FARMING IN THE LOWER RIO ORANDE DISTRICT. 9 



possible to determine in advance the approximate conditions of the 

 market, at harvest time, and thus ihe time and amount of planting 

 may be controlled, but this is not general. 



SPECIAL CROPS. 



Strawberries are produced in limited quantities. The successful 

 crops have generally been marketed locally. A large increase in 

 acreage is not encouraged. 



Sugar beets have been advocated, but the beets grown thus far have 

 not been sweet enough to justify the enterprise as a source of sugar 

 production. 



Grapes have been tried without success, failure being due to plant 

 diseases and to lack of knowledge of methods. Some attention has 

 been given to the cultivation of figs as a commercial proposition, but 

 thus far this enterprise has not met with success. 



Considerable attention has been given to the production of citrus 

 fruits, and the production of oranges and grapefruit has been the 

 basis of much advertising for the region. A very good quality of 

 fruit is produced when the various difficulties of production are over- 

 come, but no growers were found who had made a financial success 

 of these enterprises. Among the difficulties encountered are loss of 

 stock from freezing, disease, insect injuries, and lack of knowledge 

 of metheds of handling an enterprise of such delicate and varied 

 requirements. 



Sugar cane is produced principally on the large farms or planta- 

 tions. On account of the fact that this crop requires equipment of 

 large size and a great amount of power, it is not adapted to the aver- 

 age farm of the region. 



Recently castor beans have been attempted on a commercial basis, 

 but these have not been grown a sufficient length of time to determine 

 their success. 



STAPLE CROPS. 



Corn is the leading staple crop raised in the region; the average 

 yield is 42 bushels per acre. The average cost of producing corn for 

 the market under conditions prevalent at the time of this study was 

 78 cents per bushel, while the market value was 67 cents. When corn 

 is produced as a side line on truck farms the cost is less than 30 

 cents per bushel. It is more profitable to feed corn to stock than to 

 dispose of it on the market. The crop is not raised profitably as the 

 main source of income of the farm, but when produced to balance up 

 the farm organization it is very profitable. 



Alfalfa is produced successfully on well-drained land where little 

 or no alkali is found. The average yield under present conditions is 

 slightly over 4 tons per acre, or about 1 ton per cutting, produced at 

 a cost of $8.60 per ton. The market value is approximately $13.50 

 per ton. As in other regions, good drainage is an absolute essential 

 to the successful production of alfalfa here. 

 304S1 — Bull. 665—18 2 



