The Arizona sentinel., 1881-12-24

!
tract from Hon. Pat. Hamilton's
Resources of Arizona:
These two counties embrace
the great Colorado valley, which
contains thousands of acres of the
richest soil in the United States.
Owing to its yearly overflow, tn e
valley is covered with a coating
of vegetable mould, which con-
stantly enriches the soil. Vege-
tation is very rapid in this val
ley. Weeds, grasses and wild
hemp attain an amazing height
in few weeks after the waters
have receded. In fact, every
thing grows in tropical luxuri-
ance. If kept from overflow, no
better soil for cotton, sugar, hemp
and semi-tropical fruits is found
on the continent. In some places
the bluffs come down to the
stream, and at other points the
valley is from one to five miles
wide. Below Ehrenberg, the
area of valley land is much great
er than above. To bring the wa
tprs OF the Colorado by canals
over its rich valley and prevent
the river from overf1owing,
would no doubt be an expensive
undertaking, but the hundreds
of thousands of acres OF magnifi-
cent land which would thus be
reclaimed are prize worth striv.
ing to gain. A company has been
formed for the raising Of hemp
and sugarcane, which has already
begun operations in the valley
below the town of Yuma; but
with the exception of small
patches cultivated by the Indi-
aas, the rich valley of the Colora-
do is virgin soil. Between the
junction of the Gila and Colorado,
there is tract of very rich bot
tom, by some estimated at 10000
acres, all of which could be
brought under cultivation at q
moderate cost. The two largest
streams of the territory, flowing
on either side, would give an in
exhaustihle supply of water, and
the contiguratien OF the ground
is such that it can be easily irri-
gated. There are several fine
ranches along the valley of the
Gila, in Yuma county, which
yield good crops of grain and veg
eta5les. The total number OF
acres under cultivation in The
county is about $500 The val
ley Of the Colorado, in Mohave
county, presents the same fea-
lures DIS in Yuma, but is not so
extensive, The soil is equally as
rich and productive, but it re-
quires capital to open canals,
throw up embankments, and put
the land in a condition for sue
cessful cultivation. At present.
farming in Monave county is con-
fined to the Big Sandy, in the
southern part of the county,
where there are about 1000 acres
under cultivation, producing fine
crops of grain, vegetables and
fruit.
From this brief summary, it
will he seen that successful farm
ing In Arizona depends entirely
on irrigation. No finer crops
are raised in any country than
in this Territory, where water
can ne had. There are thousands
of acres of productive land in the
leading valleys, which can be
made available by a proper dis
tribution of the present water
supply. While the wealth of Ar
izona is in its mines, agriculture
will always be profitable call
ing, and the products of the soil
command a good price. There is
no land more prolific, no climate
more equable, and 10 country
where the labors of the husband
man receive more generous re-
ward. In saying this, however,
it is not the intention to invite
hither a large agricultural popu-
latiOn. AS has been before stat
ed, the area of land which can
be brought under cultivation is
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