The Arizona sentinel., 1895-03-09

O the Cila and Colorado rivers have for the most
 part deep sedimentary soil Of brownish, gray ! sandy lo7m, resting, in most places, upon gray clay sUbsoil at depth Of from len to twenty feet below the surface The clay subsoil forms a hard pan which is impcrvous to water. These soils have
 been slowly formed by tac decomposition of s,alss,
 saadstones, marls. imestoncs, et-., mixed with i g2nic and vegetable matter, washed down by the mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course of centuries The fortilizing
 trownish mud held in the water of the Colorado and Giia rivers resembles that from the Nile, and its quantity varies from 0.l to O.5 per cent, though the water ~hen even considerably dscolor-
 ed by mud is good to drink, resembling in this res pact the Missouri river water. \ chemical analysis
 ci the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nile
 exhibits wonderful similarity in the constituent parts of each That of the Colorado exhibiting a
 triAe less potassa, most phosphoric acid and car
 bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo rado pass g. 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 it is superior to aresan waters since it is constantly supplying the land with the richest fertizing clements. The soil of the valleys is extremely rich in dedomposej vegetable matter and uncombned carbon readily absorbing the aerial gases, such especially, as oxygen, which tering the soil, dccomposes the organic matters so that they can be taken up and nourish the plants which may '5e considered Q leading feature in its fertility. It also readily takes up and retains moisture, while the rmness of its particles affords every facility for pcrcolation and the activity of capillary action its mechanical composition it's particles in state of very fine division, which renders it more productive than coarser soils It acquircs heat readily in the daytime and the loss of the heat at night is very gradual, that it re- mains always and is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cold. Besides its essential con- stituents of water, organic 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 alwals the case in soil analysis, it's composition varies in different localities and is not always constant.
 The soil of the uplands, or mesas, is lighter and more grayeIly 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 or 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 or a hundred years, and improve annually, not being ] liable to sour, or exposure to the air, after one year old, to become turbid and change color in the bottle or glass.
 We can safely say that the soil of Yuma County can nowhere be surpassed containing it does all the essential elements of richness and fertility.