Arizona republican. [volume], May 23, 1915, SALT RIVER VALLEY, Page PAGE TEN, Image 10

About Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930

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PAGE TEX
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THE ARIZONA REPUBLICAN SALT RIVER VALLEY EDITION. SUNDAY MORNING1, MA Yi 23, 1915
Poultry And Eggs Bring Good Returns To The Active Small Rancher
Suitability -Of Valley For Poultry '
Ma-IsIsiM Is Mat T Be Oiuiestlooed
(BY M. E. BEMIS)
Tin- kmm lrrO didn't make any
one place absolutely ideal for anv
lie nir;'st, but he lil make the
Salt P.iver Valley of Arizona with
i-nditioiis which are peculiarly fa
vorable ftr poultry raising. It is
common to fin.! in all sections of the
lountry those who have started in
the. Hultry business with lots of
enthusiasm, no experience, and little
capital, that h:i'e failed. We ha.ve
then people here too. We shall
cxpeet to have them, as success in
s-r.y lin comes from persistency. So
the failures in the nyultry business
may be discounted lure as elsewhere
by tiir statement that success or fail
urt in any line, barring certain con-
iition.i. over which the individual
has no icnlml, is largely a personal
equation.
If I weie called upon to give the
best evidence of the suitability of the
valley for the r""-'fy raisers. I would
name dozens of .eople who have
pone into the poultry business, be
ginning in a sm;:il way and gradually
expanding, as growing capital ar.d
xKrience have warranted. furious
ly enough most of these have had
no experience except -that which they
trained here. While I knw of a few
successful farmers, dairymen, gar
deners, etc.. who have sold out and
taken up some other business, I
don't recall hue one successful poul
try man who has sold out during the
ast five years, and his excuse was
that his wife's people needed them
1 ack cast.
There are. I suppose, in the Salt
Ilivcr Valley, something like 200,000
'aying hens. Most of these are found
.n the farms. There are few
farms where there are not found
from a few- dozen to a few- hundred
fowls. In the towns, a few fowls
are kept in back yards of about half
the nomes. There are a number of
commercial egg farms, of fKm five
hundred up. though there are not
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"SCIENCE 15IDS THE DESKIiT DRINK.' TI IF RESULT.
The vine and fig-tree, the olive and palm replace the cactus and mesquite of yesterday in the Salt River Valley.
Where stood the wickiup of the Indian are seen the beautiful homes today. That illustrated is the
Roma ine Fielding residence in Phoenix
many of over one thousand. Of the
arieties most commonly found here
the White I.eshoms are in the lead.
The American bleeds are next, with
tne Rhode Islam' Reds fn highest
favor. On the strictly egg farms,
the Leghorns are pretty sure t6 be
found, though occasionally we find
an egg farm where no attempt is
made to select any one variety and
where pretty nearly all are repre
sented. One of the most successful
rgg farmers has followed for years
the practice of buying hens of dif
ferent breeds, and keeps altogether
about one thousand.
There are a number of commercial
hatcheries in the valley, and the most
common practice of the egg farmer.-'
and largely the farmers who keep
n few hundred laying hens, is to buy
the day old chicks, and raise them.
Now as to possible profits, necessary
capital, etc. I have obtained from
AN A LEA
The Glendale Loess" as the deep soil in
cantaloupes and sugar
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B -c ; -eAJLTJ S;. ?VlItlJLvi.JL&i -'s. 3tJy. w. ,
n number of successful poullrynun
some interesting figures. Houses
here need not be expensive. It is a
fact tint some have no houses at
all, the birds roosting in trees. This
is not to be recommended, ami for
the best resuHs. and
there should be sheds,
must profits,
partially in-
closed on three sides with earthen lent time and cannot bf until we can
floors. Such shelter may be built ! produce enough to supply the mar
for from fifty cents to one dollar j kit the year .round.
per fowl. Some water system is I With our advantages we have some
necessary, and a complete equipment, ; disadvantages. Our mild climate
including pump, engine, water tan.,, I which is favorable to the growth of
piping and installation, costs on some j poultry is also favorable to . the
of the larger farms from $500 to $S(tO.
A much cheaper equipment is used
on mnnv farms, which while not so
economical as to time, saves some
en the initial cost. Fencing depends
Ppon the size of the yard, but it
may be figured at from fifty cents
to one dollar per fowl. Where tre?
colony system is followed and there
me no cross-fences,- the expense is
cut l' a minimum.
