The Arizona sentinel., 1897-09-04
can nowhere be surpassed, containing ss t does el the essential elements of richness and fertility.
FRUIT CULTURE.

ca Ho"nere Dc surpassed, containing a9 !t doeS I! the essential elements of richness and fertility.
 FRUIT CULTURE.
 Fruit production throughout Arizona i5 a sub ject great interest at present, and will no doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County. The remarkable results that have sprung from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- monstrated that the soil and climate of Yuma County are peculiarly adapted for this branch of agricultural enterprise The development of these resources is of the utmost importance and is at tracting careful attention. Experiments have been made with care and facts in regard to the culture of different kinds of fruits have been collected which cannot fail to convince, even tbe most skept ioal, of the wonderful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing, and which must lend to a large and varied production, of the most remunerative character.
 The Commissioner of Immigration ill his report, published in lSS6, writes as follows of the rich valleys of the Gila. Colorado and Salt rivers.
 ''The soil of these valleys is among the richest on the continent. It is formed of the detritus which the streams for ages have brought down from their mountain homes in their journey to the seq By constant overIows and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of ,ytsenie fertility Near tha streams it is dark alluvial mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is rish candy loam, mellow and porous, and especially favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity of these valleys is not surpassed by lands of equal area in any part of the United States So rapid and prolific is the growth of the fruits, cereals and vegetables that the labor cf the cutivator is reduced to the minimum. in nearly all oi them two crops year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead of California. The farmers plants 8 cottonwood sapling before his door, and within the year he has shade tree twenty y-fve feet hieh! Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season. aud it is an actual fact the grape cuttings have produced within eiSh teen months! What State or Territory make such showing? The climate, it must be rcmem- bered is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The farmer begins to plant in November, and by the middle of May his harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees blossoming, and the grain fields are sea of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmers | are covered with snow and ice.
 | Every variety grains grasses, fruits and vege tables grown in the temperate and semi tFopic
 
 Wheat corn barley, oats and all the small grains give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels tc the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the l former giving from eight to ten tons to the acr' each year, Every variety of vegetable raised 1T 1 the United States can be grown in Arizona, and nowhere are they found of better quality. "Besides the products mentioned, these semi tropical valleys produce cotton, sugareane, to- | bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception of thu sugax-eane but little attention is paid to the cuti vaton of other staples but it has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate specially adapted to their successful growth. Cotton growing is n' experiment in Arizona. for it is on record tha | when the Europeans first penetrated this region they found the Pima Indians wearing fabric made of cotton grown in the Gila vahey.
 ''But it is their adastabilty for fruit cultur that assures to these valley lands dense pOpula ton and aprospereus future. Almost every var iety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. Tn apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quinee and pee 1 tarine, are of delicious flavor, and give 2 gen erous yield The grape of all varieties isa hom in these sunny wales. No place in the grape-grow ing belt of the Pacific Coast can show so pr Ii ic yield The quality is ell that could be desired ] and the wine, although it's manufacture IS vet eX l perimental, is of fine flavor, delicious bouquet and unsurpassed by any native product as tabl beverage. Experiments with the r2isin- grap have shown that this climate and soil posses every advantage for the production and curing c this staple article of commerce.
 | ''Besides the fruits already mentioned, the or ange, lemon, lime, olive, fig, pomegranate, an others of the citrus family can be grown success fully in tbe valleys of Southern Arizona. Orang trees are now in bearing in tho Salt River valle and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul tivated at the latter place. The Arizona orange i quality and flavor will compare favorably with tn best California.
 ''In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and tn Gila ivers, there is room fer thousands It is no too much to say that nowhere within the limits c ] this broad Union can be found a more dcsirabl ! region for the making of home. No laboriou clearing of the land is required; It lies almos | ready for the blow. Trees and shr9bbery have & rapid a growth that within eighteen months tn immigrant can surround his abode with attraction which would require years to mature in less invore climates. Fruits -ipen end are ready for marke l a full month before the California product. Tn bright sunshine makes life luxury, and the pure dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhale It For the establishment of colonies, such as we hay made of Southern California arden, Arizon presents unrivaled opportunities Thousands o acres, now proftless, can be made productiv by the construction Of irrgatng ditches, and ther is no investment which assures larger or nor | permanent returns"
 1 The foreaoIng statements are not exaggerated in fact they fall short of doing justice to this won derful land. Pineapples, dates, almonds and wal nuts will do we'll Straw berries, raspherries black berries entrants, gooseberries and all varieties small fruits be successfully cultivated. Indeed Yuma County is not only the natural home of thu citrus and semi-tropical fruits, as almost every fruit nut, plant, grain, grass or vegetable whicf eau be produced in either tropic temperate zone will thrive in it's rich and fertile soils