Yuma Experimental Farm Collection

TITLE: Yuma Experimental Farm Collection

DATE RANGE: 1907 – 1950

CALL NUMBER: Y-MS 51

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: 1 linear foot (1 box)

PROVENANCE: The collection was donated to the Arizona Historical Society by the Imperial County Historical Society in 2007. Materials were originally donated to the Imperial County Historical Society by Department of Agriculture in 1996.

COPYRIGHT: The Yuma County Library District owns the copyright to this collection.

RESTRICTIONS: This collection is unrestricted.   

CREDIT LINE: Yuma Experimental Farm Collection, Y-MS 51, Yuma County Library District

 PROCESSED BY: Benjamin Findley, May 2014

HISTORICAL NOTE: The Yuma Reclamation Project Experiment Farm was begun in 1910 by the Bureau of Reclamation as part of their efforts to improve agricultural production in the Yuma area. The purpose of the farm was to develop the best farming practices and the best crops to grow in the desert. Findings at the farm were released in reports and announced through the local newspapers. In the first decade of operation, the farm tested thousands of plant varieties as well as different live-stock industries.

Another experimental farm located in Yuma was the Yuma Branch Experiment Station started in 1906 by the University of Arizona, College of Agriculture. At this farm the College tested various plants and farming methods.

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE: This collection consists primarily of material from the Reclamation Service’s experiment farm. Some documents from the University of Arizona’s experimental farm are also included. The bulk of the collection consists of large notecards with records and photographs of various farm activities – remarkable for the clarity of images and data recorded on the reverse side.

The notecards also document other Reclamation projects including Laguna Dam, levee construction, images of the Colorado River, and flood control measures. There are also several progress reports of various farm projects and accomplishments.  Of interest is a copy of The Great Southwest from January 1907 which has an article about growing dates. Another two folders contain handwritten journals recording weather data covering the 1930s.

There are no series.

CONTAINER LIST:   

Box Folder Title Dates
1 1 Annual Reports 1912
  2 Annual Reports Ca. 1940s
  3 Annual Reports n.d.
  4 Publication, The Great Southwest, January 1907 1907
  5 Weather Data 1930 – 1937
  6 Weather Data 1937 – 1940
1a 1 Animals 1907 – 1917
  2 Alfalfa 1906 – 1918
  3 Almonds 1913 – 1914
  4 Amygdalus 1912 – 1917
  5 Apple 1913 – 1917
  6 Apricot 1913 – 1917
  7 Aralia Cordata 1912
  8 Artichokes 1916
  9 Asparagus 1918
  10 Bamboo 1908 – 1912
  11 Barley 1907 – 1917
  12 Beans 1912 – 1916
  13 Beefwood 1914
  14 Beets 1915
  15 Bermuda Grass 1907
  16 Berries 1917 – 1919
  17 Bougainvillea 1914
  18 Cabbage 1914
  19 Cactus 1912 – 1915
  20 Cane 1912 – 1914
  21 Canna 1916
  22 Castor Oil Beans 1915 – 1918
  23 Catalpa Speciosa 1907
  24 Cedar 1908
  25 Cerasus Lauro 1917
  26 Swiss Chard 1915
  27 Cherries 1913 – 1917
  28 Chrysanthemum 1914 – 1915
  29 Citron 1906
  30 Colorado River 1906 – 1915
  31 Corn 1908 – 1914
  32 Cotton 1907 – 1914
  33 Cowpeas 1912 – 1916
  34 Crotalaria Sp 1917
  35 Cydonia Oblonga 1917
  36 Construction Equipment 1907 – 1911
  37 Dates 1907 – 1918
  38 Dendrocalamus Strictus 1913
  39 Eleagnus Angustifolia 1915
  40 Elephantorrhica Elephantina 1915 – 1917
  41 Eucalyptus 1907 – 1914
  42 Figs 1911 – 1915
  43 Hay 1910 – 1916
  44 Grapes 1913 – 1919
  45 Jujube 1912 – 1917
  46 Kumquats 1914 – 1917
  47 Laguna Dam 1909 – 1911
  48 Legumes 1908
  49 Levees 1907
  50 Lemons 1906 – 1917
  51 Malus Sylvestria 1917
  52 Mesquites 1914 – 1915
  53 Millet 1914 – 1917
  54 Mirabilis Multiflora 1917
  55 Miscellaneous Crops 1917 – 1922
  56 Mistletoe 1909
  57 Moisture Requirements 1917
  58 Native Vegetation 1909 – 1910
  59 Oats 1915 – 1917
  60 Oleander Plants 1914
  61 Olives 1907 – 1917
  62 Onions 1907 – 1917
  63 Oranges 1906 – 1917
  64 Ornamentals 1921
  65 Para Grass 1908
  66 Parkinsonia Aculeata 1917
  67 Palm Trees 1908 – 1914
  68 Palo Verdes 1916
1b 1 Pampas Grass 1914
  2 Peanuts 1907 – 1911
  3 Peaches 1913 – 1917
  4 Pears 1913 – 1917
  5 Peas 1908 – 1917
  6 Pecans 1911 – 1917
  7 Pepper Trees 1917
  8 Persimmons 1912 – 1917
  9 Pistachios 1912 – 1917
  10 Plums 1913 – 1917
  11 Pomegranates 1908 – 1917
  12 Potatoes 1915 – 1916
  13 Power Lines 1913
  14 Prunes 1913 – 1917
  15 Quince 1913 – 1917
  16 Radishes 1914
  17 Railroads 1917
  18 Rice 1913
  19 Roads 1913
  20 Roselles 1907
  21 Rushes 1908
  22 Rye 1915 – 1917
  23 Roses 1915 – 1918
  24 Samar 1907 – 1908
  25 Shaftal 1907 – 1908
  26 Squash 1914
  27 Sweet Potatoes 1915
  28 Sorghum 1907 – 1917
  29 Sudan Grass 1912 – 1916
  30 Soybeans 1916 – 1918
  31 T’s 1914 – 1917
  32 Tomatoes 1923
  33 Trees 1913 – 1921
  34 Ulmus 1917 – 1918
  35 V’s 1908 – 1913
  36 Walnuts 1913 – 1917
  37 W’s 1913 – 1918
  38 Yuma 1906 – 1917
  39 Yuma Experimental Farm 1907 – 1918
  40 California 1908 – 1917

 

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