping

Yield per acre

Seed

Pounds

128

30

53

1638

132

62

Stover

Pounds

2920

1848798

1392

620

228

.283

IL.


Since the continuously cropped plots had only been in cultivationfor two years, data obtained are not especially valuable. In TableXXXIX the results of supplemental irrigation by flooding, summerfallowing and continuous cropping are shown. The flooded landreceived but one overflow, which was quite heavy, in the earlyspring before crops were planted.

Moisture conditions of land continuously cropped, summer fal-lowed, and flooded are recorded in Table XL.

TABLE: XL. MOISTURE: DETERMINATIONS IN SOILS SUMMER FALLOWED,CONTINUOUSLY CROPPED, AND FLOODED, SNOWFLAKE

DRY-FARM, 1911

Sampletaken

May 23" 23

Aver'ge

Aug. 31" 31" 31

Aver'ge

Depthof

sample

1st foot2nd "

1st foot2nd "3rd "

Continuously cropped

Hole 1

%8.158.39

8.27

6.948.46

7.70

Hole 2 |Hole 3

%8.166.03

7.09

.,.

%8.806.41

7.60

8.439.059.70

9.06

Summerfallowed

Hole 4 | Hole 5

%11.0512.93

11.99

7.63

7.63

%14.8110.74

12.77

9.479.298.65

9.14

Flooded

Hole 6

%12.2516.52

14.38

9.2110.2012.19

10.53

Hole 7

%12.3313.60

12.96

15.4513.2814.73

14.49

HoleS

%18.0314.20

16.12

10.1011.77

10.93

Fig. 26.—Three-year-old dry-farm orchard, Pinedale, Arizona.

TABLE XU. MOISTURE DETERMINATIONS, SNOWFLAKE DRY-FARM

Sampletaken

Flake -Field1910

May 19

AverageAvg. all sam-

ples, 6.03

Sept. 29

AverageAvg all sam-

ples, 5.96

1911May 23


ples, 11.01

Aug. 31

AverageAvg all sam-

ples, 9,93

1912May 23Smith andHancock

Fields

AverageAvg all sam-

ples, 15.60

1913Aug. 1


ples, 13.16

Depthof

sample

1st foot2nd 4 <

3rd "4th "5th "

1st foot2nd "3rd "4th "

1st foot2nd "3rd "

1st foot2nd "3rd "

1st foot2nd "3rd "4th "5th '6th '7th (

8th {

9th '

1st foot2nd "3rd "4th "5th "6th "7h "8th «

Holel

%

8697527.16

7.79

598

9.086227.09

815839

827

6948.46

7.70

8.4113.1115.22

1225

1030620730500

7.20

Hole 2

%

861630437

643

8406616.80

7.27

8.16603

710

....

15.1018.101698

16.73

860109011,5010.10

10.27

HoleS

%

4336.735.394546.295.45

5.424.503804.124.46

8806413.476.23

8.439.059.709.06

13.3016.4117.5515.2421.1619.83

17.25

Hole 4

%

507447

477

411380

396

11.0512.93

ii.99

7.63

763

14.2711.2314.3820.9222.2420.91

17.32

6.9012.3012.4018.4018.50197022.20213016.46

Hole 5

%

536473

504

7.424.26383

517

14.811074754

1103

9.479298.659.14

12.18130210.9112.2515.4518332032197720531586

11.0012.907.60

14.005.70

17,2015,0015.901241

Hole 6

%

761681566

669

12.2516.52

1439

9.2110.2012.1910.53

9.1215.4115.8217.65135714.46

14.34

10.00127012.70186017301770194021,701626

Hole 7*

%

5.7610027.508087.84

12.3313.60

1297

15.4513.28147314.49

10.331621166315.0415.0319.51

15.46

1

8.409608.80810

11.6015.2016.2017.2011.89

Hole 8*

%

18031420

1611

10.1011.77

1093

> ... .

13301760176015,10186019.6017.9021.3017.62

*From adjoining virgin land.

xu—Continued

Sampletaken

Dec. 12

AverageAvg. alt sam-

p.es, 14.3

1914July 1

AverageAvg. ail sam-

ples, 13.4

Oct. 20

AverageAvg.aW sam-

ples, 15.3

1915July 1

AverageAvg. alii sam-

ples, 15.2

Oct. 20


ples, 14.5

Depthof

sample

1st foot2nd "3rd "4th "5th "6th "7th "8th "

1st foot2nd '3rd4th5th '6th '7th '8th




Holel

%12.69.07.58.2

16.821.919.617.614.1

3.76.68.66.56.4

10.06.4

' 6.0

10.55.16.96.2

»

' 7.2

6,47.8

11.69.2

' 8.7

5.66.59.47.8

7.3

Hole 2

%14.216,417.311.811.013513.712.913.8

6.214.811.78.2

11.616.518.721.313.6

21.714.510.88.5

13.719.020.019.716.0

8.915.517.513.417.112613.523.815.3

9.915613612015.819.320318215.6

Holes

%12.213.515.4

20.018.414.717.315.9

4.413.9

18.315.619.621021.016.3

12.419.621.318.018.523.322.022.619.7

5.787

20017.717.421.821.219216.4

11.611.3518,918.715115.71*113.915.4

Hole 4

Of

13514.8

139*14.720.324.0

169

4512.716816.77.9

15.918.316.413.6

17.516.616.815.621.918.216915.817.4

5.417.682

25.110716.517.5128142

10.911,013.918.517017.021 620.416.3

Hole 5

~

13812.311013816217.915516114.6

7.511.810618*.617.218.013.515814.1

15.312.612.219.018.017.714.916.015.7

7.912.215.219.118518.317.418915.9

10.610.812317.617.515217.417.114.8

Hole

—1218.5

11.514.Ql^.y

15716.318.516.4142

8.512.7

16417.319.420.921.416.4

15.513.317.019.516.521.221.323.318.4

12.114.218.119.519.623.024.725.719.6

12.613.418.820,219.224025.322.819.5

Hole 7*

n '13?110.99.0

L5!611.710.310.211.7

6.816.0

17.314.8

14.6

15.212.515.914.314.414.715.519.215.2

11315015.017.613.615.116219.215.4

7.213.6

its13.714.516.318614.1

Hole 8*

12*811.7150\s 110 o13511912.3

13.4

6.610.811 A.1 JL.'T

13.716819013.411.012.8

13.710.611.411.014.714.316.5

13.2

9.412.914.516.320018.420.218116.2

5.68.29.1

11.618.115,419.420.813.5

*Prom adjoining- virgin land.

570 BULLETIN 84

MOISTURE STORAGE

To determine the variation in the moisture content of the soil,series of samples were analyzed in spring and fall each year thefarm was operated. Borings were located at various representa-tive places on the farm and eight-ounce soil samples were taken toa depth of eight feet where possible. The results are given inTable XLI. Samples in 1910 and 1911 were taken from the Flakefield, and for the remainder of the period from the Smith andHancock fields The intention was at all times to take samples in sum-mer immediately prior to the summer rains, and in fall when the landv as driest

A striking feature of the data in Table XLI is the low moisturecontent of the first foot of soil in late spring and early summerMoisture dissipating forces are particularly active in spring andspecial care should be exercised to conserve all the moisture pos-sible A finely pulverized mulch in fall is undesirable, since itprevents ready percolation of water; while if the surface is rough,deeper penetration is secured, and a greater percentage of water re-mains in the ground. It has been observed that a surface crustforms in June even under mulches four to six inches deep. Thiscrust is more pronounced in heavy soil but is evident in all typesThe need of conserving sufficient moisture from winter precipitationto germinate and maintain seedings made prior to the formation ofthe sub-surface crust is manifest.

PRESCOTT DRY-FARMIn the summer of 1911, after several examination trips had been

made over the promising agricultural districts of the vicinity, thePrescott Dry-farm was established seven miles north of Prescottand one and one-half miles north of P. & E. Junction, on the SantaFe, Prescott & Phoenix Railroad.* The farm includes three soiltypes characteristic of the more important valleys of the region. Itcontains both level and steep lands, and affords opportunity for irri-gation with diverted floodwater.

Establishment of the Prescott Dry-farm was made possible bycooperation of the Prescott Chamber of Commerce, through whichbusiness men of Prescott subscribed $2000; the Santa Fe, Prescott& Phoenix Railroad, which, through its general manager, Mr. W.A. Drake, subscribed $2000; and a $500 appropriation subscribed

*For map of Prescott Dry-farm see Twenty-eighth Ann Eept Ariz AgncExpt Sta, p 399


through Governor R. E. Sloan of the Territory of Arizona. Theoperation of the farm since has been financed by appropriations fromthe State Legislature.

There were no dry-farms in the immediate vicinity, and theproduction of crops without irrigation was an untried experiment.

The southeast corner of the Prescott Dry-farm is the highestpoint on the place, being 5012 feet above sea-level, and the north-west corner, on Granite Creek, is the lowest, with an elevation of4946 feet. The farm is cut diagonally into two nearly equal areasby a wash which originates in hills directly to the east. This washis dry except in times of heavy storms when often it carries con-siderable water.

The higher parts of the farm were covered with a native growthof scrub oak. Other areas supported a fair growth of native grassesincluding white and blue grama, six weeks, buffalo, and bunchgrasses. Approximately sixty acres are under cultivation. Knollsof the farm expose a red, compact loam which, when dry, is veryhard and, when wet, very sticky. This soil contains a relativelylarge amount of fine clay particles. In places, this soil is mixedwith coarse gravel. Soil of the grassy flats of intermediate eleva-tion is darker colored and contains a high percentage of very finesand particles. The bottom land is fertile, dark loam containingliberal amounts of organic matter and lying immediately adjacentto the creek. For mechanical and chemical analyses see Table X toXIII inclusive.

From its establishment until the present time, efforts on thePrescott Dry-farm have been mostly directed towards finding outthe best adapted varieties of agricultural crops, the most practicablecultural operations, and a safe and reasonably dependable system offarm management.

Triree plots of alfalfa were planted in 1912 (see Table XUI),one of which was winter killed, one was destroyed by drought androdents, and the third grew to a height of three inches before thecold weather of winter. Growth was renewed the following springbut the alfalfa was killed by drought in June, 1913. In 1913, twelveplots of Grimm, Peruvian, Algerian, Arabian, and Provence alfalfawere planted from seed produced by dry-farming in various localities

572 84

XUI. VARIETY TKST OF , PRESCOTT DRY FARM

Variety

1912Arizona CommonTurkestan

Kansas1913

Montana Dry Land. . . .Nebraska " " . . . .Arabian No. 26461 . . . .Provence No. 24602...Peruvian No. 29353. . . .Algerian No. 12846....Arizona PeruvianTurkestanMinnesota GrimmArizona CommonNorthernIdaho Dry Land

1914

1915

1916

Dateplanted

8-48-4

6-236-237-87-8 f7-87-87-87-87-87-87-87-8

Size ofplot

1/6

y*Ys

1/401/40

1/401/401/401/401/40

y*

Remarks

Killed by drought and rodentsGrew 3 inches until hit by frost

came out in spring and waskilled by drought in June

Winter killed

Growth of 6 inches6666666

126 *66

Growth of 6 to 8 inches

Growth of 6 to 8 inches

Plowed under

Fig. 27.—Beans, Prescott Dry-farm.

574 84

TABUS xivin.—Continued

Variety

1915TeoarvLittle'sYellow HopiWhite HopiCasa, Grande . .Hanson . .....ValentinePinkBates'Colorado PintoHeward PintoRed HopiLady WashingtonBavou

Dateplanted

5-185-185-185-185-185-185-185-195-195-195-195-195-105-19

Stand

8565858080957095909075858085

Dateharvested

10-410-410-410410-410-49-21

11-210-410-410-410411-211-2

Size ofplot

Acres

i/izizIZ

y*1/101/10

T X

1/10

1/125*

per plotPounds

180315342276474

194203

172462

131

Tieiaper acre

Founds

7202484243362165127040

776812170192744524

of the United States. The plot of Minnesota Grimm made the bestgrowth, attaining a height of twelve inches during the summer.The remainder of the plots grew about one-half as tall. A growthof six or eight inches was made in both 1914 and 1915, and in 1916all the alfalfa was plowed under.

