The Florence tribune., 1897-08-28
THE CASA 6RANDE 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 1915 from portions of Pima, Maricopa ana aNalal counties, and contains an area ot e,Soe sqaatS miles or 3, ,4S5 a20 acres, one-thifo or Ntifsh could be made productive by sSstesnatic storage of the surplus water now runhIng te waste. Next to Marieopa it is tue most Inl- portant agricultural county inthe Territory 1t it trayersed from east to west by the Southern Pacific railroad, and branch 3t the great Santa Fe system IS now appfoachee ing from the north. The objective point or this road is connection with the sonora road, of the same system. The s3outneIH Pacific is also building in this direction rom Tempe, and it Is confidently believed ths,t , work will not cease until the Deer Stee:A coal fields are reached and conneetloh is made with another branch of that road run ming from Bowie to Globe and now eoinpiet-
 Thus it will Do seen chat Pinal county IS the theater of railroad building at the pres ent time, and iaside of year Florence the county seat, will be
 ARAuRoAp ozETBB.
 At present it contains a population -of about l5o0 but with the conpietlon or theee two railroads and the Butte reservoir A9 city in Arizona can approach lt TOT i Hs's s,.i 'i advantages, and a large increase In popuid- ti9n will follow. Florence IS SV ah eisFatloh- sf 1858 feet ebeye sea level, situated near tiie lila river, twenty-siS miles n9rtnwest ot .he railroad station of Casa Grande, with which 1t is connected, by all elegantly eQuipi6e daily stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, aoo passengers are allowed a short time 10 h. speet them. There gre many handsome pri- yatesresideRces in Florence, several Afie3 stores, good hotel, an excellent graded school employing four teachers ehurehes, secret societies a Commercial Club, news paper lthe only one in ths eountyh and the handssmest court house in the Ierflsorty. Here is held the United States Court for the district composed of Gila, Graham ana Pinal counties The streets are lined with shade trees. which impart al air or comfort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters Of the Gila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no slkali, is deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, olive, almoRd, peach, fig, pear, apricot and fruits of all kinds, which pay largely on the invest ment. 1t is also the natural home of alfalfa, which grows in the most prolific manner. The grape does exceptionally well in this valley, and wine and raisin culture is destin- ed to become prominent industry. Citrus fruits have besn cultivated to limited extent there arc a number of orange trees In the neighborhood of Florence WhieA bear their golden fruit each year without pro- tection, and few date palm trees are also m full bearing. The season is from six weeks to two months earl;er than Southern Califor- mia, which gives fruit growers an oppreeiet- ed advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is Q formidable ois1acle to the destructive and unsightly seale-bug. and the fruits of the valley are ell bright and clean. All the aa.ri- cultural products of temperate and semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving c succession of crops that double or treble the productive value of the land.
 PRICES OF LASD-
 Improved lands. with government title and water right, can be bought for from S20 to S50 per acre, according to location and in- proyeneuts. h the immediate neighbor- hoo ~t.r ~tr ruins there are thousands of acres covered i with q heavy growth of mesquite timber yet l open to settlement. These arc among the 1 choicest in the valley. " ater in inexhaHsti- l ble quantity is found at a depth of from 1 twenty to thirty feet; in fact, river seems l to be flowing underneath. Here is spien- l did opportunity to take up and improve | land with a 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 of the | past. and 1t is only mentioned here for the purpose Of showing what can be done. and to magnify the further fact that what wus once considered
 AN UEINHAsITABLz DESERT is in truth the most productive land on the globe, and that there is water 7B abundance to bring every foot of 1t under cultivation, only waiting for the magic wand of capital to develop it. There is no water-storage scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-hah the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the aDUtmeuts in eyeG-liv- 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 Q peltrY 229 feet. A country is drained through this narrow canyon 2O0 miles square, representing 13000 square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall Is suf- heient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation is practically HInitiess. 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. Itcovers 9 surface of 1890 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet. and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. It is sit uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. A levee of earth has been thrown up across a depression i1 the plain 4,Dc3 feet III length, 125 feet in width at the bottom and 9 feet III width at top 2 to slope on each side, and an average height of 9 feet. The waste Is regu- lated by east iron pipes feet in diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost Sl50e00, and sup plies water for 6,000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of tho general govern ment maintained a station at Florence from 1874 to 1882. The reports covering the period from July 1S80, 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:
 July ........................ .S6.3 III 6l August .66.5 1l2 60 September ber..................6l.0 l0l 43