The Arizona sentinel., 1895-05-04

the Gita and Colorado iyors hare foI the most
 part deep sedimentary soil of broNnish, gray
 sanfy lorm, resting, in most places, upon gray
 clay su5soil a: depth Of fro:n ten to twenty feet
 below the surface, The clay snbsoil forms hard pan which is impervious to water. These soils have been slowly forned by the decomposition of shales sarist0nes, marls Hmcstoues, etc, mixed with or g2nic and vegetable matter, washed down by the
 mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course cf centuries The feitilizing
 brovn,sh mud held in the water of the Colorado and Gil0 rivers resembles that from the Nile, and
 it's quantity varies from C.1 to 05 per cent,
 though the water when even considerably discolor- ed by mud is good to drink, resembling in this pect the Missouri river water. A chemical analysis of the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nile exhibits wonderful similarity in the constituent parts of each. Thst of the Colorado exhibiting a triie less potassG, most phosphoric acid and bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo rado pesses In other respects the sediment of the Colorado is almost identical with that of the Nile IL will be noticed therefore, that when this water is uaed for irrigation it is superior to artesian waters since t is constantly supplying the land with the richest fertlizing elements 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 tering the soi dccomposes the organic matters so that they can be taken up and nourish the plants which may be considered leading feature in it's fertility. It also readily takes up and retains moisture while the rmness of its particles affords every facility for percolation and the activity of capillary action. In it's mechanical cOmpostionits particles in state of very fine division, which renders it more productive than coarser soils It acquires heat readily in the daytime, and the loss of the heat at night is very gradual so that it mains always warm and is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cold Besides it's essential con stituents of water, organic or vegetable matter, sand and clay, chemical ysis shows that lime, soda magnesia, iron, ammonia and available forms of nitrogen, phosphorc acid and potash enter into composition in the proportions best adopted to add to its fertility, though of course, is always the in soil analysis, its composition varies in different localities and is not always constant.
 The soil of the uplands, or messs, is lighter and more gravely 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 a hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour on exposure to the air, after one year old, to become turbd and change color in the bottle or glass.
 We can safely say that the soil of Yuma County can nowhere be surpassed, containing as it does all the essential elements of richness and fertility.