B3ANS

Beans are of special importance to Arizona dry-farmers. Aslegumes they have great value in crop rotations, and, since thereare a number of varieties which have been thoroughly acclimatizedthroughout a long period of time by the native Indians, no surercrop can be grown on Arizona dry-farms.

Six varieties were planted on the Prescott Dry-farm in 1912.See Table XLIII. Best results were obtained from Bates' andtepary beans.

In 1913 six other varieties were added, the plot of tepariesbeing destroyed by rabbits, and the Bates' variety maintaining itssatisfactory yield of the year before.

The highest yielding variety of beans in 1914 was Lady Wash-ington, with teparies producing satisfactorily.

In 1915 the leading varieties were Colorado Pinto, Bates', LadyWashington, and tepary .

Table XLIV summarizes the average yields of all plots of eachvariety for the four years of the test, the desirability and consistent

576 BULLETIN 84

plots were seeded on various dates in 1913, 1914, and 1915. LadyWashington beans were used throughout the test, and teparieswere added in 1913. The data are somewhat incomplete, though theresults, supplemented by additional experience, indicate the desira-bility of May planting. See Table XLV.

Of special interest is the tepary bean, which has been bredup from parent stock secured from the Papago Indians, thereforewell adapted to climatic conditions of Arizona. No variety thathas been tried on any of the Experiment Station farms seems sowell adapted. Tepary beans now on the market are white, thoughthe parent stock included many colors. Interest is developingthroughout the entire United States, and the demand is constantlyincreasing. When properly cooked, tepary beans have a delightfulflavor, being preferred by many to other varieties. The cookingmethods which are ordinarily used for other varieties of beans mustbe somewhat modified to obtain best results from tepar!es. Theymature quickly, and, under favorable conditions, yield a very largetonnage for green manuring purposes or for hay. Teparies mustbe protected from rabbits.

Another very promising variety of beans is Bates'. It is equal

Fig-. 28.—Papago Sweet corn, Prescott Dry-farm.


1ABLE XLVI. VARIETY TSST OF NATIVE INDIAN CORN, PR^SCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

1912Yellow Hopia a

t( t(C( ((

Papago Sweet..1913

Yellow Hopi . . .Hopi White FlintBlue Hopi . . .White Hopi.. . .PimaPapago Sweet..

1914Papago Sweet..White Hopi(t «Yellow Hopi...

a ((

Pink " '.'.".Red " ...a «.pintoDelicious HopiBlue Hopi .....

« «Hopi Squaw...Mixed t Hopi...Palakai .......Koescha Kai . . .Heroosquapa . .Pima

«MohaveWhite Flint....

1915Papago Sweet. .« ttYellow Hopi . .Red « ...Mixed " ...Blue " ...White " ...Hopi Squaw —Pima»White Flint..,.*

Dateplanted

5-105-206-36-35-165-15

5-265-155-145-145-155-14

5-125-145-135-145-135-145-135-135-135-135-135-135-135-135-135-135-135-137-105-135-135-13

5-18i; IQ5-185-185-185-175-185-185-185-185-18

Stand

%

606060

95858085807580858070909570809090909090

1009090

100G*95959595Q595409595

Datehar-

vested

9-610-710-1210-129-26

10-5

10-1310-1510-1510-1510-1510-15

9-259-99-109-99-169-149-109-169-169-10

10-310-39-109-109-169-169-169-169-25

10-110-310-3

10-1010-2110-1010-1010-1010-610-910-1010-1110-910-10

Sizeof -

plot

Acres

%VAy&X1A

1/20

J*J*u.%

*41/20

1/121/121/801/121/801/401/401-801/401/401/401/61/401/401/201/801/401/40

1AX4

1/401/40

1AH

1/20J*HYs

1/40Ys

1/12

Yield p

Gram

Pounds

22116520016920087

9217220026

27141

41629

2589

211314201548142625201555

843125

21

98443799

14310319

154126

er plotStover

Pounds

2212323813416Q3243

13838930049

54483

36195369414302648403575

5992338

130233371

46562112871

500

is1651011342009880

249596

Yield p

Gram

Pounds

834660

16001352son

1740

73613761600208

1084820

492744720300640360840

1040560800600288560

1040500

1600600

2200

33612401000

168

784352740792

1144824760

12321512

er acreStover

Pounds

884928

3048272877774860

110431127/tnn392

21761660

433211402880112811201200104038401600140030003594920

152026001840132028403720248451202840

4000

12561320202010721600784

320019927152

578 BULLETIN 84

Li quality to any kidney beans, and is particularly adapted to theclimate of many regions in Northern Arizona.*

In 1914, a fungus disease appeared, the greatest damage beingdone to pink beans.

CORN

Native Indian Varieties: For convenience in comparison,tables recording variety tests of corn are divided into two groups,native Indian, and improved American varieties. The origin of In-dian varieties is not known further than that they have been grownfor a great many years by various tribes in the State. Some havedistinct varietal characteristics, while others should be consideredmerely as races. In Tables XLVI and XLVII Papago sweet isincluded among Indian varieties, though it has been bred up andadapted until it may well be considered an improved American\ ariety.

Three varieties of native corn, Yellow Hopi, Pima and Papagosweet, were planted in 1912. The best yield, 1740 pounds of earcorn per acre, was obtained from the plot of Papago sweet. Twoplots of Yellow Hopi yielded 1352 and 1600 pounds of ear corn peracre, respectively. See Table XLVI.

Supplementing varieties grown in 1912, Hopi White Flint,Blue Hopi, and White Hopi were added to the test in 1913. Thebest yield was obtained from Blue Hopi.

In 1914, Mohave, several additional strains of Hopi, and threevarieties, Palakai, Koescha Kai and Heroosquapa, obtained fromToriva, were added. The maximum yield of 2200 pounds of earcorn per acre was secured from a plot of Pima.

Fewer varieties were planted in 1915, the best yield being ob-tained from a plot of White Flint.

In Table XLVII, which summarizes the variety test of nativeIndian corn, annual yields represent the average of all plots of thespecified variety for the given year.

The desirability of certain Indian varieties of corn for dry-farming is clearly evident. A degree of drought resistance hasbeen bred up by natural selection for an unknown period of years,

*Por a description of "bean varieties see Arizona Agricultural Experiment Sta-tion Bulletin No. 68, "Southwestern Beans and Teparies," by Georgre F. Freeman.


TABLE) XLVIII—Continued

Variety

19^4 — ContinuedRed DentBrown County

A ellow DentStrawberry . . .White AustralianStoolmg Bra-

zilian Flour . .Bloody ButcherMexican Black

JuneIowa Silver

MineWhite Pearl...Learning . . .White WonderGabannoSixty DayRice PopSweetKurekaChub

1915Red DentWhite "Brown County

Yellow Dent..Reid's Yellow

DentMauPs Yellow

DentKing Philip....ChubStrawberry«Iowa Silver

MineKlginRice Pop ......Bloody Butcherit ttSwadleyHickory King. .White Aus-

tralianMexican BlackStoolmg Bra-

zilian Flour..Sweet

Datepanted

5-14

5-145-125-12

5-125-135-135-13

7-107-107-107-105-275-135-145-136-225-13

5-185-18

5-18

5-17

5-175-185-185-185-19

5-18S-185-185-175-195-175-17

5-175-17

5-175-17

Stand

%90

954085

100804095

709595

1007580

9570

50

95

959595

70

95959595809595

9595

9595

Datehar-

vested

9-14

9-159-288-5

9-2110-110-19-15

9-259-259-259-25

10-69-159-15

KM9-199-28

10-1010-11

10-11

10-6

10-910-1010-10

icCM10-1010-1010-1110-610-2110-610-6

10-610-9

10-910-9

Sizeof

plot

Acres1/20

1/12ytX*/4*A1A

1/40

tttttty*

1/101/401/40%

&

tt1/40

1/20

tt

tttt

1/16

"tt1/20tt

1/20tttttttt

tttt

tttt

Yield per plot Yield per acreGrainPounds

13

7688

225

2516420

*781010

155

'23

18727

44

220

200200

41

718111

215

*3487

10136

7535

StoverPounds

225

170277448

122416611906311

1701

1071

1681

2531

25218

105840722255

273100

111

301

497317155

2

40916169

290

60560

10062

400200

GramPounds

260

912352900

10065680

'780400400620

'460

14961080

880

1760

16001600656

1420648220

1720

272696

808288

600280

StoverPounds4500

204011081792

48966644760

2527

1363857

134110112520720

4200336030885100

21844000

2220

2408

397625362480

8180128813802320

4804480

800496

32001600

1 — Calculated from green weight. 2 — Failed to come up.

WORK IN DRY-FARMING 583

and no surer varieties will be found than those obtained from theIndians.

Improved American Varieties: Five varieties including sweet,-dent and pop corn were planted in 1912. See Table XLVIIL Theheaviest yield was obtained from a plot of Reid's Yellow Dent, aplot of White Dent yielding the next largest amount.

The 1913 corn test included thirteen varieties, the highest yieldbeing secured from a plot of Reid's Yellow Dent, the next bestyield coming from a plot of King Philip.

Twenty-five varieties were tested in 1914, the best yield, 3630pounds of ear corn per acre, coming from a plot of White Dent.

Of the eighteen varieties tested in 1915, the best yield, 1760pounds of ear corn per acre, was obtained from a plot of Reid'sYellow Dent, a plot of Bloody Butcher coming second, with ayield of 1720 pounds per acre.

In summarizing the test of improved varieties of Americancorn, yields for a given variety in any one year are calculated byaveraging all of the plots of that variety grown in the year speci-fied. As will be seen in Table XLJX, best results were obtainedfrom Reid's Yellow Dent, while King Philip, Bloody Butcher,Hickory King, and Maul's Yellow Dent were promising.

Table XLIX shows an especially heavy yield of earn corn forthe season of 1913. The distribution of summer rainfall at thistime apparently supports the theory that an excess of moisture dur-ing the earlier growing period tends to exaggerate vegetativegrowth at the expense of grain production. In 1913 the summerrainfall was somewhat delayed' not beginning until after the cornplants had begun to form grain, and, as a result, grain formationwas stimulated at the expense of vegetative growth.

HttJIT

To determine the practicability of fruit raising by dry-farming,a small orchard of the following varieties of trees was planted inthe spring of 1912:

Apples: King DavidRome BeautyWhite Winter PearmainArkansas BlackGravenstein

584 BULLETIN 84

Pears: SickleBartlettWinter BartlettDannasClap Favorite

Cherries: NapoleonEnglish MorreloBing

Plums: Grand DukeBurbankWashington

Peaches: Salway

Prunes: Hungarian

One tree of each of the above varieties was planted, exceptingKing David apples, of which three trees were set out.

During the winter of 1912 and 1913 some of the trees weregirdled by rabbits and were replaced in the spring of 1913 withnew stock of the same varieties.

In the spring of 1913 a few grape vines were planted, includingpiincipally Concords, with one Mission and one Niagara vine.

Two English walnut trees were planted early in 1913.On June 26, 1913, each tree received fifteen gallons of water,

and each grape vine ten gallons, the only irrigation supplied sinceplanting.

A little fruit was produced by the plums and the grapes in 1915,and all of the trees have made a healthy growth. Fruit productionin 1916 and 1917 increased normally.

The moisture content of the orchard plot (see Table L) indi-cates that, with careful and consistent cultivation, a slight amountof moisture may be stored in the soil, especially in the area belowthe second foot. In 1911, about thirty days after the land wasbroken, the soil was so dry and hard below the fifth foot that sam-ples could not be obtained with the soil auger. The condition wasimproved in 1912, and a sample was secured from the sixth foot,while in 1913, 1914 and 1915, samples to a depth of eight feet werereadily obtained. It appears likely that sufficient moisture can bestored in the soil to make production of dry-farmed fruits for home


use practicable, and, after the trees have come into full bearing, oneor two irrigations per annum may suffice to make orchardingprofitable.

MOISTURE: DETERMINATIONS, PRESCOTT DRY-FARM ORCHARD

Date oftaking

sample

9- 3-119- 7-125-13-129-20-145-28-15

Avge.Average

1st ft.

14.2814.317.88.4

16.4

14.24for o<

2nd ft.

15.2117.620.1014.4020.00

17.46^riod. .

