The Arizona sentinel., 1897-08-28
can nowhere be surpassed ming it does all the essential clements of richness and fertility.
FRUIT CULTURE.

can nowhere be surpassed contai ming as it does all the essential elements of richness and fertility.
 FRUIT CULTURE.
 Fruit production throughout Arizona is sub ject great interest at present, and wIIi no doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County. The remarkable results that have sprung from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- nonstrated that the soil and climate of Yuma County are peculiarly adapted fer this branch of agricultural enterprise. Tine development of these resources is of the utmost importance and is at traeting careful 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, tbe most skept- ical, of the wonderful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing and which must lead to large and varied production, of the most remuneratve character.
 l The Commissioner of Immigration In his report, published ill s86 writes follows of the rich valleys of the Gila, Colorado and Eait rivers.
 'The soil of these valleys is among the richest on the continent. It Is formed of the detritas | which the streams for ages have brought down | from their mountain homes in their journey to the 1 sea. By constant oyerfOws and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of extreme fertility, Near tho streams it | is dark alluvial mold, well adapted to small | grains and grasses. Farther back there is a rich 1 sandy loam, mellow and porous, and especially l favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity of these valleys is not surpassed by lands of equal 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 cultivator 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 saplng before his door, and within the year he has l 8 shade tree twenty-five feet high! Alfalfa be cut six times during the season, and It is an actual fact the cuttings have produced within eigh- teen months What State or Territory mako such showing' The climate. 1t 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 ready. 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 varietyo grains. grasses, fruits and vege- tables grown in the temperate and semi-tropic zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona.
 
 give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels to the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the iformer giving from eight to ten tons to the acre each year, Every variety of vegetable raised ill the United States be grown in Arizona, and nowhere are 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 sugar-cane but little attention is paid to the culti vation of other staples but 1t has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate specially adapted to their successful growth. Cotton growing is nc experiment in Arizona, for it is on 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 sdastabilty for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popula- ton and aprospereus future. Almost every var ety known can be raised in their fruitful soils The apple pear, plum, peach, apricot, quiDce and nec' tarine, are ef delicious favor and give gen. erous yield The grape of all varieties iSa home In these sunny vales. No place in the grape-erow ing belt of the Pacific Coast show so pr Il a yield The quality is all that could be desired and the wine, althoughit it's manufacture is vet ex perimental is of fine flavor. delicious bouquet and unsurpassed by any native product as a table beverage Experiments with the raising have shown that this climate and soil possess every advantage for the production and curing oi this staple article of commerce.
 "Besides the fruits already mentioned, the or ange, lemon, lime, olive, fig. pOmegranate, and others of the citrus family, can be grown success fully in the valleys of Southern Arizona. Orange trees arc 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 ir quality and flavor will compare favorabiy with the best California.
 "In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and the Gila ,ivers there is room for thousands. It Is not ? too much to say that nowhere within the limits O this broad Union can be found desirable region for the making of 6 home. No laborious clearing of the land is required; it lies almost ready for the blow. Trees and shrubbery have SC rapid growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his abode with attractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are ready for market full month b,fore the California product. The bright sunshine makes life luxury. and the pure, dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhae It. For the establishment of colonies, such we have made of Southern California arden, Arizona presents unrivaled opportunities Thousands of acres, now proftless, caH be made productive by the construction of irrgating ditches and there is no investment which assures larger or more ' permanent returns"
 The foregoing statements are not exaggerated; in fact. they fall short of doing justice to this won dertul land. Pineapples, dates, almonds and wal nuts will do we'll. Strawberries, raspberries, black hezres entrants, gooseberries, and all varieties of small fruits be successfully cultivated. Indeed, Yuma County is not only the natural home of the citrus and semi-tropical fruits, almost every fruit, nut, plant, grain, grass vegetable which eau be produced in either tropic temperate SOne will thrive in it's rich and fertile soils.
 | ARIZONA.