8 TIMKIA HINT 93 



elimination of weeds ; and at least two renovations a year with disk 

 or harrow, in August and in January. The cutting out of weeds, 

 chiefly Bermuda, at Yuma, is particularly worth while, costing an 

 average of $4.68 an acre, including ditch cleaning, during three years 

 of observations. Had it not been for this expenditure the gross sales 

 of hay would probably have been 3% tons or over $50.00 per acre 

 less in the third year of operations. Second, the sixth or September 

 cutting, attacked by worms and depreciated by the hot humid weather, 

 is not profitable. At this time irrigating water should be withheld, 

 the field disked and the scant cutting of alfalfa left for the time being 

 as a mulch on the ground. This procedure will save expense, improve 

 a later crop, and defeat both worms and weeds. Third, hay, loose or 

 baled, should be protected under good substantial sheds. The unex- 

 pected storm of August, 1909, turned the profits of that year into loss, 

 and this is an ever present liability in a region whose eccentric rainfall 

 often finds the hay farmer unprepared. Fourth, an abundance of irri- 

 gating water is necessary for hay production. We applied an average 

 of 6.5 acre-feet annually to our ground and could probably have used 

 more to advantage. Fifth, seed is a very profitable crop, where it may 

 be grown successfully, and requires less labor and water than hay. 

 Sixth, in a general way, the financial statements for these three crops 

 show that the highest profits per acre are to the small farmer whose 

 personal time and care are available for his own benefit, rather than 

 to the investor, or large farmer, who hires practically all of the labor 

 required. 



It is doubtful that the advantage of wholesale operations on large 

 tracts can overcome the advantages of concentrated attention of an 

 interested owner to his own crops. The maximum of prosperity for 

 the community in general, therefore, is to to be achieved through the 

 sub-division of large tracts into small, (though not too small) inten- 

 sively cultivated farms a condition peculiarly well suited to the ad- 

 ministration of an irrigated region. 



R. H. FORKKS. 



Director. 



