The Florence tribune., 1897-10-30
THE CASA eaANDe VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot Of the West.


 In the. Garden Spot of the West.
 Pinal county was organized in 1872 vooai from portions of Pima MarlcoIa ls afls' s,S snnare miles, or g. 435, go acres one,thilu . o v-,f;, could he made productive pT s9 9sse'.t. . ~. storage Of the surplus water oG t ,,,ost i waste Next to Marcopa 1t $ tae nluss lisl- portant agricultural county n the 1est teois ., ft it traversed frem east to west bs Oiis Southern Pacific railroad and bra.iea ,nof pl the great Santa Fe system is now appfoaehes he ing from the north. The ob1ectiNe poihe ot this road is connection with the sohoIa road, of the same system: me soutnorn f'l,l Pacific is also building in this direction rom Tempe, and 1t is confidently believed .that work will not cease until the Heef Sfee.h coal fields are reached and conneetioh ls made with another branch of that roao rln- ming from Bowie to Globe and now complet- ed to Fert Thomas. Thus it will be seen that Pinal county IS the theater of railroad building ae sne prs, .i, ent time, aRd inside of O year riofencs, ete county seat. will he
 A RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population sof about 1900, but with the completion or these two railroads and the Butte reservoir n9 city in Arizona can approach It for AatuIai advantages, and large increase la popt;iS1 ppot;.s, tion will follow. Florence Is at an elevation of 1858 feet above sea leyet, sltus,ea ieof .iio Gila river twenty y-six miles northWe5t or the railroad station of Casa Grande, with 'als Htlc9 it is connected by aR elegantly equipped daily stage line. Going end coning stages rur by the old Casa Grande rulns, anu passengers are allowed short ti.ns te ,.lIi III ssect them. There are many hanasotne Prl- vatesresidences in slorencs several pI5ch 4 stores, good hotel, excellent graaea school employing four teachers chnrcnes' secret societies, CoTnm,erciai Otup' ar5 a tbe handsemest court house in the lerritoIts t1 v. Here is keld the United States Court TOT l,5 tn5 fsinal counties The streets are lined %ien shade trees. which impart an air oi oointorS on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river the waters of the Gila are fresh and purei the soll contains no alkali, is deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, olive almond, peach, fig, pear, apricot and Irults of all kinds, which pay largely on the invest ment It is also the natural home of alfalfa, which grows in the most prolinc manner The grape does exceptionally well ID tnls valley, and wine and reisin culture IS destin- cd to become prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to limited extent; there are number of orange trees in the neighborhoed of Florence which bear their gsldea fruit each year without pro- lection, and a few date palm trees are also Tn full bearing. The season is from six weeks to two months earller than Southern CaliIor- mia, W hich gives fruit growers an appreelat- ed advantage in
 TIE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence Ot logs ana ulEntly OtWs As formidable obstacle to the destructive ana unsightly scale-bug. and the fruits or the valley are all bright and clean. All the agri- cultural products oI temperate and semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving Q succession of crops that double or treble the productive value Of the land.
 Improved lands. with government title and water right, can be bought for rom Sz9 to $50 per acre, according to location ana liii- provemeuts. in the immediate neighDor- hood and to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth eI 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, river seems to be flowing underneath. kere IS spien- did opportunity to take up and improve land with pumping system Of irrigation, which is said to be successful on small tracts. However, with the completion of the Butte reservoir, pumping will be thing oi the past, and it is only mentioned here for the purpose of showing what can be done, and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UHINHABITABLE DESERT
 is in truth the most productive land on the globe, and that there IS water III apslncanee to bring every foot of it under cultivation only waiting for the magic wand of capital to develop it. There is no water-storage 
 the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutnents in eyer-liv- ing rock. and all that is left for man to do is 10 put in the headgate. the bluffs which form the gorge being only separated by paltry 20 feet. country is drained through this narrow canyon 20 miles square, representing &OOoO square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall IS sui, Aeient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation II practically Hnitless. This may read Ike fairy tale, but it is every word true, and ha: been verified time and again.
 CASA CYANIDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Ceual company is the largest in the territory Ixcoyers a surface of 1600 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet, and contains about eiEh thousand million gallons of water. It Is sit mated fifteen nailes southwest or Florence levee of earth has been thrown up acros depression in the plain II, O5O feet in length 125 feet in width at the bottom and Q feet II width at top 2 to slope each side, and ar averaee heieht of 25 feet. Tho waste is regu lated by cast iron pipes feet in diameter eef in solid masonry, regulated by gates ans tower This reservoir cost S15uV15. and sup plies water for 6.000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern Tnent maintained station at Florence iron 1874 to 1882. The reports covering the perioc from July, 1880, to April, 1882, gives the follow ing statistics, which may be taken as salt