The Arizona sentinel., 1895-05-18
FRUIT CULTURE.

Fruit production throughout Arizona is . sub
 ject of great interest at present, and will no
 doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County.
 The remarkable results that have sprung from
 very superficial and imperfect culture has de-
 monstrated that the soil and climate of Yuma
 County peculiarly adapted for this branch of
 agricultural enterprise The development of these
 resources is of the utmost importance and is at
 tracting careful attention. Experiments have been
 made with care and facts in regard to the culture
 of different kinds of fruits have been collected
 which cannot fail to convince tbe most skept-
 ical, ofthe wonderful superiority of Yuma County
 over Southern California in fruit growing and
 which must lead to B large and varied production,
 of the most remunerative character
 The Commissioner of Immigration in his report,
 published in 856, writes as follows of the rich
 valleys of the Gila, Colorado and Salt rivers.
 'The soil of these valleys is among the richest
 on the continent. It is formed of the detrtus
 which the streams for ages have brought down
 from their mountain homes in their journey to the
 By constant overflows and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form
 ed soil of ,Xtreme fertility, Near the streams it
 is dark alluvial mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is rich sandy loam, mellow and porous, and especially favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity of these valleys is not surpassed by lands of equal area in any part of the United States. Scrapd and prolific is the growth of the fruits cereals and vegetables that the labor of the cultvator is reduced to the minimum. In nearly all of them two crops a year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead of California. The farmers plants cottonwood saplng before his door, and within the year he has a shade tree twenty-five feet high! Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season, and it is an actual fact the grapecuttings have produced within eigh- teen months What State or Territory can make such a showing? The climate, it must be remem- bered, is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys The farmer begins to plant in November, and by the middle of May his harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees are biossoming, and the grain fields sea of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow and ice
 Every variety of grains, grasses, fruits and vege tables grown in the temperate and semi-tropic zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona. Wheat, corn barley, oats and all the small grains give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxurantly, the former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre each year, Every variety of vegetable raised in the United States be grown in Arizona and nowhere are they found of better quality.
 Besides the products mentioned, these semi tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane, to- bacco, hemp and rice With the exception of the sugarcane but little attention is paid to the culti yation of other staples but it has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate are specially adapted to their successful growth. Cotton growing is no experiment in Arizona, for it is on record that when the Europeans first penetrated this region, they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cotton grown in the Gila valley.
 "But it is their adaptabilIty for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popua. tion and aprosperous future. Almost every var iety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and tarine, are of delicious flavor, and give gen erOus yield. The grape of all varieties is at home in these sunny wales. No place in the grape-grow- ing belt of the Pacific Coast can show so prolific yield. The quality is all that could be desired; and the wine, although it's mancfseture is vet ex perimental, is of fine flavor, delicious bouquet, and unsurpassed by any native product as table beverage. Experiments with the raisin-grap have shown that this climate and soil possess every advantage for the production and curing of this staple article of commerce.
 Besides the fruits already mentioned, the or ange, lemon, lime, olive, fig, pomegranate, and others Oi the citrus family can be grown success fully in the valleys of Southern Arizona Orange trees now in bearing in the Salt River valley and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul. tivated at the latter place. The Arizona orange in quality and flavor will compare favoraby with the best California.
 'In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and the Gia rivers, there is room for thousands. It is not too much to say that nowhere within the limits of this broad Union can be found & more desirable | region for the making of Q home No laborious | clearing of the land is required; it lies almost | ready for the plOw. Trees and shrubbery have so 1 rapid growth that within eighteen months the ! surround his abode with attractions | which would require years to mature in less favored climates Fruits ripen and are ready for market | a full month before the California product. The | bright sunshine makes life luxury, and the pure, dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhae it. ! For the establishment Of colonies such as we have made Of Southern California arden, Arizona ! presents unrivaled opportunities Thousands of