Agricultural Science Commons^™

Bulletin No. 182 - The Net Duty Of Water In Sevier Valley, Orson W. Israelsen, Luther M. Winsor

UAES Bulletins

The Sevier River is one of the most important sources of irrigation water in Utah. It rises in two main branches. The south fork rises in Kane County and flows almost due north to Junction in Piute County, where it joins the east fork, which rises partly in Garfield County and partly in Sevier County. The Garfield County branch of the east fork flows north, and the Sevier County Branch flows south to Coyote where the two tributaries join and flow westward into Junction. From Junction, the river flows northward past Marysvale, Sevier, Richfield, Salina, Gunnison, and Mills, where it …

Circular No. 46 - Thirty Years Of Agricultural Experiments In Utah, F. S. Harris, N. I. Butt

UAES Circulars

The Utah Agricultural Experiment Station has been established over thirty years. During this time more than a hundred experimenters have worked on the staff, each one contributing something to aid in the researches that have been conducted. During the first few years regular annual reports were published, but during recent years no such reports have been issued. The results of the work of the Station have been published in station bulletins and circulars and in various technical journals.

Since there is no publication or series of publications that records all the activities of the Station it was thought desirable at …

Circular No. 45 - Alfalfa Production Under Irrigation, George Stewart

UAES Circulars

Alfalfa was first planted and cared for by half-civilized man long before any history was written. In spite of the fact that its line of descent has come thru the Medes and Persians by way of the Greeks, the Romans, the Moslems, and the Spaniards,--in spite of long sojourns in many lands, the heritage is still undefiled. Instead of losing in adaptability, possibly long centuries of trial have made it more fit. At any rate, here it is: high in power to yield, rich in power to nourish.

With its deep roots it laughs at drought and mellows up the …

Circular No. 44 - The Agriculture Of Utah, F. S. Harris

UAES Circulars

Agriculture is so intimately related to all other industries that anything which affects the farmer reflects itself in all branches of business. The banker, the merchant, and the manufacturer must keep in touch with crop and livestock conditions of the country in order to foresee the tendencies of their own businesses. This is particularly true in a state like Utah which depends fundamentally on the products of the soil for its prosperity.

Numerous requests are received by the Experiment Station from prospective settlers living out side of the state for information concerning the agriculture of Utah. These have been kept …

Bulletin No. 180 - The Irrigation Of Alfalfa, F. S. Harris, D. W. Pittman

UAES Bulletins

In the United States alfalfa-growing has gone hand in hand with the development of irrigation. Alfalfa did not become an important crop in the country until after irrigation began to be practised in the West. Very soon after the pioneers reached Utah, alfalfa was brought to the state where it found conditions well suited to its growth. Wherever settlement extended alfalfa was raised as one of the most important crops, and finally from the West it has spread eastward into the humid parts of the country.

Bulletin No. 179 - Apple Candy: A Commercial Use For Cull Apples, T. H. Abell

UAES Bulletins

Utah annually produces many tons of apples that never reach the consumer. These apples remain on the farm for various rwasons: (1) because there are not adequate marketing facilities, (2) because the fruit is of inferior quality, (3) because orchard units are too small for buyers to consider, and (4) because home orchards are so large that the crop cannot be utilized. On the other hand, apples of inferior quality go to the market alongside apples of high quality. The result is a lowering of the price of apples in general and dissatisfaction on the part of the retailer and …

Bulletin No. 177 - Some Types Of Irrigation Farming In Utah, E. B. Brossard

UAES Bulletins

As ordinarily used "type of farming" suggests general contrasts in the nature of farm business. The bases used in making these contrasts are: (1) sources of farm income, (2) number of farm enterprises, (3) amount of labor, capital, and management applied to each acre of land, and (4) farm practice with reference to maintenance of soil fertility. When based on sources of farm income, farms are classified as grain farms, hay farms, fruit farms, dairy farms, etc., according to the proportionate magnitude of the income from the different sources. When the number of farm enterprises is used as the basis, …

Bulletin No. 176 - Potato Improvement By Hill Selection, George Stewart

UAES Bulletins

Potatoes are such an important food and are grown on so many farms in Utah that any method of permanently improving the crop is highly desirable. Commercial producers can of course capitalize any practical method of potato improvement.

