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Saturday, March 22, 1919THE PHO! I ;m J By S. L.Mesa, Gem City of the Salt River \ valley, in the heart of tlie agricultural district and the geographical centre of the state, is reached by the South ean Pacific and Arizona Eastern Railroads and by several stage lines. One of these stage lines is known as the lt;Apache Trail, a highway for auto stages from Phoenix to Globe passing the great Roosevelt dam.The inquiry is constantly being made as to what is the chief product of the Salt River Valley, in which Mesa is the industrial centre. The answer to this query is: alfalfa and long staple cotton. Alfalfa is one of j the most important crops. It yields five to six cuttings of hay, or if desired, produces profitable crops of speds and affords two or three months pasturage for stock. During the po.$t j season, alfalfa sold for $15 to $20 a ton and the cost of production was ffom $3 to $5 per ton. An even larger profit is being realized by farmers] who are feeding their alfalfa to livestock, such as hogs, dairy cows, etc. reap a rich harvest of dollars.Cotton RaisingNext in importance is the production of long staple cotton. During the season just closed, cotton raising almost jumped to first place. The highest grade cotton grown in the Salt River valley is of the Pima variety. It is used principally to make auto tires, being best adapted for the manufacture of this commodity. Last year there were 2500 acres planted in Long Staple cotton, while this year the acreage will exceed 3,500. As stated, the Pima variety of the Egyptian or Arizona long staple cotton is the best grade and commands the highest price of any in the state. The following figures show the actual cost per acre of producing this cotton:Cultivating to time of picking....$15.00Seed .................................................. 2.00Picking at 3%c per lb............... 65.50Ginning ............................................ 16.OdTotal cost per acre .................. 98.50* The average yield during 1918 was one bale per acre and sold for 59c per pound. I_ Grain ,Grain production in the Salt Rive! j Valley has been a decided success j The varieties raised, are mostly bar ley, wheat and oats and some mi|o maize. The wheat is used locally, j Tlouble farming is carried on here byDanielsplanting milo maize or corn the same season the grain is harvested. This system has enabled the farmers to reap a rich harvest of dollars.MelonsCantaloupes and water melons are grown in large quantities and shipped all over tlie country. These products bring good prices. From $5 to $7 a crate is paid and they equal in flavor the famou Rocky Ford melons. The melon crop in this valley last year averaged from $150 to $175 per acre to the farmers. The land in many sections of this valley is well adapted to cantaloupe and melon growing.Vegetables and FruitOther crops that prove very successful in this valley are beans, peas and an endless variety of other vegetables. Choice fruits, such as oranges, grape fruit, lemons, citrons, dates pears, figs, olives, peaches, apricots and other varieties, grow in profusion.Poultry and Stock RaisingStock raising is carried on here on a very large scale. Over 50,000 head of beef cattle were shipped to market from this section. There is now over 12,000 head of dairy stock in the valley and butterfat is bringing a good price at our local creameries. Hogs may be raised in this valley with less danger of disease than elsewhere. The dry atmosphere, warm sun shiny days is the best destroyer of disease known to stock raisers. Thousands of hogs are in this valley. On one farm alone there are 7,000 hogs and 3.00 broodSOWS. .[• ;■ ;• -,vAs for poultry, it seems almost as easy to raise turkeys here as it is to raise chickens. Both turkeys and chickens are raised in this valley and on a very large scale. Geese and ducks also are raised in this section and many are the fortunes that have been made on a small poultry farm. Eggs bring* a good price the year round and there is always a market for young and old chickens.How Much to Start?Many people imagine that it requires a fortune to buy a farm in Arizona or even rent one. The amount necessary to begin an independent existence upon an Arizona ranch depends a good deal upon the individual. His ability as a farmer and the amount he can cultivate properly. Right here 1 wish to say that it is necessary for a man to have something to startwith. There are men here in the valley, who own their farms and are in good circumstances who began withpractically nothing, but I would not advise any one to attempt such feat in the Salt River valley now. You must either have money or mighty good backing in order to make a successful start in Arizona.lo\AsijuinBayless BargainsFRIDAY andSATURDAYYou can alw%ays save money by reading ourads and buying our specials.Land ValuesImproved ranch lands can be bought for $125 to $500 per acre. It all depends on the location and distance from the city. A ranch of say, 20 to 40 acres, with house and other improvements, will cost from $5,000 to $8,000. A man to start on 20 acres should have at least $2,500. This money would be dvided as follow;-*: one-half payment on the 20 acres at $175 per acre, $1,750; team, $300; cow. $100; tools, $100. Total, $2,250.What Two Men DidIn 1908 Joe Williams and J. J. Harrington purchased a 10-acre vineyard just one block from the Mesa city limits, for $220 per acre. Today, this same vineyard cannot be bought for $500 per acre. This tract proved io be very productive. In fact the finest grapes in the Salt River valley were gathered from this acreage. They were placed on exhibit in the Chamber of Commerce at Phoenix in 1917. A year later, or in 1918, the vinos were cleared away and the ground planted in long staple cotton. Owing to the presence of grape roots in the ground which prevented a regul ir stand of cotton, the yield was only about one-fourth. It is the belief of the owners that the yield this year will exceed a bale to the acre, as the soil is very rich. They also have ample water for irrigation, being under the Roosevelt project.The Gem CityMesa has a modern school system. Four grammar schools with fine buildings and an efficient staff of teachers; a high school with a faculty teaching the various courses of art and commerce, music and science. The colored children of Mesa are blessed with a privilege that is denied our children in other sections of the state. Thanks to the god Christian gentlemen on the school board, and the excellent citizenship of Mesa as a whole, we have no separate schools for colored children. We are all Americans here in Mesa, and one hundred per cent at that. As a colored citizen of Mesa who has the welfare of the race at heart, I hope and pray that we will always have this ideal school system in the great city of the great state of Arizona.Colored Populationj In regard to the colored populationof Mesa, will say that in January1917, only three colored families resided here and but one of these families owned their home. Today there are over 15 families living here and two-thirds of this number own their homes. These people have also erected a missionary Baptist church with all indebtedness paid: have paid $150 on the lot which tost $300 and pud out this year over $20 Ofor pastor’s salary; donated to Home and Foreign missions; helped the poor and have a good Sunday school with a competent. staff of officers and large attendance. Quite a neat little sum lias been spent by tlie ^Sunday school for periodicals and other class literature.Taken all in all Mesa is the one bright spot in Arizona where prosperity and opportunity abound.inylt;OIthycOCacoftilCiIIlaR.dcshalcofomIJITTER—Mistleto Pure CreameryButter, per lb60cOARE YOURWAGES GUARANTEED? ? ?
Newspaper Details
Phoenix Tribune
Phoenix, Arizona, US
Sat, Mar 22, 1919
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
AZ, USA 06 Jul 2021
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