3rd ft.

9.6819.3016.7012.0020.20

15.58

4th ft.

13.3614.1016.5011.2017.00

14.43

5th ft.

9.239.50

15.3015.2017.40

13.33

6th ft.

8.3013.7013.2018.50

1.3.43

7th ft

iioo15.9021.80

16.90

8th ft.

14.90

22.90

18.90

YearlyAver-

age

12.3513.8516.0012.9019.28

14.80..15.53

POTATOES

The climate of northern Arizona at an altitude of 5000 feet ormore is somewhat favorable to potato growing, and, with suitablesoil and ample moisture, large yields can be secured. Market prices

Fig. 29.—Potatoes damaged by potato stem borer, Prescott Dry-farm.

586 BULLETIN 84

TABWS LI. VARIETY T£ST OF POTATOES, PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

1912White Star« ((Blue VictorEarly Rose

1913"Wynekoop

C(

u

Blue Victor ......White StarIrish Cobblerit (tEarly RoseRed Ohio

1914Irish Cobbler

(i u(i a<( (t

Rural New YorkerCarman No. 1Red Ohio

U it

Moore's EarlySnowball

Wrencher's Sur-prise .... . .

Blue VictorPeachblowRose SeedlingRusset Burbank. .Mammoth White

PearlMammoth White

PearlBonanzaWynekoop

1915Irish Cobbleru uRed Ohio .......Carman No. 1Vermont Gold

Coin ... ......Compton's Sur-

priseRusset Burbank..

( C f t

Mammoth WhitePearl ,

Blue Victor ......Peachblow . ...Bonanza ,

Bateplanted

5-215-245-215-21

5-45-215-216-26-25-25-26-25-2

4-214-244-254-254-244-244-245-27

4-24

4-244-244-254-254-25

4-25

4-254-245-27

6-16-46-16-1

6-1

6-16-16-1

6-16-16-16-1

Stand

%

90909090

708585205

60707570

75708085

607585

95

7070608080

25

108085

20204030

50

405020

20202020

Dateharvested

12-2812-2812-2812-28

11-810-1810-1811-8

11-810-2011-810-20

11-2811-2111-2111-2811-2811-2811-2811-28

11-28

11-2811-2111-2111-2111-28

11-28

11-2811-2111-28

12-1412-1412-1412-14

P-14

12-1412-1412-14

12-1412-1412-1412 14

Size ofplot

Acres

1/20JA1/151/15

JA%

1/201/401/201/20X

1/401/20

y*1/101/201/40

i/801/801/40

1/40

1/401/401/201/201/20

1/40

1/401/401/40

1/401/121/401/40

1/20

1/401/401/40

1/801/801/401/40

Yieldper plot

Pounds

95210460231

3901491511

22

2

52

792

IS2

19a

10138269

a

"l62022

27

1426233220

5

*A2126

12103412

50

339IS

14

ocQ

Yieldper acrePounds

1900168069003465

156011923020

80

100632600380

404380520360

im1600880

1080

5601040460640400

200

20840

1040

480120

1360480

1000

1201560600

80320

10003?0

1—Irrigated with floodwater. 2—Destroyed by potato "beetles.


TABLE LII. SUMMARY, VARIETY TEST OF POTATOES, PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

Blue VictorWhite StarKarly Rose

Irish CobblerRed OhioCarman No. 1Moore's Early Snowball . .

Wrencher's SurpriseJPeachblowRusset BurbankMammoth White Pearl . .Rural New YorkerVermont Gold CoinCompton's SurpriseT?nse, Seedlins

1912

Pounds690018803465

1913

Pounds80

"6001924366380

1914

Pounds1040....

1040416

1?4012801080840560460400110

i

"640

1915

Pounds320

« . . .

3001360480

*320

l6661080

80

1666120

AveragePounds7nft*i

Q4.A

onooQQQ

77n74*%R8n

108058056073ft74095

1000120fi4n

1—Destroyed by potato beetles,

?re usually very high, and satisfactory crops of potatoes are prob-ably as profitable as any crop grown at present on northern Arizonadry farms.

In 1912 three varieties of potatoes were planted, includingWhite Star, Blue Victor, and Early Rose. See Tables LI and LILIhe largest yield was 6900 pounds per acre from the Blue Victorplot. Seed for this plot was secured in Coconino County where ithad been grown for many years and was therefore wellacclimatized.

In addition to the varieties tested in 1912, Irish Cobbler, RedOhio, and Wynekoop potatoes were grown in 1913. The largestyield, 3020 pounds per acre, was from a plot of Wynekoop potatoeswhich had received an irrigation by floodwater. The two remain-ing Wynekoop plots yielded considerably more than the othervarieties.

Several varieties were added to the test in 1914, including RuralIsew Yorker, Carman No. 1, Moore's Early Snowball, Wrencher'sSurprise, Peachblow, Rose Seedling, Russet Burbank, MammothWhite Pearl, and Bonanza. The largest yield was 1600 pounds petacre obtained from a plot of Red Ohio, Carman No. 1 returning thesecond largest yield, 1280 pounds per acre.

In 1915 several other varieties previously tested were discon-tinued, and Vermont Gold Coin and Compton's Surprise were

588 BULLETIN 84

Fig. 30.—California Club wheat (right) and Koffoid (left), Prescott Dry-farmJune 24, 1915.

Fig. 31.—Marquis wheat (left) and winter killed barley (right), PrescottDry-farm, June 24, 1915.


TABLE LIH. VARIETY TEST OF WHEAT, PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

1913Turkey Red. ..

< *i (

Blnestem . . .

ICubanka 'Club Head. . . 1Early Baart . .

iit

^nrittEr TurkevGold CoinMcOmiePolishRed RussianHopi . .

Red Fifen (tClub HeadKoffoidNew Zealand

SpringWhite Aus-

tralian1914

Sonera ... .Turkey Red...

a itt( nu tt r\

I 2998ritih HeadMarquisPolish

Kharkov C. L1442

Arinaviar C. I.1355

Crimean C. L1559 ....

Dateplanted

9-1010-510-510-1011-103-19

10-54-11

10-510-72-94-114-165-165-205-215-215-214-164_H4-114-114-114-114-254-114-114-164-16

4-11

4-25

10-109-169-17

10-1011-10

10-610-79-169-17

10-6

9-25

8-25

8-25

Stand

%

33

•• 1

70

70

80

85

85100100

90

9595

85

85

85

Datehar-

vested

6-307-22

7-237-23

7-8

11-7

9-4

i

8-1

11-4

9-99-28

9-28

6-26-256-116-256-29

6-28

6-116-11

6-27

6-27

6-27

Sizeofplot

Acres

y&1/71Al/4

V*

Yay&J4'

,/1o1/201/20

1A1A1A

1/24

1/1254

y*

1Ati1AV41A

t/20

%y&1/48

3/40

3/40

3/40

Yield p<

Grain

Pounds4036

3512

3/

12

2V2

2

30

524101915

12

5021

12

20

16

3r plotStraw

Pounds7534i

225e

i5

3

3

1102

3

* 2

*854

4

4

S

«

1

40

32

78

8

300a

3519127

131113

88^ >30273

88

93

86

Yield p<

Grain

Pounds320252

146 !4 8 J

. . . . 1" 6 !1

48

ou

8

120

2096807660

240

200168

160

266

213

?r acreStraw

Pounds600238

'900

40

880

'680

160

72

28

12CO

140764216524452

1760

1208584

1173

1240

1146

1—Winter killed. 2—Bled of drouth. 3—Disced Aug. 15. 4—Destroyed by rab-bits. 5—Disced Sept. 15. 6—Pastured. 7—Disced Aug. 9.

590 BULLETIN 84

un—Continued

Variety

1914 — ContinuedCrimean C I

1436Crimean C I

1435Ghirka C. 1.

1438Bulgarian C I.

2048Blnestem . . .Kubanka . .

1915Kharkov C I

1442 . . .Kharkov C. I

1355 ... .Arinaviar . .Ghirka C I

1438Bulgarian C. I.

2048Reel FifeMarquis

White Aus-tralian .

Early Baart.Gold Coin . . . .Crimean C. I.

1435Crimean C. I.

1437Crimean C. I.

1559 . ...KubankaBluestcmKof foidMinnesota Fife

No. 43 . . , .Turkey Red...

Dateplanted

8-25

9-25

8-25

8-2510-68-25

10-12

10-1210-12

10-12

10-1210-109-30

10-10

10-1010-1010-10

10-12

10-12

10-1210-1210-129-30

9-3010-10

Stand

%

85

85

85

859585

90

9090

90

85909595

607065

85

80

80759595

9595

Datehar-

vested

6-25

6-25

6-27

6-266-266-28

7-21

7-217-21

7-21

7-217-207-107-20

7-19

7-20

7-197-207-207-10

7-107-6

S7,"ofplot

Acres

3/40

3/40

1/40

3/401/481/10

1/40

1/801/40

1/20

1/201/10

1A1/6

1/421/112/11

1/20

1/40

1/121/71A1A1Al/s

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

15

14

7

232

14

8

57

14

1534

16071

17

10

254134

104

100112

er plot

Straw

Pounds

135

90

100

1469684

18

1317

27

3178

455121

»8

28

17i

498173

312

401416

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

200

173

280

30696

140

320

400280

280

300340

1280426

340

400

300287272832

800896

er acre

Straw

Pounds

1800

1200

4000

1946960840

720

1040680

540

620780

3640726

560

680

583567584

2496

32083328

8—Destroyed by prairie doss in April.

added. The largest yield was 1560 pounds per acre from a plotof Russet Burbank potatoes. In both 1914 and 1915 considerabledamage was done by Colorado potato beetles.

SMALI/ GRAINS

Wheat: In the fall of 1911 several plots of wheat were plantedon virgin land which had been broken in August and September,


but were entirely destroyed by prairie dogs and rabbits during thewinter.

Four varieties were planted in the fall of 1912 and fourteenvarieties in the spring of 1913. See Table LIII. Hard red winter,semi-hard spring, and soft bread wheats, macaroni wheats, and oneplot of Polish wheat were included in the varieties. The best yieldwas obtained from a plot of Turkey Red planted September 10.

Thirteen varieties were planted in the fall of 1913, including thesame classes of wheat as were used the previous year, with theaddition of Poulard, a variety known by several names, such asMiracle, Alaska, and Seven-headed. The best yield was from asmall plot of Bulgarian C. I. No. 2048.

Better returns were secured in 1915, a plot of Marquis yielding1280 pounds of grain per acre.

A summary of the variety test of wheat on the Prescott Dry-farm is given in Table LIV. In this table annual yields of a givenvariety represent the average of all plots of that variety in theyear named.

To determine the most favorable date to plant wheat, a number

TABLE LIV. SUMMARY, VARIETY TEST OF WINTER WHEATS,PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

Turkey Red ,Early BaartBluesteniKubankaSonoraClub HeadMarquisPolishKharkovArinaviarCrimeanGhirkaBulgarianRed Fife ........Wliite AustralianGold CoinKoffoidMinnesota Fife No.

43

1£

Grain

Pounds152

13

Straw

Pounds435

19

Grain

Pounds110

9614020

200168

* 160266195280306

Yield p

14

Straw

Pounds743

960840140

1208584

11731240138240001946

er acre

19

GramPounds

896

272287

853

360280347280300340

832

880

L5

Straw

Pounds3328

584567

2183

880680609540620780

2496

3208

Avei

Grain

Pounds386

12314220

526168260273271280303340

832

880

-age

StrawPounds

1502

515469140

1695584

1026960995

22701283780

2496

3208

EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN DRY-FARMING 59S

iA7ii. VARIETY TEST OF BARLEY, RYE, EM HER, AND SPELTZ,PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

1912White Hulless

bcirlevSix Row barley

(C « "

P ve1913

Black Hullessbarley

Six Row barley

Mansury "Spring rye

1914Six Row barley

(i a a

Black Hulless

White Hullessbarley

Oderbruckerbarley

Utah Winterbarley

Mansury barleyRye

SpeltzHmmer ....

