The Arizona sentinel., 1897-06-12
LANDS AND SOILS.

i Tao lands of Yuma County comprise the river 5ottoD,9 ard valleys and the u9lands mesaS The
 bottom ards gre n:cisser ard slightly fertile 1 If, indeed, it IS possible to m ke comparisons
 whcyg all ara wonderfully prnductire and prciiGc l The v.!anis or n25&s are warmer ard, perhap7,
 lightly for bctsrthe cultivation of the citrus fruits
 Yuma coptaissa -aricty of soil The vai'eY Land
 of the, Gilc and Colorado rivers have for the nest part deep sedip,entary soil of hrownish, gray sandy loam, resting, iG most piGces, upon a gray elaj sUtsoil st depth of from ;on to twenty feet below the surface, The clay subsoil firms hard pan which is imperyious to water. Tsse soils have been slowly formed by te decomposition Of shales,
 sandstoaes, marIs lmsstones, ete., mixed with or-
 ganic and vegetable matter, washed down by tht mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited
 turing tle course O. centuries. Pho fertilizing ] brownish mud held in the wat ,iof thc Colorado and Gfa rivers resembles that from the Nile, and
 it's quantity varies from o.1 to O5 per cent,
 though the water when even considerably discolor- ed hy mud is good to drink, resembling in this res pect the Missouri river water chemical analysis of the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nile
 exhibits wonderful similarity in tue constituent parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting a trile less potassa most phosphoric acid ana ear
 bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo- rado pass"s Tn other respects the sediment 0; the
 Colorado is almost identical with that of tine Nile.
 It will he noticed therefore, that when this water s
 used for irrigation is superior to artesian waters
 since it is constantly supplying the land with the
 richestferilizing clements The soil of the vsl!cys
 is extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matter
 and uncombined carbon, readily absorbing the
 aerial gases such especially, as oxygen. which en-
 tering the soil, dccouposes the organic matters so
 Shat they bo taken up an noarish the plants 1 which may hc considered leading featur. in It's 1 fertility It also readily takes Up and retains
 moisture, while the arnness of it's particles affords
 every facility for percolaion and the activity of capillary action. hi mechanical composition its
 particles are in state of very fine division whi.h renders it more productive than coarscr soils It
 acqurics heat readily in the daytime, and the loss
 of the heat at night :s vey gradual, that it 1 mains always warm and i: not subject to sudden
 changes of heat and coll Besides it5 casepia con- l stitucnts of water, organic vegetable matter, i sand and clay chemical analysis shows that lime,
 soda, magnesa, iron, o,smon;a and available forms
 of nitrogen, phosphorc acid and potash enter into composition in th. proportions best adapted to
 add it's fertility though Of course, as is always
 the case in soil analysis, its composition varies In ! different localities and is not always constant
 1 The soi 0 the uplands, mesas, lighter and more gravelly and in some places of .ree loan,y, calcare0us character. The mesa lands are and generous. They seem especially adapted for the grape, cive and citrus fruits generally. Their soil
 contains more mognesia lime or chalk than the
 bottom lands. It cracks and retains moisture
 admirably in summer. It is Of that character which will produce wine that will keep good for fit or | hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour, or exposure to the air, after one year old, to become turbd and change color in the 1 bottle glass.
 We can safely say that the soil of Yuma County
 can nowhere be surpassed containing as 1t does all : the essential elements Of richness and fertility.