Salt River herald., 1878-12-14
ARIZONA AGRICULTURE.
or the soil and CIi- IniIte-s'roiiiIc Crops of C rain and Fruits-A Ready Mark es aId Good Prices for
 ali FroGuce.

Before comencing a trip through ' Arizona, which business compelled me to perform, 1 had read several w-rSs touching upon its resources. mineral wealth, etc., and was struck with the want of detail contained there in upon many points of interest to the seeker of inormatiOn, and, indeed Zone could hardly expect in general de- ScriptiOn of so large q territory any thing else. The mineral wealth of a country is naturally of great interest to miners and those interested in mines. To the agriculturist, de- scriptiOn of the agricultural resources are of equal value, and 1 therefore pro pose in this article to give you rclia- ble data of vest agricultural portion and the only portion developed in fact, in this part of the territory of Arizona. The town of PheniX is pleasantly To- cated in the Salt River Valley, wirh plentiful supply of soft water derived from Salt River, a tributary of the Gila rivdr. It contains about 1000 in habitants, of whom about one third are MeXicanS. At the last election, November 9th, 531 votes were boiled. \ public school, in prosperous con- dition numbers 91 pupils. The relIg. iOus denominations are Presbyterian, Methodist, Campbcllitc and Roman Catholic. "A quiet, self-complacent air prcvades the whole place, and one cannot help remarking the Self-rely- ing demcanor ofthe inhabitants. There are fourteen mercantile houses, all in a prosperous condition: three livery stables; five blacksmiths' and wagon makers shops; three carpenters and cabint makers shops two drug stores; six distinguished lawyers to decide upon the pros and cons of society; four esculapians, and q refreshing ab- sence of any pre- 1ondcrance of sa- looms. The settlement of Salt River Valley, including the Tempe portion. commenced about 1868. The average width of the valley iS $ niles by 40 miles long. IteXtcnds from the mouth of the Agua Fria, at its junction with the Gila, in an casterly direction to a point at the junction of the Salt and Verde rivers. A reference to an orli- nary map will show the points. The acreage under cultivation last year yielded about S,0O0,OO0 pounds in grain. of which 2,5010O0 was wheat. and J,j00,0O0 barley. The land yields from 20 to 30 bushels of wheat per acre, and from 2j to D of barley There are three Touring mills in the valley. The principle rains con- mence in December, and continue un- til the eEd of February. Crops are put in from November 1st 10 March lst. The summer rains are in July and August. Crops of beans and po- tatocs can be planted in March; and beans and corn can also be planted from the 10th of June to the first of July. The rains of July and August benefit corn, sorghum, sweet potatoes and beans, which are harvested in October. In fact, there is not a crop of either cereals or esculents that can not be grown in this part of Arizona, and arrive at equal perfection as in California. Grapes peaches, apricots, almonds and figs seem to be indige- nous. for their growth and perfection are unsurpassed.
 The market for cereals is, compara- lively speaking, close at hand. The outlets for all productions are the mil itary posts, the mining regions of the surrounding country and the large consumption of barley by freight teams, and the more than paving prices received offer to the farmer greater in ducement to cultivate than can ever occur, perhaps, in more favored To- calities.
 Tn ere can be no fear of failure of crops by reason of drouth as the fol- lowing will show. A system of can alS or ditchcs exists, the source of wa ter being the Salt River. which is brought to bear upon the land by the aforesaid means. There is a main trunk of 9 miles, which extends its branches in all directions. This trunk has a breadth of bottom of 9 feet, with a grade of two feet to the mile, | which is calculated to carry 10000 miners inches. The water is sold to farmers at $2.JO per inch, pcr.annum. l One hundred inches is abundance for 160 acres of land.
 The principle portion of the va Hey | land is sandy loam, interSperSed with adobe. To the northwest of Phenix is a considerable quantity of land that can be pre- emptcd under the home stead act, and will come within the | limits of the Grand Canal
 Oats and alfalfa grow luXuriantly Barley is worth 215c; wheat %. As an illustration of the advantages oi industry, I would state that grain ' grown by the Indians, (Maricopas l and Pimas) commands higher price than that grown by either Americans or MeXicans. By careful attenti on wheat, especially harvested by In dians, is fuller and heavier, and the ericaAmnS always buy it for seeding,
 and pay a higher price than they ob
 taincd far their own, the offspring of
 the Indians productiOn.-San Fran ] cisco RuVefiU.