BUREAU OF PLANT INDUSTRY. 299 



station near San Antonio, Tex., these field stations are located on 

 projects of the Reclamation Service. By cooperative arrangements 

 much «;f the investigational work conducted at these field stations is 

 planned and to a certain extent supervised by members of the staff 

 of the bureau. It is the aim to make these stations the centers for 

 the investigation of various phases of the agricultural problems 

 Avhich are acute on irrigated lands and to apply the results of scien- 

 tific in\'estigation in actual field practice in the various localities. 



Yuma experiment farm. — The Yuma experiment farm, of which 

 Mr, W. A. Peterson is superintendent, includes about 150 acres of 

 land located in the Colorado Eiver Valley near the town of Bard, 

 Cal., about 7 miles north of Yuma, Ariz. During the past season 

 practically the entire farm has been cleared of native growth of Cot- 

 tonwood and willow and about 30 acres have been leveled and laid off 

 in a series of half -acre plats for use in experimental work. The 

 more important lines of investigation include experiments with 

 Egyptian cotton, dates, forage crops, corn, bamboo, figs, and euca- 

 lypts. The farm is fairly well equipped with buildings, teams, and 

 implements, and the present facilities permit the work to be handled 

 in a very satisfactory manner. This farm is the headquarters for 

 the work being done by the bureau in the way of establishing the 

 culture of Egyptian cotton in the Southwestern States. Special 

 phases of this work are dealt with in other portions of the present 

 report. 



Truckee-Carson experiment farm. — The Truckee- Carson experi- 

 ment farm, of which Mr. F. B. Headley is superintendent, is located 

 on the Truckee-Carson project of the Reclamation Service, 1 mile 

 south of the town of FaKon, Nev. This farm includes about IGO 

 acres of land, of which about 60 acres have been leveled and pre- 

 pared for irrigation. Cooperative experiments with forage crops, 

 cereals, corn, horticultural and truck crops, forest trees, and sugar 

 beets have been continued, and also a special investigation, in co- 

 operation with the Office of Soil Bacteriology^ of this bureau, to 

 determine the causes of the infertility of the desert land. During 

 the past year considerable attention has been given to drainage by 

 means of open ditches, since the farm is located in a portion of the 

 project where the ground-water table is dangerously high. Special 

 attention has also been given to the production of alfalfa, since the 

 desert soil is deficient in organic matter, and it has been found de- 

 sirable to get alfalfa well established before undertaking extensively 

 other crop experiments on the land. Some of the work with forest 

 trees and fruit trees has been of direct benefit to the local settlers, 

 particularly the discovery that the Russian oleaster {Elaeagnus an- 

 f/vstifolia) is admirably suited to that region and serves a useful 

 purpose for hedges and windbreaks. 



San Antonio experiment farm. — The San Antonio experiment 

 farm, of which Mr. S. H. Hastings is superintendent, includes 125 

 acres of land and is located 5 miles south of San Antonio, Tex. 



The cooperative investigational work mentioned in previous re- 

 ports has been continued, particularly in connection with studies of 

 the native plants related to the cultivated fruit and nut trees. The 

 soil of this farm, which is typical of a very large section of the south- 