1915Utah Winter

barley . .Black Hulless

barleyBlack Hulless

barlevBlack Winter

emrnerRyeRed Winter

speltzC.1.1772

Dateplanted

10-75-14

10-711-11

4-74-114^114-113-19

7-104-15

4-11

4-15

4-11

8-254-157-109-174-20

10-6

10-12

9-30

10-10

10-1010-10

10-12

Stand

%

85

9595

70

80

Datehar-

vested

9-30

7-22

8-1

11-7

6-28

11-76-116-26

7-21

7-19

Sizeof

plotAcres

1A1/6

y&

54l/s

1/40

1/20

1/101/20

1A1A1/20

1/20

Mi

1/9

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

12

30

4

2504

10

38

er plot

Straw

Pounds

130

160

10

18

60

53718

29

71

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

48

180

40

100080

200

342

er acre

Straw

Pounds.

520

96u

2

Z

3

*

40

144

4-

»

4-

600&

2148360

4-

580t

«•

«•K

639

1—winter killed. 2—Disced. 3—Killed by drought. 4—Destroyed by rabbits.5—Failed. 6—Destroyed by prairie dogs.

grain and only forty pounds of straw per acre. One plot in 1914failed utterly, while a second produced at the rate of 1000 pounds ofgrain and 2148 pounds of straw per acre. In 1915 the only plotseeded was destroyed by prairie dogs. As a hay crop rye is prob-ably the most promising of any of the small grains. It should be

596 N 84

Fig1. 32.—Winter rye, Prescott Dry-farm, June 24. 1915.

planted in early fall at the rate of about thirty pounds of seedper acre.

Emmer: The first plots of emmer and speltz were planted in1914, one being destroyed by rabbits, while the other, a plot ofspeltz planted April 20, yielded eighty pounds of grain per acre.Black Winter emmer planted in 1915 was destroyed by prairie dogs,while Red Winter speltz C. I. No. 1772 yielded 342 pounds of grainper acre.

SORGHUMS

While sorghums were introduced into the Southwest compara-tively recently, they are already recognized by many as the surestproducers of both grain and forage in times of drought. In thefollowing discussion, sorghums will be divided into the two usualclasses according to their special adaptation; forage sorghums andgrain sorghums.

Forage Sorghums: Amber and Club-top sorghums weregrown in 1912, the former satisfactorily maturing, the latter failingto ripen seed.

In 1913 African sorghum and Sudan grass were added to the


Fig. 33.—Club-top on bottom land, Prescott Dry-farm, yield 25,050 poundsper acre green foraere.

test, the biggest yield coming from Club-top, which still failed tomature.

Sumac and shallu were included in the experiment in 1914, thebiggest yield again being obtained from Club-top.

In 1915 Club-top and Dwarf milo were mixed for ensilage pur-poses, such a mixture furnishing a large tonnage of green foddercontaining a fairly high percentage of grain. Best results wereobtained from Sumac, the Club-top and milo mixture comingsecond. See Table LVIII.

Average yields of all plots of forage sorghums for each yearare recorded in Table LIX. The desirability of Sumac, Club-top,and Amber is indicated.

600 BULLETIN 84

TABLB LX. GRAIN SORGHUMS; VARIETY T#ST, PR^SCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

1912Dwarf milo...Standard miloRed KafirShalluBlack-h u 1 1 e d

White KafirBlack-h u 1 1 e d

White KafirJerusalem corn

1913FeteritaShalluBlack-h u 1 1 e d


White KafirBlack-hul led


White KafirDwarf milo...Double Dwarf

miloWhite milo —Sudan Durra. .Kowliang

Red Kafir... ..Pink " ....Jerusalem corn

1914Dwarf milo.,.Double Dwarf

miloStandard miloWhiteWhite • "Kowlianof . .

S(

Sudan Durra. .Feterita .KPink Kafir. . . .Red " ....White " ....Jerusalem corn

1915Standard rnilot( ttDârf rnito .tt tt

Dateplanted

5-104-165-205-20

5-20

5-175-16

5-25-14

5-26

5-26

4-30

5-145-21

5-25-235-145-235-144-285-24-28

4-18

4-184-184-174-184-174-174-174-174-174-184-184-174-175-27

5-145-14f 1-7

5-14

Stand

%

20

70

40

809085

10010085

95

956050509585

10085I K1595909570

7590r-c

95

Datenar-vested

10-1610-710-810-12

10-8

10-910-9

10-1710-15

10-13

10-16

10-16

10-1510-13

10-1510-1410-1710-1410-1510-1410-1510-15

9-27

9-279-279-259-259-229-229-229-22

10-6t(M9-20Q-2Q

10-710-6

0-?69-26

JO ""**7

9-21

Size01Plot

Acresl/4Y4IAY4

%%Xy*54

y&54y*%1Al/454

3/40t/103/40J4%54

'A*/4l/4%l/4

1/201/4054

1/40Vt341/6VA%%

X

%

54

Yield per plot

Gram

Pounds229

i77

'67

7544

312

103483305044

iio390

3603702203212735

*3321

410

240140

Stover

Pounds757

1181829

612

1029359

76107

310

706

274

270468

10366390

25087

1165844411

671

65560035565016080

44581

20212306?76^63(1210

4#7493

|9Ar»11 as

Yield per acreGrain

Pounds916

"708

'268

300176

....

2496

4121932400500586

'440

1560

144014808^0

(284540

1400

13^601

1093

W1120

Stover

Pounds3028i47243316

2448

41161436

304428

2480

5643

1096

21603744

4122652120025001160466067521644

2684

262024001420260033SO320017803240

R0<*32803762?51?252016SO

3WW*ct^n4740

1— Grain eaten by birds. 2— Calculated from green weight.


i,x—Continued

1915 — ContinuedDwarf White

miloDwarf White

miloFeteritaShallu

Jerusalem cornKowliang . . . .

White Kafir . . .

Red " . '. .

Dateplanted

5-14

5-175-145-145-175-145-145-175-145-135-175-14

Stand

%

95

9585959595959555

ICO10070

Date

vested

9-21

10-259-269-26

10-249-269-26

10-249-269-24

10-219-26

Sizeof

plot

Acres

1A

1Ay8ysl/8y8ysy*ys3/4l/3ys

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

•••

er plot

Stover

Pounds

1230

10262

5704654562

4725059092

70932 132

20332

1142

Yield p

Grain

Pounds

er acre

Stover

Pounds

4920

41044560372036483776404036355672428460999136

-Calculated f rom green weight.

The test in 1913 included eleven varieties. The most satis-factory yield again was produced by Dwarf milo, White milo com-ing second.

mm* ' • > %

Fig1. 36.—Dwarf milo, Sudan grass, and Sumac on bottom land, PrescottDry-farm.

602 BULLETIN 84

Eleven varieties of grain sorghums were tested in 1914, the ex-cellence of Dwarf, Double Dwarf, and Standard milo, and Kowliangbeing attested.

In 1915 nine varieties, all of which were used for ensilage, weretested, the biggest yield being produced by Red Kafir, White Kafir,and Dwarf milo.

The variety test of grain sorghums is summarized in TableI,XL

TABLE LXI. SUMMARY, VARIETY TEST OF GRAIN SORGHUMS,PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

Dwarf milo. .Standard mileRed Kafir "ShalluBlack-hulled

White KafirJerusalem

cornFeteritaDouble Dwarf

White milo..Sudan DurraKowliang . . .Pink Kafir .White Kafir .Dwarf White

milo

1912Grain

P'ndf916

708

268

i ...

Stover

P'nd*3028

47243316

2058

1436

« . . .

1913

Grain

P'nds24%

176

440300

4121932400543

Y

Stover

P'nds3744

4660428

2846

1644304

4122652120018306752

ekl per

1914

Grain

P'ndv15601480

1120588

144010821320647

960

acre

Stover

P'nds268424002512

16802044

262020103240278737622520

19-

Gram

P'nds

L5

Stovei

P'nds4950392091363684

37764560

3837

535 i

4512

Aver

Gram

P'nds1243493

295

457296

9261507860397

480

age

Stover

P'nds360121075258?47fi

24S9

21342303

151623312220281852573935

4512

TABLE LXII. MILO ; DEPTH otf PLANTING TEST, PRESCOTT DKY-FARM

Variety

1914Dwarf milou tt

tl It

tt (t

1915Dwarf rnilo

tl <C

tf if

tt (C

Depth ofplanting

Inches

6542

6542

Dateplanted

5-145-145-145-14

6-56-56-56-5

Stand

%

80908570

95959595

Dateharvested

10-29-27

Yield per acre

Grain

Pounds

12601292

10-2 150810-2

9-299-299-299-29

1104

....

Stover

Pounds

3240258431322436

5241098224333


LX1II. Mil/); TIME OF PLANTING TEST, PRESCOTT DRY-FARM

Variety

1912Dwarf milo. . . .

a a« a



< » ii( C f (


« aK ((

Dateplanted

4-104-165-106-10

4-104-285-106-10

4-105-105-276-10

4-105-106-10

Stand

%

909095

9570

Datehar-

vested

9-1810-710-1610-7

10-i610-1610-16

10-610-610-6

9-269-26

Sizeof

plot

Acres

y*y*y*y*1/12i/103/403/40

1/121/121/12

1/201/20

Yield per plot

Grain

Pounds

200

229

9115060

679355

Stover

Pounds

518

757353

184150118

3

203202240

9

12491

Yield per acre

Grain

Pounds

800

916

9102000800

8041116660

Stover

Pounds

2072

30281412

184020001573

243624242880

24801825

1—Killed by frost, replanted May 27. 2—Killed by frost April 27.

Fig. 37.—Broom corn, Prescott Dry-farm.

604 84

To determine the optimum planting depth, four plots of Dwarfmilo were seeded in May, 1914, and June, 1915, at depths rangingfrom two to six inches. The results, recorded in Table LXII, indi-cate the advantage of deep planting.

To determine the most favorable time to plant, four plots ofDwarf milo were seeded in April, May, and June of 1912, 1913, and1914, and three plots in 1915. The results, recorded in TableLXIII, indicate the desirability of planting early in May.

MISCELLANEOUS CROPS

Millet: A plot of Hog Millet was planted in 1912, yielding2000 pounds of forage per acre. For data on millet, rape, andteosinte see Table LXIV.

A small plot of Kursk millet, planted in 1913, yielded at therate of 3600 pounds of hay per acre.

In 1914 German, Kursk, and Hog millet were planted, lowyields being obtained from all plots.

Kursk and German millet were both planted in 1915, the largeryield being obtained from the latter.

LXIV. VARIETY TESTS OF MILLET, RAPE, TEOSINTE, ETC.,PRESCOTT DRY-tfARM

Variety

1912Dwarf Essex rapeHog milletTeosinte

1913Kursk milletTeosinteDwarf Essex rape . . .

1914TeosinteGerman milletKursk "Hog "

1915Kursk milletGerman "(i ttDwarf Essex rape —TurnipsBuckwheat

Dateplanted

5-165-205-24

7-84-267-8

4-104-107-104-17

6-56-55-147-67-65-15

Datehar-

vested

8-258-24

9-2310-22

10-129-14

io-i8-31

10-110-1

ii^s*

Sizeof

plot

Acre**

%t/20

1/30H

y*1A%*AH%*A%%M

Yield per plot

Seed

Pounds

205

FoiagePounds

3501001

9

120320

3

34321130135

1021

1424

3255

S

Yield per acre

Seed

Pounds

8020

Forage

Pounds

14002000

36002560

1361284520540

8161136

iioo

1—Seed eaten t>y birds 2—Frozen down in fall when 18 inches high, 3—Failed.4—Destroyed by rabbits. 5—Killed by drought

EXPERIMENT \L WORK IN DRY-FARMING 605

Rape: Dwarf Essex rape was planted in May, 1912, yielding1400 pounds of dry forage per acre.

Due to drought, a plot of rape failed in 1913.Dwarf Essex rape was again tested in 1915, yielding 1300

pounds of dry forage.Teosinte: \ plot of teobinte planted in May, 1912, had attained

a height of eighteen inches when it was frozen down in the fall.Teosinte in 1913 produced at the rate of 2560 pounds of dry

forage per acre.In 1914 teosinte failed, yielding only 136 pounds of forage

per acre.Turnips and Buckwheat Both turnips and buckwheat were

tested in 1915, but were unable to withstand the ensuing drought.

