Arizona republican. [volume] (Phoenix, Ariz.) 1890-1930, 1893-11-24
MARICOPA COUNTY
Compared with Five Counties
of the Golden State.
Three Million Acres of Arabic Land
with Water to lrriRate All-Pres-
emit Cultivated Acreage.

But few persons, even IN Arizona,
have a definite idea of the vast extent
OF arabic land in Maricopa county,
which, when compared with five great
counties of southern California, shows
it capable of maintaining almost six
times as many people engaged in agri-
cultural pursuits as the five counties
united.
The counties of San Bernardino, Los
Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San
Diego have at present all told but 2i0,
712 acres under irrigation, while this
county has 100000 acres under canal
and we'll supplied with water. In the
five counties above mentioned they
claim water can be developed so as to
increase the irrigable acreage to 527 ,584
acres while in the county of Maricopa
100000 acres OF arabic acreage is avail
able, and with ample water when stor-
age reservoirs are built to abundantly
supply the entire tract.
At present the five California coun-
ties have during the spring time 1888
inches of water. At the same season
here the streams of Maricopa county
supply ten times that amount, even out
eide of food time.
Some uninformed persons, who have
never looked over this valley, have Cir
culated the report that there are at
present sufficient population for agri-
cultural development, and enough to
consume the water supply. To these
misguided persons few figures on the
extent of the arabic country and the
population it can easily support are
herewith presented:
Within Maricopa county there are
100000 acres, or 1857 sections, of rich
land, suitable for fruit, grain, vine or
vegetable growing, with ample water
supply when developed to cover every
acre of this vast area. At low esti-
mate each twenty acre tract of this
land will support in aff1uence family
of five persons, or the entire tract. all
within this county. will supply 1000
agricultural people with employment
and means of support.
The percentage of agricultural people
in the United States Is about one-third
of the population, but as there will be
but lite manufacturing for some years
the ratio from that element will not be
great. 1t is safe, however, to say that
hI lcdsb AOU.UVU pcOplo WOuIO pcOplo Iue
cities and towns of the valley and thus,
when all the land is cultivated, the pop
ulation of the county at low estimate
would be 100000 people.
Besides the agricultural wealth, min
ing is of no mean Importance in this
county and rich gold properties are de-
veloping rapidly. Several mines have
for years been big producers and the
mining population will always be a
large one, besides assisting materially
in affording market for the fruits and
agricultural products of the valleys.
There is at present no question as to
room for men with capital, either great
or small, and but few localities on the
continent offer equal inducements to
those agriculturally inclined, who wish
to build up a home and engage in the
healthful and lucrative pursuits of hus-
bandry.
The climate of central Arizona is so
we'll known that it requires no COM
ment. Health seekers in large num-
bers spend the winters here in prefer
ence to the coast or Florida and the
country is rapidly settling up with SUBJ
stantial and practical men from the
eastern and southern states who are
seeking homes in land where work on
the farm continues throughout the year
and that which is accumulated in the
summer months is not consumed in