AGRICULTURE ON THE YUMA RECLAMATION PROJECT. 5 



portant industry of the region. Alfalfa fields that are properly han- 

 dled yield annually six or seven cuttings of hay that average 1 to 1| 

 tons per cuttmg per acre. Except during a few brief periods the 

 price of alfalfa hay has been high. The local demand for hay re- 

 quired for the stock used in the construction of the irrigation works 

 has been relatively large up to the present time, but as the construc- 

 tion work is nearing completion the local demand for hay is Ukely 

 to become less active. 



In addition to the production of alfalfa hay, there has also been an 

 increasingly large production of alfalfa seed. This crop has proved 

 both reliable and profitable. The average yield from 2,824 acres in 

 1912 was 288 pounds per acre, with a few fields yielding as high as 

 900 pounds per acre. During the season an alfalfa field produces not 

 only a crop of seed, but four cuttings of hay as well, one cutthig being 

 made before the seed crop and the others thereafter. The alfalfa 

 seed has been clean and of good quality, and it has been marketed 

 to advantage through a local farmers' association. 



INDUSTRIES IN THE EXPERIMENTAL STAGE. 



Several crops have been grown experimentally on the project on a 

 scale large enough to merit consideration. These crops include can- 

 taloupes, watermelons, onions, and sweet potatoes. Of the several 

 causes that have contributed to the failure of these crops industrially 

 the two most important ones are high transportation charges and in- 

 experience in marketing. This appUes particularly to cantaloupes 

 and watermelons. In the case of onions the high-priced early market 

 has been occupied by onions from southern Texas, where the crop is 

 two or three weeks earlier than in Yuma Valley, and it has been found 

 possible to ship carload lots of Texas onions through Yuma to Pacific 

 coast markets before the Yuma crop was ready to harvest. 



Many other crops have been tried on the project, including grain 

 crops, cotton, small fruits, and vegetables. Wheat, barley, and rye 

 are planted m the fall and are harvested early the followmg summer 

 ill time to permit the production of a crop of corn, milo, or kafu' on 

 the same land. Barley is also extensively planted for hay. Alfalfa 

 fields that have been run out by Bermuda grass are frequently broken 

 up in the fall and planted to barley or wheat. Beans have been 

 produced on a field basis, but with few exceptions have not proved a 

 very remunerative crop. The citrus fruits, mcluding oranges, grape- 

 fruit, and lemons, have been grown successfully on the high mesa, 

 while pears, peaches, apricots, plums, figs, dates, almonds, and straw- 

 berries have been grown on a sufficiently large scale to prove the 

 adaptability of the valley lands to their culture. Practically all the 

 common vegetables have been grown with success when put in at the 



[Cir. 124] 



