Arizona republican., 1896-12-12
AFTER THE CONGRESS.
Excursions Will be Run to California
 and the Grand Canyon.

and the Grand Canyon. The natural resources of the won derful state of California and it's un- rivaled climate have been written about inumerable times, nevertheless, it will not be out of place to refer to them again at this time, as the dele gates and visitors at the Fifth Nation al Irrigation Congress at Phoenix, Ari- zona, December 15 to IT, will have an opportunity of personally inspecting some of the more renowned points, es- pecially in southern California. Af ter the close of the congress excursions will be made to Los Angeles, Riverside, Redlands and several other towns for the purpose of showing what can be accomplished with a combination of California climate, fertile soil and Wa ter
 The model colonies will undoubtedly attract the most attention from those who are in any way interested in the movement of population from cities to country homes and it's relation to irri- gation, and also it's relation to the vel fare of the nation at large. The com munity settlements in California have been a success, though possibly not as great a success as their founders hoped for, but they clearly demon strate' that the associative principle will underlie all future development in retaining the arid lands of the west.
 Colonization and irrigation go hand in hand. Nearly, or indeed, every ef- foy y.f fo iCl 1rxy Tor, California has ended in failure. Prob ably the earliest notable experiment in the colony line was in 1857, at the time the first grape craze swept over the state. Some German mechanics in San Francisco were infected with the vineyard fever, and not one of them could bear the expense or had the nec essary experience to plant and bring to maturity a twenty-acre vineyard. After considerable discussion they de- cided upon what was then an original plan, and which may be said to be the pattern for modern colonies. One of their members was delegated to visit southern California, investigate and report A tract of 1,200 acres was con tracted for at about $1.50 an acre, a superintendent chosen, and under his directions the tract was laid out, a town site surveyed and the whole area planted with trees and vines in such manner that when the colonists took possession of their property, each twenty acres should have the same area of the different varieties of fruit The members of the colony remained at work in San Francisco until the vines began to bear fruit, and then moved on their little farms, which were now self-sustaining.
 Such in brief is the history of the Anaheim colony, which will probably be one of the points visited by the ir- rigation congress delegates.
 The success of Anaheim was follow ed by the founding of other colonies, some of which have become known the world over.
 The casual visitor or tourist who is unacquainted with the miracles irri- gation has wrought will be inclined to think that he is being given modern version of Andersen's fairy tales in stead of every day truth. It may stretch his belief in the veracity of the narrator beyond the limit when he is IOlu tHdL LHlS superb Stdlo pfouuces annually 7O,OOO,OOO pounds of raisins 30,0O0,O0O pounds of prunes, 5000 car loads of oranges, 20,000,000 gallons of wine, 26,000,000 pounds of beet sugar not to mention the other fruit, vege- table and cereal crops. And all of these products dependent, in large meas ure, upon artificial watering to bring them to maturity
 But if the visitor is not interested in such practical matters he will be amply repaid for the trip by the sights and scenes along the way, or he car join one of the excursions which vii visit the Grand Canyon, where he vii find some of the grandest and mos imposing scenery in the world.-Irri gation Age.