Laving hens here tost from fifty
cents to one dollar
L'h, according
to age and breed. The cost of rais
ing pullets to maturity is about seventy-five
cents each. Feed here is
reasonably low priced. Wheat,
which is the standard feed, retails
usually in small quantities for an
average of about t'Z.OD per hundred, i
At the present time wheat, of course !
is higher. In larger quantities the
price will usually run from $1.60 to j
$1.7." per hundred. F.ran is also used j
extensively, and retails from $1."j0 1
to $1.7.") per hundred; Milo Maize,
also used largely in place of corn,
sell:- from $1.2i to $1.75 per hundred,
f'orn, barley and outs are used to
some extent, but the three feeds first
mentioned are the most popular with
the most successful poultrymen. , Most
of the poultrymen find the cost of
keeping a laying hen not far from one
dollar a year. I find that the market
price for eggs during t'ae past two
years has ranged from 15e in March
I to 45c from November until January.
The lowest price always being early
I in March. We are shipping from out
j side the state to Phoenix some six
: thousand cases of eggs yearly. Pres
jcott shipned in five thousand Teases
' more. The mining camps in the
; southern part of the state and the
mining and lumber camps in the
j northern part of the state,' probably
, consume more eggs from' outside the
i state than do phoenix and Prestott.
jThis is our logical market and should
all be supplied from the Salt River
j Valley.
As to the profit, the figures from
a number of egg farmers prove that
:they ar? making a net profit of from
one dollar to one dollar forty-five
.per fowl per year.
We have the advantage here of the
(Continuous growing season, ' where
'green can be had nearly the whole
1 year round. The expense of housing
LFA.RAN('HT NEAR 0 LENDA LE
that section is known, puts protein into alfalfa, and lots of sugar
enne tor yhich the GlenHale country is so well known.
is considerably less than in the cast.
The mild winters ;'.re conducive to
winter egg production, and the early
spring permits of earlier hatching
anil the raising of pullets, which ma
ture before the winter season. As
I we have seen, the neetis 01 ine state
i are not nearly supplied at the pres-
growth of vermin, and here as else
where, these insects sap the profits
unless kept in subjection. Fortun-
I ately, they arc
! ficult if they
not particularly dif
are never allowed to
get a start.
I have mentioned only the utility
! side of the poultry question, but
I would not by any means ignore the
: fancy poultry breeders. In fact the
j fancy breeders, or to use a term
which I like better, the breeders of
pure
bred
poultry, are responsible in
no small degree for the advancement
of the poultry industry in this sec
tion. We have a state organization
called the Arizona State Poultry As
sociatinti composed of about one
hundred enthusiastic poultry breed-
els.
the
the
ers,
the
lair,
W. W. Carney, of Mesa, one ot
most successful poultrymen of
valley, is president; H. G. Pow-
of Phoenix, superintendent of
poultry department at the state
and one of the best informed
poultrymen of the state, is secretary.
Monthly meetings are held which are
largely attended. Questions of in
terest are discussed and a great deal
is being done to help the poultry
fiaternity. These meetings are free
to all. Once a year a show is held
and these shows, with the annual
poultry exhibit at the state fair, are
doing much to raise the standard of
the. poultry of the valley and the
state. There are local associations
Li "
in some of the other towns of the
valley. Mesa and Chandler both
have such local associations and held
shows during the past winter.
Nearly all varieties of poultry are
found here in large or small flocks.
I have said nothing of other fowls
than chickens, but we find on our
farms many flocks of ducks, geese
and turkeys. So far as I know there
are none making a specialty of either
ducks or geese, these being for the
most part found in small flocks on
the farms and are said by their own
ers to be quite profitable. Turkeys
are raised largely throughout the
valley. With alfalfa, fields to roam
over whore there are bugs and
grasshoppers to furnish a consider
able part of their living, they do
extremely well, and return good- pro
fit for the capital and labor ex
pended. While we find some turkeys
on the small farms, they seem to fit
Into the
5 '"t.
' at . . i '-a
., a-airT'TrnV-TH .1
Valley sunshine, Valley alfalfa and
in best as a part of a general farm
ing scheme on the large farms.