CUI/TURAI, PRACTICES #OR DRY-FARMS

Ploivlng: The best results on the Prescott Dry-Farm havebeen obtained from deep fall plowing, which assists soil readily toabsorb precipitation in winter and early spring. Furthermore, theaction of alternate freezing and thawing puts soil in better tilth andassists in the release of plant food that otherwise would not beavailable. Fall plowing permits the farmer, with the advent ofspring, quickly to establish a soil mulch with a minimum loss ofmoisture, and gives him ample time properly to prepare his seedbed for planting. Subsoiling is unnecessary, but the depth of plow-ing should be varied annually to prevent formation of a "plowsole.'' The depth of plowing should not be less than eight inches,and occasionally the soil should be stirred to a depth of ten ortwelve inches.

Cultivation: To insure crop production by dry-farming meth-ods, a mulch must be persistently maintained, and the most prac-tical method is cultivation. Variation in depths of cultivationstends to prevent formation of sub-surface crusts. Usually not lessthan four cultivations will be necessary effectively to control weedsand maintain a mulch. In addition, weeds should be kept out ofthe rows by hoeing, the entire moisture supply being needed bythe plant. It is evident that much moisture will be saved andless labor made necessary if weeds are destroyed when they firstappear. Because of the usual drought in June and July, landsshould be kept especially clean and well mulched until precipitation

606 BULLETIN 84

is again abundant. It has been observed on the Prescott Dry-Farmthat almost every crop which remained thrifty until the beginningof summer rains in July, yielded profitable returns.

When work is well timed, a harrow satisfactorily maintains amulch and destroys weeds on summer fallowed land. In one ex-periment a small area of summer fallowed land was divided intothree portions, the first of which was harrowed when weeds werefirst showing; the second, six days later; and the third portiontwelve days after harrowing the first. On the first plot fully 95per cent of the weeds were killed, while on the second portion notto exceed 60 per cent, and on the third portion less than 25 per cent•were destroyed.

The importance of timely operations on dry-farms is not alwaysfully realized. Cultivations delayed for even a day, especially dur-ing times of high temperatures and strong winds, may very se-riously hinder crop production. Planting should be done at timeswhen the utmost advantage can be taken of precipitation imme-diately after it falls. Delayed plowing often causes failure, whentimely tillage would have sufficed to insure a profitable yield.

The influence of leguminous cover crops on the humus andnitrogen content of the soil is shown in Table LXV. While thedata are meagre the value of cover crops is clearly indicated.

Yields are often reduced because of too thick seeding on dry-

LXV. INFLUENCE OF LEGUMINOUS COVER CROPS ON HUMUS AND

NITROGEN, PRESCOTT DRY-FARM ORCHARD

Plot

1914," before plantinglegumes

No 1'* 2" 3» 4

1915; after cover cropswere turned under

No 1" 2" 3" 4

fTOTY

None

a

((

Canada Field peas . . ,Black-eyed cowpeas . .Tepary beans ,Colorado Stock peas

1st am

Nitro-gen

%

057066055,059

P4S,041.072.098

1 2nd ft.

Humus

%

1461401211.68

1.331 621 38291

3rd and

Nitro-gen

%

039029036.031

040.050035048

4th ft.

Humus

%

0481080851.38

2.071.12080200


farms. The most satisfactory rates of seeding on dry farms in thePrescott vicinity are stated in Table LXVI.

TABLE LXVI. SUGGESTED RATES Otf SEEDING ON DRY-tfARMS

Poundspî AiteMilo, Kafir, and feterita 3 to 5Sudan grass 8 to 10Club-top, sumac, and Amber sorghum 2 to 7Large beans (Pinks, etc.) „ 9to 12Small beans (Teparies and Navies) and peas 8 to 10Wheat and small grains 25 to 35Millet and similar crops 10 to 12Potatoes (cuttings) 375 to 600

S.ILOS AND ENSILAGE

Both pit and above-ground silos are in use on the Prescott Dry-farm. The pit silo, twelve feet in diameter and twenty-seven feetdeep, was constructed at a cost of approximately fifty dollars, ex-clusive of labor, A collar, six inches thick and three feet high, thebottom of which is approximately two feet beneath tne surface ofthe ground, was poured first. The pit was then dug to the desireddepth and a thin cement wall was poured when the silo was filled inthe fall, the fresh ensilage being used in place of a scaffold. Laterconstruction has indicated the desirability of plastering rather thanpouring the underground wall. The above-ground silo, 12x20 feet,cost $2.75 for each foot in height.

Silos are virtually necessary to dry-farmers of the region. En-silage may be fed to horses, cattle, sheep, and swine, any of whichmay be maintained during times of scarcity of better adapted feeds.A great advantage lies in the fact that crops, raised during a suc-cessful year, may be stored in silos and utilized in later years ofscarcity. Ensilage has been kept for several years without appar-ent depreciation, aside from spoilage on the top layer, which takesplace very quickly after the ensilage is made.

Satisfactory crops for ensilage are mixtures of Club-top sor-ghum and Dwarf mile, the former producing a heavy tonnage andthe latter a large yield of grain. The importance of quantity ratherthan quality must not be overestimated, however, as it is probablethat from 50 to 75 per cent of the value of most ensilage is in thegrain content. Therefore, attention should be paid to the state ofmaturity of the grain of the ensilage crops. The seed should be as

608 84

nearly ripened as possible, while the stalks and leaves are stillsucculent.

A combination of dry-farming with range stock raising appar-ently offers the largest profits of any system of dry-farming manage-ment capable of adaptation to conditions similar to those of thePrescott Dry-Farm. Dry-farmers with full silos and range stockhave a decided advantage over stockmen who depend wholly onthe range, or dry-farmers who depend upon crop sales for cash.With this system of management, such crops as beans and potatoesmay be grown to sell for cash to shorten the intervals betweentimes of financial income. It is important that dry-farmers realizethe limited production of a unit area of their land, and that theirfarms are ample in size. Table LXVII states capacities of silos ofvarious sizes.

I/XVIL. CAPACITY OF SILOS'

Insidediameter

Feet8

10

12

14

16

20

Insideheight

Feet2024242832263032303236323640364044

Capacity

Tons172034425155677491

100118131155180196281320

Number offeeding days

121142130160200132177195175193228181230270

Minimum re-moved daily

Pounds280

*525

'755....

i030

i34Q

"Fiom Circular No. 17, Extension Service, Un/veibity of Arizona, by W. A Barr.

THE SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM

The Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm,* established by the Ari-zona Agricultural Experiment Station in August, 1913, contains160 acres near Cochise on the main line of the Southern PacificRailroad, which crosses the northwest corner.

The soil is a red loam of varying structure with occasional

*Fpr mar) of Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm see Twenty-eighth Ann. Kept.Ariz. Agric. Exp. Sta., p. 400.


patches of gravel and coarse sand, except where two swales crossthe farm. In these a darker, finer, and more productive soil isfound. A stratum of "caliche" underlies the entire farm at a depthof one to four feet. Mechanical and chemical analyses are reportedin Tables XVI to XIX inclusive.

About seventeen acres in the northeast corner of the farm hadbeen cultivated for several years, a good crop of beans having beengrown in 1912. The remainder of the farm was covered with aluxuriant growth of native grasses, especially grama, galleta andbluestem, and yucca. About twenty acres in the northwest cornerof the farm and thirty in the southwest corner were broken in thewinter of 1913-14; since then the remainder of the farm has beenused for pasture.

The need for data having immediate, practicable applicationwas manifest. Accordingly, experimental work done on the Sul-phur Spring Valley Dry-farm has been limited to investigations

TABLE LXVIII. MOISTURE DETERMINATIONS, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM

ILocation

January 11, 1915Boring 1 . .

2..3..4..5..6..7..

10,.July 8-11, 1915

Boring 1 . ." 2..

3..4..5..6..7..

10..July -9, 1916

Bo ing 1 . .2..3..4..5..6..8.,9..

1st ft.

%18.516.612911.311814.615.680

5.811.77.38.49.8

103908.6

9.810511,811.810,41368.96.1

2nd ft.

%

17.515.112.115.513.113.818.211.3

9.514.413.215313.811.513.812.3

12.010711.113286

10.28.555

3rd ft.

%

13.514.815.915711.815.015.3137

8.714.617.011.211715.214.117.3

11.410.34.85.94.17.8803.9

4th ft.

%

12.811.216313.09.35

125127157

11713.017.214213.215.213.412.0

9.567578.14.06.27.23.6

5th ft.

%

13.413116812912314311.899

10.113412.414.917.315.616.212.9

9.45.94.96.17,56.98.221

6th ft.

%

13.110.218.811.57.11

11.112.19.5

10.89.69.8

11.812.912713.014.6

9.88.1

10.69.07,87.58551

7th ft.

%

1079.0

16.98.09.3

10.210.518.5

9.670

14.111.414.9

15.9

8.95.18.8

13.28891527.5

8th ft.

%

9155

102

615896895

9.971

1021157.0

127

7.9737.8

11366

1024.9

10.4

610 BULLETIN 84

concerning conservation of moisture, variety tests, tillage methods,and the most favorable dates, rates, and methods of planting; theutilization of occasional floodwaters and supplemental irrigation bypumped waters; and the study of livestock management in its re-

lation to dry-farming.

Moisture determinations were made on a great number of soilsamples taken on various dates at depths of eight feet or less.

Table LXVIII records the results.

ALFALFA

Turkestan alfalfa was planted in a small plot south of thedwelling-house, October 12, 1914. It was drilled thinly to a depthof four inches, in rows two feet apart, in a well-prepared seed bed.The soil was not uniform, and it is interesting to note that thealfalfa came up very readily through the deep mulch of the loamysoil, while in the sandy soil, where the mulch was somewhat settled,the stand was poor. About sixty per cent of a normal standemerged, but winter killing and injury by rabbits reduced the standby half. The crop was not harvested, but in August, 1915, theyield of seed was carefully estimated as 150 pounds per acre. Fromthis limited trial it appears that alfalfa, grown in rows and culti-vated, will return a slight income from the production of seed.

BEANS

Five varieties of beans were planted in May, and six in July,1914. See Table LXIX. The seed bed for the May plantings wasirrigated by laying out small furrows three feet apart, after whichtwo inches of water was run in each furrow. Beans were thenplanted in the mud and covered to a depth of three inches withdry soil. Prompt germination and rapid growth followed, but,since the beans later appeared to suffer from drought, they weregiven a three-inch irrigation on June 26. The rainy season beganearly, and no further irrigation was given except a flood, aboutfour inches deep, which passed over the field July 2. The vinesgrew to a height of approximately four feet, but blossomedsparingly.

612 84

The best yield was obtained from the Red Hopi variety, whichproduced 672 pounds of beans and 1911 pounds of straw per acre,while the smallest yield was produced by Yellow Hopi beans, whichreturned 408 pounds of beans and 1296 pounds of straw per acre.Hopi limas grew vigorously throughout the season and set numer-ous pods, usually containing two, occasionally one or three beanseach, and yielded at the rate of 560 pounds of beans and 912 poundsof straw per acre.

The results obtained from July plantings were not so satisfac-tory, damage by grasshoppers and rabbits materially diminishingyields. The Dwarf Valentine variety, yielding 660 pounds of beansand 528 pounds of straw per acre, gave best results. One plot ofWhite teparies seeded at the rate of eight pounds per acre produced612 pounds of beans and 576 pounds of straw per acre, and a plot ofTrammell yielded 500 pounds of beans.

Six plots of White teparies were planted July 17 and 18 atvarying rates, and consequent yields indicate the desirability of thinseeding. The better yield from the plot seeded in thirty-six inchrows at the rate of eight pounds per acre is partly due to more fa-vorable soil and moisture conditions.

Twenty-one varieties of beans were tested in 1915. Most of

Fig1. 38.—Dry-farmed milo, melons, and beans, near Cochise, Arizona.


the planting was delayed until July 17 because of the lateness ofthe summer rainy season.

To destroy the grasshoppers which infested the field, a poi-soned bran mash* was scattered broadcast before the beans cameup. The result was quite thorough destruction of the insects, butother grasshoppers came in from the outside and did considerabledamage to the crop.

