The Arizona sentinel., 1897-03-27

of thei Gila and Colorado rivers have fer the most pelt deep sedhnentaTy soil of brownish, gray san iy loam, resting in most plaoes, upon gray ! eat suhsoi at depth of from ten to twenty feet below tle surface The clay subsoil forms hard pan which ls imporyous to water These soils have been sloHly formed by the decomposition Of shaes, sendstonos, mafls. lmsstones, etc., mixed with or gaa.c and vegetable matter, washed down by the mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course Of centuries. The feItilizing brownish mud held in the wat oof the Colorado and Gila rivers resembles that from the Nile, and it's quantity varies from O.l to ca per cent, though the water when even considerably discolor- ed hy mud good to drink, resembling in this res pect the Missouri river water. 4 chemical analysis of the sediments of the Colorado and Of the Nile exhibits a wonderful similarity in the constituent parts of each. That Of the Colorado exhibiting 9 trife less potassa, most phosphCTic acid and car bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo rado rasses. In other respects the sediment of the Colorado is almost identical with tbat of the Nile
 It will be noticed, therefore that when this water is used for irrigation it is superior to artesian waters since it is constantly supplying the land with the richest ertilizng elements The soil Of the valleys is eXtreme" rich in dedomposed vegetable matter and uuconbined carbon, readily abso, ping the aerial gases, such especially, as oxygen, which en- tering the soil docomposes the organic matters so that they can be taken up ana noursh the plants which may De considered leading featur3 in It's fertility. It also readily takes up and retains moisture while the irmness of it's particles affords every facility for percoation and the activity of capillary action In ts mechanical composition its particles in a state of very fine division which renders it more productive than coarser soils It acquires heat readily in the daytime, and the loss of the heat at night is very gradual so that it re- mains always warm and is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cold Besides its essential con-
 stituents of water, organic vegetable matter, sand and clay, chemical analysis shows that line soda, magnesia, iron, ammonia and available forms of nitrogen, phesphorc acid and potash enter into composition in ths proportions best adapted to add to its fertility, though of course as is awaSs the casa in soil analysis, its composition varies in different localities and is not always constant
 The sci the upand5, or mesas lighter and more gravelly and in some places of tree, loanty calcareous character. The mesa lands are warm and generous. They seem especially adapted for the grape olive and citrus fruits generally Their soil contains more magnesia, lime CT chalk than the bottom lands It never cracks and retains moisture admirably in summer It is of that character which will produce wine that will keep good for fifty or hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour, exposure the air, after one year old, to become turbd and change color in the bottle or glass.
 We can safely say that the soil of Yuma County can nowhere be surpassed, containing it does all the essential elements of richness and fertility.