They help to keep in check the In
sects which otherwise would do
some damage, and where they can
glean the grain in the harvest fields,
and finally fatten in the fields of
milo. On at least one farm, turkeys
are raised by the hundred, kept in
big flocks and herded like sheep or
cattle, the flockmaster never allow
ing them out of his sight from the
time they go into the fields in the
morning until they go on the roost
at night. -
To the person with some capital,
an ambition to do the right thing at
the right time, and willing to work
and learn, and who is reguhfr and
faithful in attending to details, and
last and most important of all, has
a genuine love for fowls, there is
here in the Salt River valley the
same opportunity for making a suc
cess in the poultry business that has
made many already prosperous and
independent.
o
Watermelons, The
Nectar Of The Gods
Ripen Quickly Here
In any country where the sun is hot,
and where the days are long and the
summer season is equally long, the cool
juice of a good red ripe watermelon
is nectar from the Gods. It soothes,
it satisfies, it refreshes. Because of
this, no country similarly situated as
the Salt River valley or nearly so can
think of farming without thinking of
watermelons. But even if the water
melon vine is apparently luxuriant it
I iooks as if it might grow anyw hehe.
Certain care must be taken in its cul
tivation and certain steps must be
taken to prepare the land in which it
grows as well as bring the plant and
the crop to the greatest fruitation.
This led the Renublican renresenta-
Itive to visit Charles Thompson in the
Wilson district last week and look on
his watermelon patch. It's a marvel
of beauty, of industry and of promise.
Long lines of melon plants parallel
each other over many acres, and these
are real r'ants. They are growing;
jou can almost see them grow, and no
plant in the lot looks as if it had been
struck by chill.
The melons are planted on the south
side of these long bed, and the fur
row runs below the plant a slight ways
and carries the water. The plot was
originally an alfalfa field, but there is
nothing there now but watermelon
plants. The alfalfa has been plowed
under, disced, and harrowed until it
all has enriched the soil.
Speaking about his melon patch, Mr.
Thompson said: "I think I will be able
to grow two crops of melons on this
ground in successive years. After that
I will be forced to again sow it to
alfaifa or some similar crop in order
to replenish those elements whihave
been taken out by two melon crops.
A melon patch, like any other real
good crop, haa to be carefully prepared
, . . .1 ........ F , 1 1 1 I - . 1 -1 .1 M " Vl i I
; the plants are growing I keep the
j ground soft and loose with a one-horse
five-foot cultivator, and train the
the plants away from the little ditch,
j which carries the water, up onto the !
j top of the bed. I am careful about irri
i gating and use wooden headgates at
the top of the furrows in order to con- j
j trol the flow. Everybody who has seen
i my patch so far has complimented me
j highly on its appearance. I think quite
, a lot of it myself because it represents
j quite a. lot of work done, but it is too
soon now to say anything about the
I crop. I do know, however, that on
other pieces of land I have succeeded
in raising fine melons, Florida favorites
and Keckley sweets, and this year I
hope will prove a good year,
j Mr. Thompson is in the truck garden
. business on a forty acre farm a mile
and a half southeast of the Wilson
School house. He has a fine berry
patch and netted well on it this year.
Even when talking to the reporter he
was busily engaged in gathering sum
mer squash for the peddler who would
be around in the morning, and with
whom he finds a constantly increasing
market, for his first-rate vegetables.
Dynamite may be considered to be
one of the legitimate tcols of the mod
ern farmer, and rightly used, there are
perhaps few of greater value. The var
ious manufacturers of dynamite publish
books and bulletins which they are
glad to send to those interested, and
which exp ain in detail the methods
and advantages of using explosives on
the farm,
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! VALUE OF RESERVOIR
The following is convincing evi-
dence of the value of the Roosevelt
1 reservoir: "The p.ssessed valuation
of Maricopa county for 1914, was
j $75,862,907.37: for 1905 it only
reached $10.638,420.30.."
Note:. In another section of
this issue, through typographical
! error, "1905" appears- as 1915. The
! above figures are correct.
ic n". -
. TJIEPtE'S GOOD MONEY IN POULTRY.
milo maize, and Valley and State Markets combine to make this section
Ten Sootlnside Acres Brimi:
4 Prosperity T Mao
(By IRA H. S. HUGGETT)
There is a story on the southside
of the Salt River in what has been
done by one family on a ten acre
lot that should for all times dispel
any argument against the producing
and life-sustaining ability of this val
iay. On this little lot a man, his wife,
his daughter are making a comfort
able living, keeping well, keeping
busy, keeping contented, keeping sat
isfied, getting prosperous. Getter than
this, the largess of the soil produces
more than they need, and even dur
ing this spring neighbors around have
enjoyed the splended vegetables
grown on this model little lot.
