10 AGRICULTUEAL OBSERVATIONS ON TEUCKEE-CARSON PROJECT. 



planting. In Dakota the tree is said to reach a height of 25 to 35 

 feet in 10 years. 



CLEARING AND LEVELING THE LAND. 



To prepare the desert soil for irrigation it is fi-rst necessary to 

 clear the land of the brush that grows on practically all the soil suit- 

 able for crop production. The vegetation which has to be cleared 

 away in the preparation of the land is chiefly greaseAvood (Sarcoba- 

 tus), rabbit brush (Chrysomanthus). and sagebrush (Artemesia). 

 This brush may be removed by grubbing, dragging a railroad iron 

 over it, or, where it is not too large, by the use of the common disk 

 harrow. The brush can often be used for fuel or for the building of 

 windbreaks or corrals. It is important not to clear the brush off 

 more land than can be irrigated and put into crop at once, as clear- 

 ing it exposes the soil to the action of the wand, which often causes 

 serious damage to crops lying to leeward. 



Some of the land on the project is naturally almost level, and the 

 cost of getting it ready for crops is very low. Other areas are cov- 

 ered with small sand hills, and the cost of leveling these is consid- 

 erable. The cost of clearing and leveling the land varies from $8 

 to $100 per acre. jNIost of it can be cleared and leveled at a cost of 

 $15 to $35 per acre. 



AGRICULTURE OF THE PROJECT. 



Alfalfa has been in the past the j^rincipal source of income to the 

 farmers on the project, and this will probably continue to be true for 

 some years. Barley and other grains have been grown to some extent 

 on portions of the project, but under most conditions grain has not 

 been as profitable as alfalfa. 



On account of the distance to large markets, an overproduction of 

 alfalfa or any bulky crop results in a low price for that product ; 

 hence, it is well to avoid as far as possible any local overproduction of 

 bulky products. If the crop production of the project were to be 

 limited to alfalfa, without at the same time providing live stock for 

 its consumption, the result would be unprofitable market conditions. 

 These conditions were approached at Fallon in the fall of 1010, when 

 the price of alfalfa dropped to $G.50 a ton in the stack. 



No commercial orchards have been planted, but there are sections 

 of the project on the higher lands having good drainage where fruit 

 growing might become commercially profitable. If such plantings 

 are made, care should be taken to put them only on land which is not 

 subject to a high water table and where the air drainage is good, for 

 under other conditions the trees are almost sure to be short lived and 

 to suffer from spring frosts. There are numerous small orchards on 

 the project and in some of them the trees are doing well. 



[Cir. 78] 