The highest yield in 1915 was obtained from two plotb ofteparies which produced 720 and 784 pounds of beans per acre re-spectively. Of the larger varieties Red Hopi again led with a yieldof 704 pounds per acre. Casa Grande came next with 528 poundsper acre, and White Hopi and Lady Washington wrere in third placewith a yield of 484 pounds per acre, each. Hopi lima beans did notmature because of the short growing season remaining after sum-mer rains began. The vines grew well and were heavily loadedwith green pods when frost came.

TABLE LXX. B£ANS; TIME OF PLANTING TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

"Trammellatict

Datepan e

4-205-106-157-15

Stand

%5040

5

Date

9-89-8

10-10

Yield p<

Beans

Pounds88

13233

jr acreStrawPounds

286308

55i

I — Destroyed by grasshoppers.

Trammell beans were used in a test to determine the most fa-A orable date of planting. Plots were seeded April 20, May 10, June15, and July 15. See Table LXX. The planting of May 10 gavethe best returns, yielding 132 pounds of beans per acre. The JulyIS plot was destroyed by grasshoppers. Data obtained in this testare insufficient to be considered as an absolute indicator of thebest time for planting.

To determine the optimum rate of seeding, six plots of DwarfValentine and White teparies were planted at rates varying fromfour to fourteen pounds per acre. —See Table LXXL *T^ teparies

*The poisoned bran mash was made according to the following1 formula:Paris green ......................... 1 pound Water .................................... 2i£ gallonsBran .......................................... 25 poundsCorn syrup ............................. 1 quart Lemons .................................. 3

614 BULLETIN 84

were entirely destroyed by rabbits, and the indications from the re-maining plots, while indefinite, seem to favor a rather thin planting.

LXXI. BEANS; RATE OF SEEDING TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

Dwarf Valentine. .""""

Dateplanted

7-307-307-307-307-307-30

Stand

Good""""«

Dateharvested

11-1811-1811-1811-18 •11-1811-18

Yield per acre

Beans

Pounds220220260220176260

StrawPounds

110220198308198220

Rate ofseedingper acre

Pounds468

101214

To determine the most practicable spacing of plants five plotsof Casa Grande beans were planted July 20, 1915. Rows werethree feet apart in all plots, and plants were thinned to thirty-six,twenty-four, twelve, and six inches apart. One check plot was leftwithout thinning. Table LXXII records the results, the best yieldbeing obtained from the plot that was not thinned. Damage bygrasshoppers, however, so hampered the growth of beans in thistest that data obtained are not especially valuable.

Fig. 39.—Bean harvester in use on Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm.


TABLE LXXII. BEANS; SPACING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING

VALLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

Casa Gi anclen «a «« «

"

Dateplanted

7-207-207-207-207-20

Stand

%4040404060

Datehar-vested

11-1611-1611-1611-1611-16

Yield per acreBeansPounds

8888

110110132

StrawPounds

264264352308352

SpacingPlantsInches

3624126

Not thinned

Rows

Indies3636363636

CORN

The winter of 1913-14 was very dry, and, in spring, there wasinsufficient moisture m the soil to warrant planting, which accord-ingly, was delayed until the rainy season commenced early in July.The seed bed had been prepared by plowing in the fall of 1913, andby frequent harrowing. Part of the field had been in beans in 1912,and the remainder was newly broken native sod. Experimentalwork with corn in 1914 was confined to variety testing. All plotswere grown under practically the same conditions, with minor va-nations in soil quality, and were cultivated after every shower ofimportance, four or five times in all. In Table LXXIII figuresunder "grain" represent the unshelled corn and "stover" the sun-dried plant after the grain had been removed.

The dry condition of the ground in September, 1914, hastenedmaturity of most of the corn varieties except Mexican June, which,instead of ripening, apparently became inactive until the middle ofOctober, when the moisture condition again became favorable. Re-newed growth at this time prevented maturity until the crop waskilled by frost. Half Dent Drought Proof, White Australian, andone plot of Strawberry corn were in shallow and somewhat gravellysoil and were most affected by drought, a large percentage of stalksbeing killed outright. See Table LXXIII. The best plots ofWhite Flint, Hickory King, and Strawberry received a six-inchflood July 2.

In 1915 the highest yield was obtained from a plot of MexicanJune, while Saquapu (an Indian variety), White Wonder, and Mo-have were the next best varieties. Since 1915 was a rather dryyear, there were large numbers of barren stalks in plots of thelarger, American \aneties: for example, 20 per cent of the stalks in

618 BULLETIN 84

the Mexican June plot were barren, 60 per cent in the Joe Wandererplot, 27 per cent in the White Ensilage plot, and 30 per cent in theBloody Butcher plot.

Summer rains in 1916 came early and were well distributed.The superiority of White Flint, Mexican June, and Mohave wasagain demonstrated, while Papago Sweet, tried for the first timeon the Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm, produced a good yield.

In Table LXXIV, the average yield per acre of plots of allvarieties for each year is shown, and in a separate column fields ofall varieties for the three-year period are averaged. White Flinthas been the most productive, White Wonder second, HickoryKing third, and Mexican June fourth.

TABLE: LXXIV. SUMMARY, VARIETY TEST otf CORN, SULPHUR SPRINGDRY-FARM

Variety

.

R1iip "MiVpr! "White " . .White Flint. .Mexican Yellow

FlintS3.c3.ton • • * • • »Pincctcile • • • •W h i t e Aus-

Hickory King* •Mexican June . .Colorado Yel-

low Dent- • • .Yellow Dent* ..White " ...H a l f D e n t

Drought ProofReid's Yellow

Dent • .Maul's Early

DentMohave »Strawberry . , »Learning ......White Pearl...Iowa Silver

Mine

Grain

Pounds59

297748137

1766

30835239

30616

2475220

168440420

60

450

3741364824560864

875

1914

Stover

Pounds381810

1672650

3851

1144660

99

1050114438252640

43417051650

433

1710

6381672118213722376

1505

i

Grain

Pounds

80

484

4621596

554

2641A17226

336

Yield p

915

Stover

Pounds

96

616

17163732

1158

IQ3*<

AdAt 7/vd

847

1259

»r acre

iGrain

Pounds

3632193

1314

71Q/ lo

916

Stover

Pound t

5621478

2194

1 1<SQt loo

Ave

Grain

Pounds59

297748250

1979

308216

30

257616

14681043

361440420

fift

Of>Z

Of Qjiy1 A$1lUol525*ififl500

«7<

rage

Stover

Pounds001

81 n1fi79

fififi

2664

1144378

QO

833114.4.27702855

79617(K1650

433

Tfl9$

roQt Aflfi

1014137?

1817

ISflS

EXPERIMENTAL WORK IN DRY-FARMING

I.XXIV—Continued

619

Vaiiety

Brazilian FlourPnrn

Sylvia's Early

Bloody Butcher

White Wonder

Innonnnata • • •

Heroosquapa • •Koescha Kai . *Mexican Black

SweetAdam's SweetJoe WandererKansas White..Queen of NisnaPride of SalomeWhite Cap ...Diamond Joe. .

Sherrod • • • • « •Ranch White..Freed's . . . . . • •Papago Sweet

Yiexd per acre

Uil

Grain

Pounds

315154336455525140522

2214590754480528372

195

498572704336484572

528656360

Stovei

Pounus

2135506816

2375150016501791553822701508480616806

897

329916281716714

151826622176912

1488450

191o

Grain

Pounds

'576660500

105644

1166528

Stover

Pounus

19805280110029954004

140

3586792

1916

Gram

Pounds

....

518693

StoverPounds

....

15061102

AverageGrain

Pounds

315154336227550400511

1635317754823528372

97

498572704336484572

528656439693

StoverPounds

2135506816

21773390137523934771120515082003704806

448

329916281716714

151826622176

9121488978

1102

To determine the optimum time to plant, White Wonder cornwas seeded on six dates, as shown in Table LXXV, ranging fromMarch 29 to August 15. A perfect stand was secured in the Marchplanted plot, the soil being moist to within an inch of the surface.In April and May the corn was planted three and one-half inchesdeep. In June and July a heavy sub-mulch crust was formed,which was broken with a 6-inch pony plow so that the seed mightbe planted in moist soil. The resulting stand was poor. A shower,occurring just after the July planting, formed a crust on the sur-face of the soil, which prevented many plants from coming up.The August planting was too late to allow the corn to mature.Table LXXV indicates the desirability of early planting in spite ofthe drought usually encountered in May and June.

To determine the optimum rate of seeding, six plots of Mixed


TABLE LXXVII. CORN ; DEPTH OF PLANTING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

White Wonder..u '

«

Dateplanted

7-317-317-317-317-317-31

Wiite Hopi. . . 7-31' .. . 7-31' ... 7-31* . . 7-31k ... 7-31

Stand

%1001001001001001009595959595

' . . . . 7-31 95

Dateharvested

11-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-1611-16

Yield per acre

Gram

Pounds

ioi210561100880924836

Stover

Pounds29041

32341

31021

52141

44441

38941

704792

1012743660572

Depth olpiantmg

Inches2/2

3^4#5^6y27y22y23l/2

V/2

5/26y271/2

1—Immature.

Five plots of White Flint corn, planted May 15 in rows thirty-sixinches apart, were thinned to distances varying from twelve tothirty-six inches apart in the row. One plot was not thinned, serv-ing as a check. Table LXXV1II indicates the importance of nothaving dry-farmed plants too close together.

TABLE LXXVIII. CORN ; SPACING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

White Fl int . . , .

a a

Dateplanted

5-155-155-155-155-15

Dateharvested

9-289-289-289-289-28

Yield per acre

Grain

Pounds768744

11041056696

Stover

Pounds1488160811521152964

Spacing

Plants

InchesNot thinned

12182436

Rows

Inches3636363636

From the first the difficulty of moisture conservation In south-ern Arizona has been manifest, and opinions regarding the amountof cultivation necessary vary greatly. Table LXIX records a testin which six plots of Ranch White corn, planted July 31, were cul-tivated eight times or less. While moisture is not easily conserved,the results indicate the desirability of frequent cultivations, bestyields having been obtained from the plot cultivated five times.

To determine the advantage of the use of organic fertilizers,two corn plots were covered with barnyard manure early in the

622 BULLETIN 84

T\BL£ LXXIX. CORN ; CULTIVATION TEST, SULPHUR SPRING

VALLEY DRY FARM, 1915

Variety

Ranch White. ...i i<. ti ii e

* '

Dateplanted

7-317-317-317-317-317-31

Stand

%959090959590

Date

11-1311-1311-1311-1311-1511-15

Yield p

Gram

Pounds880880880968

1408968

er acre

Stover

Pounds279424203520374059843696

Cultiva-tions

012358

spring of 1915, at the rate of twelve loads per acre; a crop of wintervetch, yielding about five tons of green forage per acre, was plowedunder in June on two other plots; and an additional two plots wereleft without fertilizer. An Indian variety, White Hopi, and anAmerican variety, White Cap, were planted on July 21 under thethree conditions of soil treatment. A flood about three inches deeppreceded the planting five days, and a uniform stand and rapidgrowth were noted in all plots. Table LXXX records the results,which favor green manuring.

TABLE LXXX CORN ; FERTILIZER TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

White Hopi .a it(( IS

White Cap ! " .« «a u

Dateplanted

7-217-217-217-217-217-21

Stand

%909090909090

Datehar-

vested

10-1810-1810-1810-2810-2810-28

Yield per acre

Grain

Pounds12321452418594715143

Stover

Pounds18481452924

140821451133

Fertilizer per acre

Twelve loads manureFive tons green vetchNo fertilizerTwelve loads manureFive tons green vetchNo fertilizer

To determine the most practicable depth of plowing, nine plotsof White Cap and three plots of Learning corn were planted, fromJuly 31 to August 3, on land which had been plowed at depthsranging from three to twelve inches, with the exception of twoplots which were disced only and dynamited only, respectively.Preparation of the seed bed began immediately prior to planting.Table LXXXI clearly indicates the advantage of deep plowing,yields of stover being especially affected. In the dynamited plotone-half stick of 40 per cent strength powder was used every fifty


feet, which was not sufficient to loosen the ground over the entirearea. The plots of Learning corn were planted too late for matur-ity, and yields were considerably less than should be expected.