This field of experimentation is not new, for many workers have attempted to improve the potato crop by selection. Success, however, has been neither uniform nor always appreciable; many of the experiments were of short duration, and many were not conducted on a sufficiently large scale to be good tests. It is apparent from this meager statement that the possibilities" of potato …

Circular No. 43 - Feeding Work Horses, W. E. Carroll

UAES Circulars

The intelligent feeding of the work horses of the State of Utah would save each year thousands of dollars in feed and prevent sickness and death of hundreds of horses.

In Circular 32 of this station a brief discussion is given of some of the more theoretical aspects of the feeding of farm animals as they might apply in general to all classes of livestock. Consideration is given to such questions as the composition and digestibility of feeds, the uses to which the digested portions are put in the animal body, the calculation and balancing of rations, how to judge …

Bulletin No. 175 - Sixteen Years Of Dry Farm Experiments In Utah, F. S. Harris, A. F. Bracken, I. J. Jensen

UAES Bulletins

The demand for reliable information on dry-farming is increasing every year. As the area that is being cropped by dry-farm methods extends to less favorable regions, it becomes necessary to utilize the most effective methods of culture. In choice dry-farm sections crops may be produced without special care; but when an attempt is made to farm where the rainfall is low or where other conditions are not favorable, it becomes necessary to use every possible means of moisture conservation in order to get satisfactory yields.

Since the demand for information is so insistent, it seems desirable at this time to …

Bulletin No. 174 - A Variety Survey And Descriptive Key Of Small Grains In Utah, George Stewart

UAES Bulletins

Standardization of the varieties of small-grains in Utah is highly important. A mixed condition of grain causes both direct loss and inconvenience. The loss comes about in two principal ways: (1) by the decreased yields resulting from mixed grain, and (2) by the lower price paid for each bushel of mixed grain. This latter loss is especially noticeable in wheat on account of the grading system which penalizes mixed wheat by reducing the grade or by barring it from one of the six market classes and designating it as "mixed" wheat. The inconvenience arises from the fact that some varieties …

Bulletin No. 172 - The Value Of Barnyard Manure On Utah Soils, F. S. Harris

UAES Bulletins

New countries rarely appreciate the value of barnyard manure. It is not until the soil begins to be depleted of its fertility and the yield of crops begins to decline that manure is given the attention that its value justifies. In new countries it is not uncommon to see manure hauled into a rut in the road or left in scattered heaps along the roadside or the ditch bank. Often a year's accumulation of manure is drawn out of the barn or corral in scrapers and added to a pile containing the accumulation of previous years.

Bulletin No. 173 - The Duty Of Water In Cache Valley, Utah, F. S. Harris

UAES Bulletins

The greater part of this bulletin is devoted to a report of experiments on the relation of the amount of irrigation water applied to the yield of crops. As the agriculture of Utah develops, it becomes more obvious each year that the chief factors limiting the production of crops is irrigation water. It is desirable, therefore, to have available all possible information on the subject. Water is so scarce that none should be wasted either directly or by attempting to spread it over so much land that it is not economically applied. Wasteful extravagance on the one hand and undue …

Bulletin No. 171 - Alfalfa Seed Growing And The Weather: With Particular Reference To Conditions In Utah, J. Cecil Alter

UAES Bulletins

The demand for alfalfa seed has far outrun domestic production. Since the labor and expense of producing the crop are light, and the profits attractive in favorable years, a desire is manifest wherever alfalfa is grown, to save a crop for seed whenever the meteorological elements favor its setting and maturing. Climate is generally acknowledged to be the limiting factor in alfalfa seed production, and the current weather the major factor affecting the yearly yields.

