The Arizona sentinel., 1894-12-29

o The ella and Colorado iyors have III the most
part deep sej;montary soil OF bTownish, gray
sanity 10 n, restsl~, in most places, upon gray
clay subsoil at a de til of from zen to twenty feet
below the surface, The clay subsoil forms hard
pan Viii III is imreryious 70 water These soils have
been slowly formed by tie decomposition of shales,
sandstones, maTls. liuestones ct. mixed with or
! game and veg, table matter, wyshed down Iy the
! mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited
| during the course Of centuries. The fertilizirg
brownish mad held in the wafer OF the Colorado
and ella rivers resembles that from the Nile, and
is quantity varies flom OIL to 0.5 per cent,
though the water when even considerably discol0r-
oi by mud is good 20 drink resembling in this
poet the Missouri river wafer. chemical analysis
OF the sediments OF the Colorado and of the Nile
exhibits a wonderful similarity in the constituent
parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting
trife less potassa, most phosphoric acid ana car
boGade of limestone beds through which the Colo
RADIO passes In other respects the sediment OF the
Colorado is almost identical with that of the Nile.
1t VIII be noticed therefore, that wien this water is
used for irrigation is superior to artesian waters
since it is constantly supplying the land with the
richest seriliLing elements. The soil OF the valleys
is extremely rich in dcdomPOsed vegetable matter
and unconbined carbon, readily absorbing the
aerial gases. such especially, oXy gen. which en-
tering the soil, decomposes the organic matters SO
that they can be taken UP AMI nourish the plants
which may be considered leading featdr3 in its
fertility. It also readily takes up and retains
moisture while the rmness of its particles affords
every facility for percoation and the activity of
capillary action mi Is mechanical composition its
rtfe ST Of, fin N-bi
renders it more productive than coarser soils 1t
acquires heat readily in the daytime and the loss
of the heat at night is very gradual, that it
mains always warm and is not subject to sudden
changes of heat and cold Besides its essential con-
stituents Of water, organic or vegetable matter
sand and clay, a chemical analysis shows that lime
soda, magnesia, iron, ammonia and available forms
of nitrogen phoSphoric acid and potash enter into
composition in the proportions best adapted to
add to its fertility, though, OF course, is always
the case in soil analysis, its composition varies in
different localities and is not always constant.
The soil Of the uplandS, or mesas, is lighter and
more gravely and in some places of free, loaEly,
calcareOus character. The mesa lands are warm and
generous. They seem especially adapted for the
grape, olive and citrus fruits generally Their soil
contains more magnesia, lime or chalk than the
bottom lands. 1t cracks and retains moisture
admirably in summer. It IS ofthat character which
viii produce wine that will keep good for fifty
a hundred years, and improve annually, not being
liable to sour, exposure to the air, after one
year old, to become turbid ard change color in the
bottle or glass.
We can safely say that the soil of Yuma Co unity
can nowhere be surpassed, containing as it does all
the essential elements of richness and fertility.