TABLE LXXXI. CORN ; DEPTH OF PLOWING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

White Capt

Learningita

Dateplanted

7-318-18-18-18-18-18-17-318-28-28-28-3

Stand

%707070707070707070807590

Dateliarvested

11-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-1911-19

Yield p

Gram

Pounds264528484352572528528484704no30888

er acre

Stover

Pounds^9tQA7(URVi748616

11441232107812761276572

Depth

Inches

Q

A

67ô

1011P

Dynamited

All plots were plowed July 30.

POTATOES

In 1914 thirteen varieties of potatoes were planted in rowsthree feet apart, two inches of irrigating water being run in eachfurrow previous to the planting, except in the plot of TennesseeEarly Triumph, which received no irrigation. After the potatoeshad emerged, all plots except the Tennessee Early Triumph wereagain irrigated twice, the total application being about eight inchesof water. In addition, on July 2, a flood six inches deep passedover all plots, except the Tennessee Early Triumph. The bestyield, 14,620 pounds per acre, was obtained from a plot of IrishCobbler potatoes. See Table LXXXIL Some plots were exceed-ingly small and data from them are not of much value. Four differ-ent species of blister beetles were very troublesome and were con-trolled by spraying repeatedly with arsenate of lead.

Eight varieties were planted in 1915. As indicated by TableLXXXII, the most successful plots were planted in February orMarch; April, May, and June plantings having been destroyed bydrought. Conditions were unfavorable for potato production in1915. Blister beetles again were serious pests. Because ofdrought the quality of potatoes uniformly was poor,

626 BULLETIN 84

TABUS LXXXIV. OATS J VARIETY TOST, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

Black Winter

Date

11-2411-2511-253-15

Stand

%976060

100

Dateharvested

6-226-166-15

Yield pc

Grain

Pounds63

296232

sr acre

Straw

Pounds65U*298212

rabbits. See Table LXXXV. The Six Row barley was planted inOctober under favorable conditions. It grew rapidly, and, late inDecember, when eight inches to a foot high, was considerably in-jured by rabbits. By the middle of February it had been eaten tothe ground, apparently beyond recovery, but warm weather late inFebruary and some light showers forced one plot into renewed,vigorous growth. The seed was not treated and there was con-siderable smut,

LXXXV. BARLEY ; VARIETY TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Six Rowa aWhite HullessBlack Hulless

Date

10-810-1011-2511-25

Q-t-onrf

%95

75

T)ate s

6-15 |I

6-15

Yield p

Grain

Pounds969

420

er acre

Straw

Pounds918

1

1

672

1—Destroyed by rabbits.

Table LXXXVI records results from four plots of springplanted Six Row barley which was thinned to various distances.

TABLE LXXXVI. BARLEY; SPACING TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGVALLfiY DRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

Six RowK tttt au u

Dateplanted

3-153-153-153-15

Dateharvested

6-266-266-26<S~26

Yield per acre Spacing

Grain

Pounds16526499

132

Straw Plants

P0imdfjr594924198264

InchesNot thinnedNot thinned

IS8

Rows

Inch**24122424


Emmer: On November 12, 1913, five plots of Black Wintereinmer were planted. The growth during the winter was meagreand eaten down by rabbits. Irrigation, to depths varying from twoto six inches, were given on four plots, one being left as a check.Table LXXXVII records the results. One plot of Black Winterand one of White Spring emmer were planted in November, 1914.Both plots grew well and gave promise of fair yields until the grainof the White Spring emmer was destroyed by green soldier bugs.

TABLE: LXXXVII. TEST off £MM£R, SPEXTZ, ANDSULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM

Variety

1914Black Winter emnier

( a tt

a ittl ((

Red Winter speltz, C T. 1772. .K it (( U

(f tt U (f

U it it Ct

1915Black Winter cninicr. .Red Winter speltz, C. I. 1772. .

tt tt tt u tt

White Spring cmincrWinter rye

Dateplanted

11-1211-1211-1211-1211-1211-1211-1211-1211-12

11-1010-1211-2411-2810-8

Dateliar-

Tested

6-236-266-266-266-206-236-236-236-20

6-246-23'6-216-296-14

Yield per acre

Gram

Pounds1101111118788

ISO95

120100

5721628633

572

StrawPounds

5556373822SO383050

9681540633

17601012

Irrigation

Date

5-185-185-195-17

s-is5-205-20

Quantity

Inches6642

*642

in 1915 all stands of grain were 100 per cent.

Spelts: Four plots of Reel Winter speltz, C. I. No. 1772, wereplanted November 12, 1913, Three plots were irrigated to a depthof two to six inches, one plot being left as a cheek. The resultsv/ere not encouraging, the highest yield being 150 pounds of grainper acre. In the fall of 1914 two plots of Red Winter speltz,' C. I.No. 1772, were planted October 12 and November 24, the betterone yielding 1628 pounds of grain per acre, which indicates thatthis crop may sometimes prove of value. See Table LXXXVII.

Rye: One plot of Winter rye was planted October 8, 1914.The season was quite favorable and a vigorous growth resulted.The crop was eaten down by rabbits during the winter but in springrecovered quite fully. The rye was harvested June 14, 1915, yield-ing 572 pounds of grain and 1012 pounds of straw per acre. The

628 84

grain was badly shrunken because of insufficient moisture in latespring. See Table LXXXVII.

SORGHUMS

The sorghums are well adapted to Sulphur Spring Valley con-ditions, being able to withstand long periods of drought, and to re-cover and resume growth when the moisture supply is again abund-ant. That sorghums are surer crops for dry-farming than corn isillustrated by results from one plot each of Early Amber sorghumand Half Dent Drought Proof corn, which, when grown togetherin 1914, produced at the rate of 360 pounds of heads and 260 poundsot stover per acre and 37 pounds of ears and 161 pounds of stoverper acre, respectively. The soil in these plots is approximately twofeet deep. During the latter part of August and September it wasquite dried out In October when moisture had again becomeample the sorghum revived after much of the corn was dead.Under continuous growing conditions, however, corn often yieldsmore than sorghums, as illustrated by results from two adjacentplots of Feterita and Mohave corn, grown, in 1914, on clay loamsoil underlaid by a clay subsoil, which retained sufficient moistureto keep both crops in a growing condition throughout the dryperiod. The corn yielded at the rate of 1364 pounds of ears and1672 pounds of stover per acre, while Feterita produced 1085pounds of stalks.

Six varieties of grain sorghums were planted in July, 1914.Best yields were obtained from plots of Feterita and Dwarf milo.Shallu and Black-hulled White Kafir both failed to mature becauseof the shortness of the frost-free season remaining after they wereplanted. See Table LXXXVIII.

Seven varieties of grain sorghums were planted in 1915, ondates* ranging from April 23 to July 31. The best yield was ob-tained from a plot of African Kafir planted May 25, The nexthighest yield was from a plot of Standard Milo 4 which, however,failed fully to mature.

All grain sorghums in 1916 were grown for ensilage, best re-sults being obtained from a plot of Dwarf Kafir planted March 17,

Two varieties of sweet sorghum, Club-top and Early Amber,were planted in July 1914. See Table LXXXIX. Club-top failedto mature but yielded satisfactory quantities of green forage. One


Fig. 40.—Dwarf milo, grown near Cochise, Arizona, 191,1.

Fig. 41.—Shallu, grown near Cochise, Arizona, 1913.


TABLE LXXXVIII-a. TEST OF GRAIN SORGHUMS, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

1C '<

Dwarf Kctfir . . .te ait it

Peteritau(C

K

(I (I

l( «

Standard miloee it

cc ('

"Milliken's sorghum

Dateplanted

4-173-175-187-234-155-167-237-234-155-187-234-155-167-217-23

Stand

?510060

1004040

100805020

1006010

10080

Dateharvested

10-119-22

10-11* 10-23

9-229-23

10-3011-79-229-23

10-169-229 23

10-1611 11

Green forageper acrePounds

236010^0410056801417

ACQ95042496?16016(10^784.162016*506930610

TABLE LXXXIX. VARIETY TEST OF FORAGE SORGHUMS, SULPHUR SPRING

VALLEY DRY-FARM

Variety

1914Club-top .

«tt(i

Early Amber.tt att att tt

1915Early Amber. ...........<t tt

tt au tttt (C

Club-top«Sumac

1916Club-top

(C

Early Amber. ...........U tt

« (i

Dateplanted

7-207-187-187-207-207-67-167»247-16

Volunteer7-264-198-37-295-227-265-12

4-155-187-214-155-187-21

Stand

%10010010010010065505050

7085806075858075

101015105

95

Dateharvested

11-2711-2710-2911-2711-2810-1810-1611-1610-17

10-1511-208-31

11-2011-1511-1610-2811-8

10-1710-1810-189-22

10-1810-19

Yield p€

Grain

Pounds

360

488

6i6

1552

sr acreStoverPounds

35701

32831

21081

37521

25931

52019051600610

24002048286010751

208040391

19091

12401

13721

6891

22891

7701

4241

6571

1—Calculated from green weight.

632 BULLETIN 84

Fig-. 42.—Feterita, Sulphur Spring- Valley Dry-farm, 1914.

Fig. 43.—Club-top, Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm, 1914.


yields being obtained from plots of Club-top, though no yield wassatisfactory.

To determine the optimum depth of plant Dwarf tnilo, six plotswere seeded July 19, 1915, at depths ranging from two and one-halfto seven and one-half inches. The results, tabulated in Table XC,indicate the desirability of fairly deep planting. Experience indi-cates that seed should be planted well into moist soil, though, ofcourse, a good stand is rare on a plot which has been seeded to adepth of six inches or more.

TABLE XC. MILO; DEPTH OF PLANTING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING

V\LLEY DRY-FARM, 1915

Vcirlsty

Dwjirf nulo . .

t( U

t tti (t

Dateplanted.

7-197-197-197-197_197-19

Stand

Good

a

tt

Fair

Bate

11-1511-1511-1511-1511-1511-15

Yield pe

Heads

Pounds468728754728676624

r acre

Stover

Pounds572364390546468442

Depth

Inches21A3144x/£

5 y->6*A

7 *A

Six plots of Dwarf milo were planted July 30, 1915, to deter-mine the optimum rate of seeding. From three to ten pounds weresown per acre and results clearly indicate the desirability of lightseeding. See Table XCI.

TABLE XCI. MILO; RATS OF SEEDING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

Dwarf niilo{( it

(( (t

tt tt

(( £(

tt it

Dateplanted

7-307-307-307-307-307-30

Dateharvested

11-2111-2111-2111-2111-2111-21

Yields i

Grain

Pound*528484396352308396

>er acre

Stover

Pounds1122924660616616

1144

Rate ofseecUn „per acre

Pounds34568

10

Table XC1I records results of an experiment to determine theproper amount of cultivation. Six plots of Dwarf milo wereplanted on July 31, 1915, and cultivated from one to eight times,with the exception of one plot that was left as a check and without

634 84

cultivation. The biggest yield was from the plot cultivated twice.The next highest yields were from plots cultivated five and eighttimes, respectively, and indications are that cultivations should befairly frequent.

XCIL MllyO; CULTIVATION TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGDRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

u fi

C( t<

t( £(

ts ti

(1 t(

Dateplanted

7-317-317-317-317-317-31

Stand

%100100100100100100

Dateharvested

11-1211-1211-1211-1211-1211-12

Yield per acre

Grain

Pounds572572836572748748

Stover

Pounds924836

1364136413641584

Cultiva-tions

012358

Results of an experiment to determine the proper spacing ofMilo plants is recorded in Table XCIII. Six plots of White milowere planted May 22, 1915, and six plots of Dwarf milo on July 22.The data are somewhat conflicting, due to uncontrollable differ-ences of conditions, but indicate in general the desirability of close•spacing of plants, which is contradictory to other observations.

TABLE xcm. MILO ; SPACING TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGDRY-FARM, 1915

Variety

White milott itit ((u itft ftCf it

Dwarf miloC( (t

tt (tet tttt ittt it

Bateplanted

5-225-225-225-225-225-227-227-227-227-227-227-22

Dateharvested

10-1210-1210-1210-1210-1210-1210-1510-1510-1510-1510-1510-15

Yield per acre

Grain

Pounds264198176198176319968

10561320158415841584

Stover

Pounds224424862288292628603377

***#**

SpacingPlants

Inches362418126

Not thinned362418126

Not thinned

Bows

Inches36a

ittt

tttt

*Data missing.