The activities of this family natur-
- . - , - -
There are now several motor boats
ally run in many channels. It could
not be expected that should they
give the whole ten acres to alfalfa
they could all live on it, and seeing
this p&int, they immediately went to
work and sub-divided it. Result: A
comfortable home, shaded and cooled
with clinging vines, carpeted with
grass and fragrant with the odor of
roses. A chicken lot and 200 well-kept
chickens producing on an average of
$30 a month net: a cow or two and 20
younds of butter at thirty cents
a pound each week; a couple of pigs
who make way with the house wast
age and the overgrown and sometimes
operripe vegetable tops. An alfalfa
patch, only a few acres, but sufficient
to keep the horse, the cows and the
hogs. Another of similar extent in
order to allow a rotation of crops
and a rotation of pasture. A email
plot on which green corn grows and
roasting ears can be had for nearly
all the year.
A grspe arbor 120 feet long leading
from the back porch of the house to
the chicken lot, and grape vines clus-
X'iy-
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. A SUBURBAN HOME NEAU
In the grounds of .''Casa Blanca," home of Dwight B. Heard, are thirty-two
hundred varieties of roses.
w me- at
- n '
tering over the trellis work in dense
luxuriance, and all the grapes for
home, for preserving purposes, for
jellies and sauces and pies and many
to sell. The grape arbor serves a
; double purpose, because beneath its
shade it's always cool.
A small vegetable plot provides al
; most every known vegetable for the
house and plenty for the neighbors,
j Red beets as big as your hat and
good all through, radishes, cabbage,
! turnips, carrots, beans, peas, aspara
jgus, lettuce, sweet potatoes, Irish po
' tatoes, okra, tomatoes, green pepper,
j cucumbers, watermelons, squash, and
I pumpkins all grow there. Five or
i six fruit trees judiciously scattered
J 'S
.::, '
THE LAKE AT ROOSEVELT.
on the lake. Many big catches of bass have been made there this spring
! Possible To Really
Any
A writer in Outing confesses that
she has long been in tbe habit of
telling "w-eather lies." She realiy en
joyed a brisk, petting rain and the
! clearing wind that followed. Hut
because most of her friends were
inclined to bemoan such weather as
one of the burdens of an avenging
Providence, the acquiesced and said,
'Oh, yes, terrible weather," or some
such remark.
There might be nothing particular
ly harmful in this habit which is
probably more cr less common to
most of us. if it did not encourao
a shrinking dislike for some of the
most inspiring and persistent phe
nomena about us. There are possi
bilities of keen and healthy enjoy
ment in almost :.ny sort of weather
if one is dresstd to meet it and goes
r .r fry-
' c J
an ideal one for the pojltryman.
purag
And Family
over the back lot give fruit and to
spare. Honeysuckle climbs over the
side of the house anil umbrella, mul
berry, Cottonwood and ash trees furn
ish the shade. The horse looks well, the
buggy is well-kept; the cow is con
tented and the lot is clean; the
porkers' grunt with satisfaction; a
friendly white Spite i'og lolls around,
occasionally playing with a little
puppy, while the equally white
chickens go about their industrious
egg-laying business. This is a sight
for eore exes and portrays a fact fh
sore minds.
If you don't believe this go and see.
They live on the new Heard road 3'2
miles from town oast of South Center.
i I . " ' tl
.
Enjoy
Kind 0 Weather
forth not in fear and protest, but
in a natural delight in the display of
el'.-mi ntal force.
Hy continually pampering ourselves
and feeling that .1 rain or wind is a
catastrophe we ..cultivate the attitude
more and more and finally reach the
stage where we have none of tips
stimulating delight that one may
have in a dashing storm. The habit
of concealing our preference or at
least our enjoyment may be only a.
form of politeness, yet ;i is rather
insidiously depraving.
Similarily, we tell a multitude of
convenient lies when a fresh, cour
ageous confession of the truth might,
find many sympathetic adherents,
and incidentally, cultivate the mure
positive and wholesome aspects of
life.
. r -'.
PJIOKN1N.
varieties of palms and over two
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