The Arizona sentinel., 1895-09-28
THE GILA RIVER


 more than a hundred miles, through one Of, If not the most fertile valleys on the Pacific Coast, every portion of which can be irrigated with the vast supply of water that comes through 1t every winter and spring, if only husbanded in storage reservoirs, built where nature has designed they should be, and upon the plans of those which have proved so successful in the old world.
 The lower 25,00O acres which lie between the junction of the Gila and the Colorado rivers, can be irrigated with water taken from the Colorado at Hinton's Island, below Plcacho, which is the plan proposed by the Great Yuma Canal now under process of location. It Is, to take the an cient canal, built hundreds if not thousands of years ago, and follow it across the Ortega valley, down past Castle Dome, thence along the foot hills of the mesa to the narrows near GiIa City, where it will be conducted nnder the Gila river in steel pipes of immense size, and out on to the fine mesa twelve miles east of Yuma. This canal will always be able to furnish an abundant supply of water from the never failing Colorado, and that, too, without any pumps or storage reser- voirs, that at Hinton's Island being inexhaustible, and to all purposes for human use perpetual,
 This magnificent tract of rich val ley land can also be supplied from the proposed storage reservoirs, which will eventually be built at the mar rows at Gila City, or from the one proposed by the South Gila, the Mo hawk and also by the Hudson Reser- voir Co.,, either of which can cover all of the lands of the lower Gila, and the three will furnish supply of water sufficient for all the farming lands along the Gila in Yuma county, so that the future of this rich region does not depend alone upon the wat CTS which may be gathered and stored in the immediate section nearer its headwaters.
 There are no less than 50O,000 acres along and adjacent to the Gila in Yuma county, of the richest fruit, grain and grass lands, all of which can be reached by these irrigation systems of the Gila river, and which are in the immediate vicinity of Yuma and the railroad. While the pear apple, plum, cherry and hardier grape, those fruits that love the intense cold of the ice-clad hills of New England and the east, can and will be grown with success and profit in the noun, tain regions of the upper Gila. it is left for this section lying adjacent to Yuma to produce the finest lemons, Hines, oranges, raisin, wine and ! brandy grapes grown in the world. 1. It is a well-known fact, admitted by ! all who have carefully, cardidly and | honestly examined it, that the choic- est and only perfect lime and lemon grown in the United States are those grown in Yuma's gardens. France, Spain nor Italy never have, never can surpass them in size, flavor, thinness of skin, quality of juice, in fact in quality and quantity produced. Tie same is true of the wine and raisin grape. Cold nights, damp days tbick murky weather and dense fogs, never did, never can produce a per feet lime, lemon or raisin grape. The quality does not lie in nor come from Che soil, but 1t is in the climate, in Yumas steady, dry, hot days and nights, wherein lies the secret of her choice, delicious and early fruits. While the cold weather, frost and ice loving fruits can and will be success fully grown in mountainous portions of the coast, it is left. for the lower Gila valley, in Yuma county, to bring out in all their perfection, the fruits, magnificent in size, unexcelled in quality and quan- tity, and from four to six weeks earlier than any other section in the west which is fact, now 50 thorough ly and well established, that it has no doubters among those who have care fully investigated the subject.
 It is only a matter of little time. when the valley of the GiIa, will come to the front with all of it's wealth of natural resources, to hidden and  undeveloped. Its best backer, the climate of Yuma, cannot be excelled, ' ls 2 nrnnf of this- tie rennrt If the