Circular No. 41 - Soil Alkali, F. S. Harris

UAES Circulars

The farmer of the West is likely to be very much upset at the mention of alkali, mineral, or salt, in connection with his land. These various names are applied to a condition which he usually knows little about except that it is bad. The exact nature of the substances called by these names and the character of the injuy caused by them are very vague in his mind; but he knows that he wants nothing to do with alkali if he can help it.

The prevalence of alkali throughout the arid parts of the world makes it impossible for …

Bulletin No. 170 - A Study Of Methods Of Determining Soil Alkali, D. W. Pittman

UAES Bulletins

There is a great lack of uniformity in the methods of testing soils for alkali salts and in the forms of expressing the results in a way that will show the relative toxicity of the salts. This has been pointed out by numerous investigators and has been shown to complicate the determinations so much that the results of different investigators are hardly comparable. It is of further disadvantage in that the toxic limits of an alkali as worked out by one system of analysis are often difficultly applicable to a soil that has been tested by another system. However, it …

Bulletin No. 169 - The Use Of Alkali Water For Irrigation, F. S. Harris, N. I. Butt

UAES Bulletins

Because of the scanty rainfall of arid regions, the soluble materials in the rocks and soil are not leached out as they are where the rainfall is high. As a result, the accumulation of excessive quantities of soluble salts is likely to be a menace to arid soils. Farm practices must be directed toward preventing this condition.

Bulletin No. 168 - Relative Resistance Of Various Crops Ot Alkali, F. S. Harris, D. W. Pittman

UAES Bulletins

Plants show considerable variation in their resistance to soil alkali. Some varieties of native vegetation grow only where the salt content of the soil is high. Most of the cultivated plants, on the other hand, are injured very decidedly by the presence of large quantities of soluble salts. To this rule there are a few exceptions such as the date palm.

In most of the arid parts of the world there are sections where the presence of alkali is the chief limiting factor in crop growth. Millions of acres of land are in the border zone between complete freedom from …

Bulletin No. 166 - The Climate Of Utah, Frank L. West, N. E. Edlefsen

UAES Bulletins

Climate is of interest and importance to the scientist in general. It is particularly important to the investigator in the field of agriculture because growing crops are affected quite as much by sunlight, heat, rain, and frost as by the fertility of the soil. In field investigations these factors must be determined and reckoned with.

Bulletin No. 167 - The Irrigation Of Oats, F. S. Harris, D. W. Pittman

UAES Bulletins

It is well known to farmers that the oat plant is more sensitive to the moisture condition of the soil than are many of the other farm crops. For this reason oats find favor as an irrigated crop, since under irrigation the supply of water can be so easily controlled.

In order to secure the best results, it becomes necessary to know as much as possible about the moisture requirements of the various crops that are to be irrigated. This is particularly true of oats on account of their sensitiveness. The farmer should know at which period in the life …

Circular No. 40 - Potato Production, George Stewart

UAES Circulars

Potatoes were the first crop planted in Utah. In July, 1847, the Mormon pioneers turned the water from City Creek over the parched land near what is now the center of Salt Lake City. The ground was then broken and sown at once to potatoes. Only a small yield was obtained but this helped materially to eke out the meagre food supply until the harvest of 1848. During the several hard years that followed, potatoes were among the most important foods for the pioneer settlers. Since then, they have held a prominent place in the agriculture of the State. Just. …

Circular No. 36 - Practical Information On The Measurement Of Irrigation Water, O. W. Israelsen

UAES Circulars

The economical use of water in irrigation depends primarily on water measurement. That significant advantages, public and private, attend the measurement of water delivered to individual irrigators has long been recognized in older irrigated countries. The rapidly increasing utilization of Utah's available water supply, the consequent increase in its value, and the tendency on the newer canal systems to base the annual irrigation charges on the amount of water used make an understanding of the methods of water measurement an absolute necessity. Furthermore, many irrigators now realize that the vast store of information concerning the relations of water, soils, and …

Circular No. 37 - Field Beans, George Stewart

UAES Circulars

Tho a new crop in Utah, field beans promise to become of considerable importance. By this, it is not meant that Utah will soon be a leading bean-producing commonwealth. Nevertheless, the next few years will witness a rapid development of the bean-growing industry.

