Introduction — Climatic Conditions 9 



installation of pumping machinery. An additional acreage is being re- 

 claimed in this district. It will be noticed that by far the greater part 

 of the farm land is irrigated from the gravity flow and that pumping 

 or supplementary pumping cares for a relatively small percentage of 

 the total area being farmed. 



There seems to be no particular specialization of crops in any of 

 the above mentioned districts which collectively constitute the Salt 

 River Valley. However, a study of crop conditions for the season of 

 191 7 leads to the conclusion that for reasons other than the arbitrary 

 division of territory according to water supply, there is a rather ill 

 defined specialization. For instance, it is found that while alfalfa hay 

 is shipped in commercial quantities from all points in the Valley, there 

 is a more pronounced development of this particular industry on the 

 south side of the Salt River Project. Shipments from the towns of 

 Mesa, Gilbert and Chandler constitute more than 50% of the total 

 hay shipments from Maricopa County. Citrus and deciduous fruits 

 while produced in scattered acreages over the entire Valley are pro- 

 duced more extensively on the higher lands of the north side. In a 

 strip of territory extending from Glendale to Scottsdale and lying near 

 the Arizona Canal, we find the greater portion of the fruit development 

 in the Salt River Valley. Cantaloupes are produced in fairly restricted 

 areas around Glendale, Mesa and Phoenix. Long staple cotton, while 

 universally grown throughout the entire territory, probably finds its 

 greatest development on the south side. The grain acreage is scat- 

 tered but there is a more or less marked consolidation of the grain 

 producing territory in the western part of the north side and on the 

 south side in the vicinity of Tempe. Alfalfa seed production is largely 

 confined to the Buckeye Valley. Potatoes are grown in commercial 

 quantities only in the western and northwestern sections of the north 

 side. Watermelons are produced around Phoenix and Glendale. All 

 this crop specialization, however, has very little to do with the arbitrary 

 division of the territory according to water supply. Climatic and soil 

 conditions in most cases have been the deciding factors in the cropping 

 scheme. 



Climatic Conditions The climate of the Salt River Valley is 

 marked by extremes in both the daily and annual range of temperatures 

 with very little rainfall and a small amount of humidity. The sum- 

 mers are long and hot while the winters are mild and dry with only 

 occasional freezing temperatures. Records of the Weather Bureau at 

 Phoenix show that an average of 267 days in the year receives more 



