The Arizona sentinel., 1895-03-02

pan which is impervous to water. These soils have
 been slowly formed by the decomposition of shales,
 sandstones, mArls. limestones, etc. mixed with or Ranic and vegetable matter, washed down by the mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course Of centuries. Tho fertiliGing
 brownish mud held in the water of the Colorado and GiIa rivers resembles that from the Nile. and
 its quantity varies from o.1 to O.6 per cent,
 though the water when even considerably discolor- ed by mud is good to drink, resembling in this res psct the Missouri river water. chemical analysis of the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nile parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting a l trhe less potassa, most phosphoric acid and car
 bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo rado passes In other respects the sediment of the Colorado is almost identical with that of the Nile. It will be noticed therefore, that when this water is used for irrigation is superior to artesian waters since it is constantly supplying the land with the richest fertilizing clements The soil of the valleys | is extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matter and uncombined carbon, readily absorbing the aerial gases, such especially, as oxygen which en- tering the soil, decomposes the organic matters so that they can be taken up and nourish the plants which may be considered a leading feature in its | fertility. It also readily takes up and retains moisture, while the rmness of it's particles affords every facility for percolaion and the activity of capillary action. In ts mechanical composition it's particles in state of very fine division, which | renders it more productive than coarser soils It acquiries heat readily in the daytime and the loss of the heat at night is very gradual that it re- mains always warm and Is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cold. Besides its essential | stituents of water, organic or vegetable matter, sand and clay, 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 as is alwaJ the case in soil analysis, its composition varies in different localities and is not always constant. The soil of the uplsnds, or mesas, is lighter and l more grayelly and in some places of free, loamy 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 chalk than the bottom lands It never cracks and retains moisture admirably in summer. It is of that character which will produce wine that will keep good for fifty hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour, exposure to the air, after year old, to become turbd and change color in the bottle or glass.
 We can safely say that the soil of Yuma County nowhere be surpassed containing as it does all the essential elements of richness and fertility. 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 are 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 kaye been collected which cannot fail to convince, even tbe most skept ical, of the wonderful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing, and which must lead to large and varied production, of the most remunerative character.
 The Commissioner of Immigration in his report, published in 1888, writes 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 detritps which the streams for ages have brought down from their mountain homes in their journey to the sea. By constant overhows and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of extreme fertility, Near the streams it is dark alluvial mold, we'll adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is a 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 in any part of the United States So rapid and prolific
 is the growth of the fruits, cereals and vegetables that the labor of the cutivator is reduced to the minimum. In nearly all of them two crops year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead of California. The farmers plants a cottonwood sapng before his door, and within the year he has shade tree twenty-five feet high! Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season, and it is actual fact the grape-cuttngs have produced within eigh- teen monthsi What State or Territory 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 blossoming, and the grain fields 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 iH 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 luxuriantly, 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 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 cult
 vaton 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 1 experiment in Arizona, for it is on record that when the Europeans first penetrated this region, l they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics | made of cotton grown in the Gila valley.
 'But 1t is their adaptabihty for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popula | tion and aprosperous future. Almost every var iety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. The apple pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and nec- tarine, of delicious flavor, and give gen. erous yield. The grape of all varieties is at home in these sunny vales. No place in the grape-grow- ing belt of the Pacific Coast can show prolific a 1 yield. The quality is all that could be desired; and the wine, although its manufaGture is yet ex- perimental, is of fine flavor, delicious bouquet, | and unsurpassed by any native product table 1 beverage. Experiments with the raisin-grape i have shown that this climate and soil possess