Show UTAHS fflxtEl LAND Government Report On the Wonderful Won-derful Rio Virgen Valley IMPORTAT CROP ZONE PRODtc TOBACCO COTON In FIGS AND OLIVES Professor Meas Interesting Report Re-port On a Semitropical Corner of UtWi Ultimately Become aVery a-Very Important Section of the SttePheome Cotton Yield Washington Office of The Herald 1415 C Street N W Professor C Hart Merriam chief ot the biological survey has mae a report on I Life Zones and Crop Zones In the United States which contains a Seat deal ot information of interest to the people ot th mountain state He think the Lower VIrgen valley will untmatel become a vast imDortant section ot Uth This vale says Professor MerrIam affords a good Illustration of the fact that farms favorably situated In northern extensions ot southern crop zones should be worth considerably more per acre than those situated within normal parts ot the same zone The reason Is that by Sin particular crops at points remote tom the usual source ot supply and at the same time conveniently near a market the cost ot transportation is greatly reduced re-duced and the profit correspondingly Increased In-creased The lower Virgen Is not only the sole Lower Sonoran area In Utah but lies nearl 300 miles in a staight line and a little more than 10 mIles by railroad from the nearest pint where similar crops and fruits are commercially produced duced I Is an Insular pocket or basinet basin-et hemmed In by mountains and marks the extreme northeastern exten zion ot the typical Sonorn desert fauna and for he creosote bush mesquite desert willow Gregg acacia and other Sonora shrubs and the Gambol quail Le Conte and crssal thrasher mockingbird mocking-bird cactus wren yelowheade tit Abert chewink black phalnopepla vei lon flycatcher and Texas nighthawk serve as a guide to its faunal position The valley Is traversed by the Virgen river and Its tributary the Santa Clara which together with copious springs afford ford water for Irrigation I contains the Mormon settlements St George Santa Clara Toquerfe and a few other or smaller size with an aggregate population popula-tion of about 30 Among the Important products are tobacco raisin grapes cotton cot-ton almonds olives and fg and among the ornamental shade trees are the pepper pep-per tree tobacco tree and China tree or Pride ot India The fertility of the sol Is marked and the limit of is agricultural agricul-tural capacity measured either by number num-ber ot varieties ot quantity ot output is still far In the future Nevertheless pre eat production greatly exceeds the pos sibites of local consumptIon a shown by the cotton crop which for the year I 1f9 was no less than 1 bales of 5 I pounds each and was worth 35 A feature ot specIal interest In relation to I the future possibilities of the valley Is the fact that the yield of cotton per acre Is very much higher dt of rr I state of the Union and more than double i that of the gulf states ahr of cotton is true in greater or less dee of fruits and other crops There ca b lit tie question therefore that when railroad rail-road connection with northern Utah Is established conneton norter tablshed the S1 George valley is bound to play an important part In the history and commercial prosperity of the young I state I The case ot this remote valley brings I Into prominence the necessity for study lag a much neglected subject and one on which profitable agriculture largely dele pends It Is not enough to succeed In eJotguc i growing crops le adapted tguc particular r partic-ular locality 1 for bountiful crops are of I Ynf little value unless they can 1r profitably marketed But In order to reach the heat I markets It Is necessary to ascertain the prices various products bring from year I to year In different parts of the country to mae quantitative studies of production produc-tion and consumption to avoid overpro ducton to study statistics of our imports and exports and give thoughtful attention atten-tion to questions gve transportation In grtto e1 I short to study commercial geography at least so far as it relates to the products I 1a na pates proucts of ones own farm |