To determine the effect of organic fertilizers, three plots ofDwarf milo were planted July 21, 1915, one having been fertilized


with twelve loads of barnyard manure per acre ; another with fivetons of green vetch per acre ; and the third having received no fer-tilizer. See Table XCIV. Crusting of the surface soil, becauseof a shower which fell soon after planting, prevented seed fromcomeing up in the plot which had been green manured. The ma-rured plot returned a slightly heavier yield than the unfertilized.

XCIV. MILO ; FERTILIZER TEST, SULPHUR SPRING

v \LLEY DRY-FARM ,1915

Variety

Dwarf milo(i M1C "

Date

7-217-217-21

Stand

80

Dateharvested

11-511-5

Yield per acre

Heads

Pounds616506

Stover

Pounds19801650

i

Fertilizer

Per acre12 loads manureNone5 tons green vetch

l_FaiIed to emerge.

To determine the optimum depth to plow, twelve plots ofDwarf milo were planted July 31, 1915. One plot previously hadbeen disced and another dynamited with a half stick of 40 per centstrength powder placed every fifty feet. The dynamited groundwas not well loosened, and about three times as many chargesshould have been used. The remaining ten plots were plowed July30, at depths ranging from three to twelve inches. The best yieldswere obtained from plots which had been deeply plowed. SeeTable XCV.

TABLE XCV. MILC); DEPTH 01* PLOWING TEST, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

Dwarf milou ct( (

ti t

a tu

a ttt

« t

Dateplanted

7-317-317-317-317-317-317-317-317-317-317-317-31

Stand

Good

Fail-Poor

ts

FairPoor

Dateharvested

11-2011-2011-2111-2011-2011-2011-2011-2011-2011-2011-2011-20

Yield per acre

Heads

Pounds416494468468468650910624624468364364

Stover

Pounds676546624676624910

14821014910702468572

Depthplowed

Inches3456789

101112

DiscedDynamited

All plots plowed July 30,

636 84

Fig. 44.—Dry-farmed Kafir, planted thinly, and withstanding drought.Grown near Cochise, Arizona. 1913.

Fig. 45.—Dry-farmed Kafir, planted too thickly, and suffering from drought.Grown near Cochise, Arizona, 1913.

EXPERIMENT\i, WORK IN DRY-FARMING 637

A plot of Sudan grass was planted July 20, 1914, and yielded atthe rate of 765 pounds of seed and 7290 pounds of hay per acre.Five plots planted in 1915, on dates ranging from April 31 to Aug-t st 3, yielded an average of about one ton of hay pei acre, the bestplot returning 924 pounds of seed and 5808 pounds of hay. Threeplots were planted in 1916, in April, May, and July, respectively,\\ith poor success Two cuttings were obtained from each plot,the best one yielding less than one-half ton of hay per acre. SeeTable XCVL

XCVI. SUDAN CRASS ,* DATE Off PLANTING TEST, SULPHUR SPRINGDRY-RARM

Date planted

7-20-19145-22 "

4-31-19155-22 "7-29 "8-3 "

4-15-1916

5-18 "

7-21 "

Stand

%7575

7580

20

35

5

95

Date harvested

11-2510-9

9-169-16

11-1511-20

9-1111-101

7-2511-10*9-25

11-71

Yield per acreSeed

Pounds765924

180

Hay

Pounds72905808

1980237620801000

2192

213s

8608

632

156*2872

1—Second cutting 2—Calculated from green weight

Table XCVII records results obtained from an experiment todetermine the proper spacing of Sudan grass plants All plots ex-cept one which was broadcasted, were planted July 30 in rows rang-

TABIX XCVIL SUD\N GRASS; SPACING TEST, SUI/PIIUR SPRINGVAU,I$Y DRY-FARM, 1915

Date planted

7-307-307-307-307-307-30

Stand

%6$90<X)858585

Date harvested

11-1811-1811-1811-1811-1811-18

Hay per acre

Pounds880

264026401463821413

Spacing-

BroadcastRows 6 in

" 12 "" 24 "" 36 "« 48 "

638 BULLETIN 84

ing from six to forty-eight inches apart. The highest yields werefrom the thicker seedings.

Dwarf broom corn was tested in both 1914 and 1915. Theyield in 1914 was 392 pounds of brush and 488 pounds of stover,the quality and length of brush being quite satisfactory for broommaking.

In 1915, planting was delayed until July 22, too late to satisfac-torily mature the brush, which was of inferior quality and onlytwelve or thirteen inches long. See Table XCVI1L

TABLE XCVIIL TEST 01? BROOM CORN, SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM

VaTiPtv

1914Dwarf broom corn

1915Dwarf broom corn

Date

7-9

7-27

Stand

%

78

70

Date

10-27

11-15

Yield p

Brush

Pounds

392

er acreStover

Pounds

488

1500

MISCELLANEOUS CROPS

Millet: Four plots of German and two of Hog millet wereplanted in 1914. The best yield was obtained from a plot of theformer variety receiving three inches of floodwater. In this plotrows were twelve inches apart. The next best crop was made ond plot in which the rows were three feet apart, and which was culti-

TABLE XCIX. VARIETY TEST OF MILLET, SULPHUR SPRING

VALLEY DRY-FARM

Variety

1914Germana

ttn

Hog«s

1915Hog

Dateplanted

7-187-187-217-187-188-10

5-22

Qtnnrl

%

1009085

10090

Date

10-1610-1610-2910-1710-10

Yield p

Seed

Pounds

518

er acreHay

Pounds

10801

10002

14403

2288*1064s

6

T

1—Rows 12 inches apart; 12 pounds seed per acre, 2—Rows 12 inches apart; 8pounds seed per acre. 3—Rows 36 inches apart; cultivated four times. 4—Rows 12inches apart; received 3 inches floodwater. 5—Received 4 inches floodwater. 6—Destroyed by grasshoppers. 7—Destroyed by birds.


vated four times. See Table XCIX. The August planting of Hogmillet was destro}red by grasshoppers.

The 1915 planting of millet failed. Neither German nor Kurskmillet came up because of drought, and the plot of Hog millet wasdestroyed by birds.

Ribbon Cane: Three plots of Ribbon cane were planted inMay, 1915. The results, recorded in Table C, are encouraging, andit is not unlikely that Ribbon cane may become an important foragecrop for Southern Arizona dry-farmers.

TABLE C. TEST 01' RIBBON C VNE, SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM1915

Variety

Ribbon Canetc it

Dateplanted

5-255-255-22

Stand

808090

Dateharvested

11-1611-611-16

Yield per acredry fodder

Pounds44003779133281

1—Calculated from green weight.

Peas: Two plots of Canada field peas were planted in 1914The first one, planted July 18, failed because of warm weather andgrasshoppers. See Table CL A light stand was secured in theplot planted in August, very little growth occurring during warmweather. With the cooler weather of fall, rapid growth took place,the vines reaching a height of about four feet by the middle of De-cember, and a yield of 1000 pounds of hay was obtained.

In 1915 both Canada field and Colorado stock peas wereplanted with somewhat negative results. The summer season inSulphur Spring Valley is too warm for satisfactory growth of field

TABLE ci. VARIETY TEST otf PEAS, SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM

1914Canada Fielda a

1915Canada Field

« tt

Colorado Stock

Date

7-188-10

7-225-125-12

Stand

%

1033

908080

Dateharvested

12-31

11-22

Yield pSeed

Pounds

48

er acreStraw

Pounds

i

1000

696z2

1—Failed. 2—Destroyed by rabbits,

640 BULLETIN 84

peas, which should be planted early in February or late in August.Cowpeas: A plot of Whippoorwill cowpeas was planted July

22, 1914, and produced a light yield of seed and a fairly satisfactoryamount of hay. See Table GIL In 1915, two plots of Whippoor-will, one of White, and one of Black-eyed cowpeas were planted,and in no case was the yield especially high. As a soil renovator,however, and to furnish pasture, the earlier varieties of cowpeas,such as blackeyed, are quite promising.

TABLE CII. VARIETY TEST OF COWPEAS, SULPHUR SPRING

VALLEY DRY-FARM

Variety

1914

1915Whippoorwill

WhiteBlack-eyed

Dateplanted.

7-22

4-235-127-227-22

Stand

%70

80809090

Dateharvested

11-10

10-1610-1610-2210-18

Yield pSeed

Pounds90

188231195232

i

er acreStrawPounds1800

968924400688

Watermelons: A garden plot of Tom Watson watermelonswas planted July 19, 1915, and in October matured a very satisfac-tory yield of medium sized melons of good quality. See Tablecm.

TABLE CHI. MISCELLANEOUS TESTS, SULPHUR SPRING


Variety

Tom Watson watermelons , . ,SquashesCantaloupes . . ,Peanuts ,

Dateplanted

7-197-237-195-20

Date harvested

Novemberfi

it

tt

Yieldper acrePounds48003200i

i

1—Destroyed by rabbits.

Cantaloupes: Cantaloupes, planted July 19, 1915, germinatedpoorly and were destroyed by rabbits.

Squashes: Several varieties of squashes were planted July 23,1915, all maturing before frost and yielding at the rate of 3200pounds per acre.


Peanuts: A plot of peanuts was planted May 20, 1915, but rab-bits ate them off as fast as they came up. They were quite per-sistent, however, and are interesting as a possible forage crop forSulphur Spring Valley dry-farms.

Sweet Clover: A very few plants of sweet clover were pro-duced in 1914. Three of these were transplanted, and in 1915 eachyielded about one pound of seed. Sweet clover planted in 1915failed entirely, due, largely, to drought in spring and a too looseseed bed.

Lespcdeza: Lespedeza or Japanese clover was planted in thespring of 1915 but failed to germinate because of di ought.

Vetch: Spring vetch produced but few inferior plants in both1914 and 1915. Winter vetch was planted October 8, 1914, andgave promising results. The yield of approximately five tons ofgreen forage per acre was plowed under for fertilizing purposes onJune, 1915.

SUMMARY OF SULPHUR SPRING VALLEY DRY-FARM DATA

Alfalfa, grown in rows and cultivated, may be made to pro-duce a fair crop of seed.

It is difficult to obtain .a satisfactory stand of beans plantedbefore the summer rains. Early varieties of beans may be planted

Pig". 46.—Dry^-farmed late cowpeas. Grown near Cochise, Arizona.

642 BuivkETiN 84

in July, and a yield of 500 or 600 pounds per acre may be expectedin a good season. Teparies have thus far been the surest andheaviest producers, but require protection from rabbits. Hopi limabeans are adapted to local climatic conditions but must be plantedbefore the summer rains, since they require a fairly long season inwhich to mature. This usually necessitates some irrigation.

The improved American dent corn varieties produce fairlylarge amounts of feed and must be planted in the spring, the frost-free season following summer rains being too short to allow ma-turity. Early spring plantings may be made with a corn planter,but plantings in the drier months should be in lister furrows. Theseed must be planted in moist soil. In a very dry season there isinsufficient moisture and improper distribution of moisture to pro-duce a successful yield of dent corns. Native Indian varieties andsmall American varieties may be successfully planted early in July,in case the summer rains have already begun.

The outlook for successfully growing small grains is not verypromising. Wheat, planted early in the fall, will sometimes yield afair crop, but little success has accompanied the growing of oats.The drought resistance of emmer and Reel Winter speltz has beendemonstrated on the Sulphur Spring Valley Dry-farm.

Sorghums are well adapted to Sulphur Spring Valley condi-tions. For the production of grain, Dwarf kafir, Dwarf milo, andfeterita should be used, and, where forage is primarily desired,Dwarf kafir, Club-top, and Early Amber are the more promisingvarieties. Excellent results have been obtained from plots ofSudan grass.

In the light of experience to date, the most successful dryrfartn-ing rotation for the Sulphur Spring Valley is one consisting of grainsorghums, corn, Sudan grass and beans. Greatest profits are tobe realized when dry-farming is combined with range stock raising.Managed in this way, a farm may be made to produce ensilagewhich may be kept for several years until a time of drought makesits use advisable, while crops of beans may be sold to furnish anincome from time to time.

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