The Florence tribune., 1897-07-24
THE CASA eRANDE VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.
 pinal county was organized in 1875 from portions of Pima Maricopa and aVapai counties and contains an area or 9,Sos sqlaseIS miles, or ,4S5, ,520 acres, one,thlra oI Nn.In Nn.; could be made productive by n systelheVie storage of the surplus water now running eo waste. Next to Marieopa it $ the most iiu- portant agricultural county in nths 1efsleot,9. 1t it traYersed from east to west py Vns Southern Pueise railroad. and braneh or the great Santa Fe system |. now appEoaOnss ing from the north. The obJectlVe poihe l ol this road is connection with ths oohona a road eff the same system: The soutnern Pacific is also building in tAis direction rom Tempe and it is confidently believed thut 1 work win not cease Hnti the Deer Creek coal fields are reached sS9 of tsa4 road run ming frem Bowie to Glsbe and HOW cemples- ed to Fort Thomas. , . ;s
 Thus it will be seen that ma s9niey s3 ,,.ss@ S the theater of railroad building at the pres. res ent time, and inside of year Florence Vhe county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population sof about l5e0, but with the completion or these two railroads and the Butte reservoir ho city in Arizona can approach lt Tor t.Is aaeuTai advantages, and a large increase ln popuia- tiSn will follow. Florence Is at an elevation of 1858 feet above sea level, sltue6eu near tne Gila river, tweRty-six miles n9rth%est oI ioS # is connected by aA elegantly, equlppea daily stage lins. Going and coming stages run by the cla Casa Grande ruins, ana passengers are allowed short time to In- spect then. There are many handsome pri- vatesresideEces iH Florence, several pr5c9 stores, good hotel, an excellent graded school employing four teacher CTS ehurcnes ,'sss paper (the only one in the countyla ana the handsemest court house iH the IerrltoTiy, .i. Here is held the Uaitsd States Court TOT nd the district composed sf Gila, Graham .9 ana Pinal counties. The streets are nned Wltn n shade trees, which impart an air of comfort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the Eila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no tlkaI is deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, olive, almo nd peach. fig, pear, apricot and Irults of all kinds, which pay largely on ths invest ment. It is also the natural home or alIhIa' which grows iA the most prohhc manner. The grape does exceptionally well Tn tnis valley, and wine and raisin culture Is destln- ed to become prominent industry. Si.fu5 fruits have been caltivaf ed te a nInited extent: there are a number of orange trees ia the neighborhosd of Florence which bear their gsiden fruit escn year without pro tectioa, and a few date palm trees are elso m full bearing. Tha season is from SIX Weeks to two months earher than Southern Calltor- nia, which gives fruit growers an eppreeiat- ed advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is a formidable obstacle to the destructive ana unsightly scale-bug, and tha fruits or the valley are all bright and elean- All the agri- cultural products of temperate and semi tropie zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving a succession of crops that double or treble the productive value oi the land.
 PRICES OF LAND.
 Improved lands, with government title and water right can be bought for from S2o to $50 per acre, according to location and lIn- provements. In the immediate nelghDor- hood and to the south of the Casa Orande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth of mesquite timber yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in ineXhausti- ble quantity is found at depth of from twenty to thirty feet; in fact, a river seems to be flowing underneath. Here IS a splen- did opportunity to take up and Improve land with pumping system of lrrdgation, which is said to be successful on small tracts.
 However, with the completion ot the butte reservoir, pumping will be thing or the past, and it Is only mentioned here Tor me purpose of showing what can be done and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UNINHABIrABLR DESERT
 is in truth the most productive land on the globe and that there is water in abundance to bring every foot of 1t under cultivation only waiting for the magic wand ot capital to develop it. There is water-storage scheme on the Pacific coast that has one half the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutments in eyer-hy- ing rock, and all that is left for man to do IS to put in the headgate, the bluffs which form the gorge being only separated by Paltry 220 feet. 4 country Is drained through this narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 40,000 square miles or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall IS suf- fieient to fill the reservoir twice year, and -fle land to be brought under cultivation is practically hmtless. This may read like fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has been verified time and again.
 CASA CYANIDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Canal company is the largest in the territory. It covers a surface of 1eo0 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet, and contains about elgnt thousand million gallons of water. It is sit- 4iated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. 4 Ievee of earth has been thrown mp across a depression in the plain 14,OJO feet in length. l25 feet in width at the bottom and p feet Ill width at top. to 1 slope on each side, and an average height of 2 feet. The waste IS regu- lated by cast iron pipes feet in diameter; set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost S15O,OOO and sup plies water for 6,oO0 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service or th9 general Sofern- ment maintained a station at Florence from 1874 to 1882. The reports covering the period from uly, 1880, to April, 1882 gives the follow Ing statistics, which may be taken as a safe guide to the prevailing temperature given during the series of six yeas:
 1880. Mean Max. Min. July ..-.....................S .S5.6 Ill 61 August usS..................... .S6.5 112 60 September r.......-.......-.. .e1.0 107 45 October .................... 6S.0 95 32 November r..-............521 80 g December. 50.9 TT 27
 1881.