64 



Bulletin 85 



which in turn comprises about three-fourths of the irrigated territory 

 of the Salt River Valley, shows the seasonal changes in total acreages 

 for different crops, but does not show the decided changes in individual 

 acreages for the same crops. 



Table VII Acreages of Principal Crops on Salt River Project 



Alfalfa 



Barley 



Beans 



Cotton 



Corn 



Cantaloupe 



Fruit, citrus 



Fruit, deciduous 

 Milo maize, e*'C... 



Oats 



Olives 



Potatoes 



Wheat 



Watermelons .... 



laiit 



1915 



191G 



1917 



83,006 



16,459 



1,111 



2,160 



1,193 



1,604 



1,054 



1,944 



26,260 



3,374 



135 



267 



11,230 



462 



84.355 



13,295 



710 



6,033 



984 



1,584 



1,259 



1,248 



28,589 



1,433 



487 



381 



10,081 



262 



67,964 



9,309 



1,425 



23,444 



1,851 



2,096 



967 



1,250 



25,471 



900 



500 



373 



3,794 



426 



It will be noted that there has been a fairly pronounced variation 

 so far as total acreages are concerned. This is important as indicating 

 the variable quantities of farm products which must find a market each 

 year. The totals indicate, to a certain degree, the problem which out- 

 side buyers must face when entering the Valley as commercial factors. 

 One of the most important considerations to the prospective buyer is 

 the possibility of securing a uniform quantity season by season. Where 

 both individual and total acreages vary to as pronounced an extent as 

 they do in the Salt River Valley, the outside buyer finds it difficult, 

 if not impossible, to adjust his business to care for fluctuating supply. 

 He prefers to turn elsewhere to districts which will furnish a depend- 

 able annual supply. This one fact alone probably has operated to a 

 considerable extent to keep Salt River Valley products from the local 

 mining town markets of the State. 



The size of the average farm in the Salt River Valley bears a 

 certain relation to the commercial problem. This territory has never 

 been one of bonanza farming. There has been in the past a number 

 of large holdings, aggregating several thousand acres each. The indi- 

 vidual holdings, as a rule, have been comparable to those throughout 

 the more intensively farmed sections of the Middle West. According 

 to the provisions of the Reclamation Act, which apply to all lands 

 within the boundaries of the Salt River Project, the individual hold- 

 ings must be reduced to a maximum of 160 acres for each owner. This 



