The Arizona sentinel., 1896-10-31

ot 5hsfGils and Colorado vers nave ioI the most | part deep sedimentary soil Of brownish, gray sanly loan, resting, ia most places, upon gray clR, subscil at a dop5h of from ten to twenty feet
 below the surface, The clay subsoil forms hard
 pan which is impervious to water. These soils have
 been slowly formed by the decomposition of shales, Ssndstoncs. marls hmeStones, etc. mixed with or | glaic and vegetable matter, washed down by the ! mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course of centuries. The fertilizing l 5rownsh mud held in the wat tIof the Colorado and Gila rivers resembles that from the Nile and i is quantity varies from O. to O.5 per cent, though the water when considerably discolor- ed by mud is good to drink, resembling :n this | pect the Missouri river water. chemical analysis l of the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nile
 exhibits wonderful similarity in the constituent parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting a
 trihe less potassa, most phosphoric aclG and car bonade Of limestone beds through which the Colo rado passes. In other respects the sediment of the Colorado is almost identical with tbat of the Nile
 It will be noticed, therefore, that when this water is used for irrigation it is superior to artesian waters since it is constantly supplying the land with the rchestfertilising elements The soil of the valleys is extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matter l aerial gases, such especially as oxygen, which en- terng the soil, decomposes tEo 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 firnness of its particles affords every facility for pcrcolation and the activity of capillary action In its mechanical composition its particles are in a state of very fine division which renders it more productive than coarser soils It acquires heat readily in ths 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 it's essential con- stituents of water, organic vegetable matter sand and clay, chemical analysis shows that Iime soda magnesia iron, ammonia and available forms of nitrogen phosphoric acid and potash enter into composition in the proportions best adapted to add to it's fertility, though of course as is always the in soil analysis, it's composition varies in different localities and is not always constant.
 The soi O the uplands, or mesas, lighter and more gravey and in some places of lree, 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 hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour or on exposure to the air, after year old to become turbid and change color in the bottle or glass.
 We safely say that the soil of Yuma County can nowhere be surpassed, containing as it does all the essential elements of richness and fertility.