Their leguminous characteristics make beans a valuable crop in rotation systems. This is particularly true now that the virgin condition of our soils will soon disappear where it has not already done so. Beans are adapted both to dry-farming and to irrigation; their growing season is relatively short, permitting the fall planting of wheat after their harvest; …

Circular No. 34 - Sugar-Beet Production In Utah, F. S. Harris, N. I. Butt

UAES Circulars

Utah is one of the pioneers in the beet-sugar industry. The first sugar factory was brought into the State in 1852, but, like all the early attempts to produce sugar from beets in the United States, the enterprise was unsuccessful. In 1891 a factory was erected at Lehi when there were less than a half a dozen factories in the United States. From this time on Utah has been one of the few states of the Union important in the manufacture of beet sugar. Since soil, climate, irrigation, and labor conditions are favorable to the crop, it is probable that …

Circular No. 35 - Licensed Stallions In Utah During The Season Of 1918, W. E. Carroll

UAES Circulars

The operations of the State Board of Horse Commissioners have been somewhat restricted during the season just closed, due to many of the Deputy Veterinarians having entered the service of the War Department. Being thus handicapped, the Board has been unable to cover the State as completely as was desired or to respond to calls immediately in all cases.

During this season it has not been necessary to refuse a single license because of the unsoundness of the animal involved. This is a marked improvement over the condition' reported last season when it was necessary to refuse licenses to eleven …

Circular No. 38 - Legislation Concerning Water-Rights, O. W. Israelsen

UAES Circulars

The proper utilization of the agricultural resources of the West is today of greater importance than ever before. It is estimated that not more than 10 per cent of the total area of the West can be irrigated when every drop of available water is economically utilized. In Utah alone there are approximately twelve million acres of arable land, only one million acres of which are now irrigated. Moreover, it is likely that the fullest development that can be made through the most economical use of the total water supply in Utah, will make possible the irrigation of only three …

Circular No. 39 - A Day At The Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, M. C. Merrill, O. W. Israelsen, Byron Alder

UAES Circulars

From the days when Indian chieftains with their hostile bands roamed the sagebrush areas of Utah down to the present, nature's forces have been subdued by many a daring and successful conquest thru the intelligence and unyielding perseverance of Utah's pioneers. Since its establishment, the energies of the Agricultural Experiment Station have been directed toward a continuance of this conquest.

Bulletin No. 165 - Labor Costs And Seasonal Distribution Of Labor On Irrigated Crops In Utah Valley, L. G. Connor

UAES Bulletins

This bulletin presents in tabular form the results of a detailed study of the labor cost of crop production, made in 1915. Principally in Utah Lake Valley, Utah, in connection with a study of farm management and farm profits in the Provo area, Utah Lake Valley. It is designed to bring out the weak as well as the strong points in the systems of farming followed. The seasonal distribution of labor is shown for each important crop and the times at which the different crops compete for labor are indicated. The bulletin is intended primarily for the use of farm …

Circular No. 32 - Feeding Farm Animals, W. E. Carroll

UAES Circulars

Our oldest history tells us that in the beginning man was given dominion "over the cattle, and over all the earth." This was of course only potentially possible at first, and could not be realized until man developed and exercised his intelligence to this end. What, then, does it mean to have dominion over the cattle? Is this not merely to control them and direct their energies and productivity to the happiness of mankind? Surely this is so, and that man has greatest dominion who can control them most completely for the good of the race.

Circular No. 33 - A Method Of Feeding Orphan Lambs, W. E. Carroll

UAES Circulars

One of the big preventable losses of the Western sheep business at the present time is the orphan lamb. There are a number of conditions, anyone of which may result in a motherless lamb; the ewe may die (this probably does not occur in a large number of cases) ; a mother may refuse to claim one of a pair of twins or even a single lamb; mother and lamb may become separated by the ordinary moving about of the band of ewes and the ewe thereby loses the scent of the lamb.

The careful shepherd soon detects the orphans, …