Arizona AgricuIvTural Experiment Station 395 



It is at this time therefore a pleasure to those who are con- 

 cerned in the agriculture of the State to note general conditions of 

 prosperity and to feel assured that many of the remaining problems 

 of reclamation, production and profitable farm management within 

 the State are, in the light of experience already gained, now easily 

 possible of solution. 



ARGICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION WORK AND 



FACILITIES 



The lines of work at present being handled by the Experiment 

 Station are indicated by the list of projects on following pages, 

 being in many cases continuations of experimental undertakings of 

 long standing. Cultural facilities have been much improved during 

 the last two years, and since the field equipment is now fairly com- 

 plete it is interesting as a matter of record to describe the different 

 cultural areas operated for experimental and demonstration pur- 

 poses by the Station, and to indicate the possibilities of future use- 

 fulness that reside in them. 



THE TEMPE DATE ORCHARD 



The oldest of the properties now cultivated by the University 

 of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station (dating from 1899) is 

 the Tempe Date Orchard (co-operative with the U. S. Department 

 of Agriculture), which consisted originally of 15 acres of land in 

 the northeast corner of the N. E. Vl of Section 3, Township 1 S., 

 Range 4 E., G. & S. R. B. & M. To this area was added subse- 

 quently 10 acres immediately west of the original 15 acres, making 

 a tract of 25 acres in all. This tract, three miles south of Tempe, 

 Arizona, consists of a heavy subirrigated alkaline Maricopa loam 

 soil in which the date palm has thus far proved to be the only 

 remunerative crop that can be grown. Tamarisks, oleasters, ber- 

 muda grass, asparagus, salt bushes and a few unimportant weeds 

 also survive in this very salty soil, but without economic return. 

 It is therefore of interest to note that under such untoward condi- 

 tions the date palm has succeeded beyond expectation and at this 

 orchard the commercial possibilities of a number of the best 

 adapted varieties have been convincingly demonstrated. 



At this orchard have been solved problems relating to culture 

 of the palms, the control of scale insects and the ripening and mar- 

 keting of the fruit. With the development in addition by the U. S. 



