The Arizona sentinel., 1897-03-13
FRUIT CULTURE.

FRUIT CULTURE.
 | Fruit production throughout Arizona is e sub
 jeet 0 great interest at present, and will nc
 doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County. l 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 carefnl 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 | cal, fthe wonderful superiority of Yuma County
 over Southern California in fruit growing, and
 which must lead to & large and varied production,
 of the most romunerative character.
 The Commissioner of Immigration in his report,
 published in 1886, 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 sea. By constant overhows and change of channel,
 the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form
 ed soil of ,xtreme fertility Near the streams it
 is dark alluvial mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is a rich sandy 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 of the cutivator is reduced to the minimum. In nearly all of them two crops year can be growth and vegetation is one month ahead of California. The farmers plants cottonwood sapling before his door, and within the year he has a shade tree twenty-five feet high! Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season. and it is actual fact the grapecuttings have produced within eigh- teen monthsi What State or Territory can make such a showing? The climate, it must be remem- 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 vesdy. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees are 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-tropic zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona. Wheat, corn barley, oats and all the small grains give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre each year, Every variety of vegetable raised in the United States be grown in Arizona, and nowhere they found of better quality.
 Besides the products mentioned, these semi tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane, to- bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception of the sugarcane but little attention is paid to the cult vation of other staples but it has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate are specially adapted to their successful growth Cotton growing is no experiment in Arizona, for it is record that when the Europeans first penetrated this region, they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cotton grown in the 'Gila valley.
 "But it is their adaptability for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popuia- tion and prosperous future. Almost every var iety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quinee and nee tarine, are of delicious flavor, and give gen. 1 erous yield. The grape of all varieties isA home In these sunny wales. No place in the grape-grow inE belt of the Pacific Coast show prolific a yield. The quality is all that could be desired; | and the wine, although it's manufacture is yet ex- perimental, is of fine flavor, delicious bouquet, and unsurpassed by any native product as table 1 Experiments with the raisngrape have shown that this climate and soil possess | every advantage for the production and curing of this staple article of commerce. i
 "Besides the fruits already mentioned, t5lC or 1 ange, lenaon, line, olive, fig, pomegrarate, and | others of the citrus family, can be grown success fuily in the valleys of Southern Arizona. Orange | trees Ire now in bearing in the Salt River valley and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul- | tivated at the latter place. The Arizona orange in quality and flavor will compare favorably with the best California.
 "In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and the Gila livers there is room for thousands It is not too much to say that nowhere within the limits of this broad Union be found a more desirable region for the making of home. No laborious clearing of the land is required; it lies almost ready for the blow. Trees and shrubbery have so -apid groSFth that within eighteen months the can surround his abode with attractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates Fruits ripen and are ready Tor market . full month fore the California product The ,right sunshine makes life luxury, and the pure, Try atmosphere brings health to all who inhale It. Tor the establishment of colonies, such have aade of Southern California 6 arden, Arizona ,-esnaIts uAtivaled opportunities Thousands oi