The Florence tribune., 1897-05-01
HE CASA aRANpe VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes
 h the Garden Spot of the West.

information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.
 pinaI county was organized in 1sla from portions Of Pima, Maricopa aI.u ieNapai counties, and contains an area or s,Sos sln;.l,s l;, miles. or 3, fS5 s20 acres, cpe-third or Mn,Sn A could be made productive by q s3sttiia.ie storage of the surplus water now running to | waste. Next to Aiarieopa 1t is the mos! m liu- portant agricultural county inthe 1erfltotis. .is | 1t it trageTsed from east to west py ehS e Southern Pacifc railroad, and a branch or | the great Santa Fe system Is now appsouonss jag from the aorth. The objective point oi | this road is connection wltn thS .,4h,,, o1tor l road, of the same system: Hhe Souttne.n Pacific is also building In this direction lIolAl Tempe, and it is confidently beiiesea ths. s1 work will not cease until the beer SresiN coal fields arc reached and connectloh lS made with another branch of that road run ming from Bowie to Globe and now eSmpie'- cd to Fort Thomas. |.
 Thus it will be sem that Pinal county IS the theater of railroad building at the pres ent time, and inside of year Florence the county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains Q population sof about i5o9 but with the completion or these two railroads and the Butte reservoir ho city iH Arizona can approach 1t for hatu,ai advantages. and large increase In popuia- tion will follow. Florencefis at an elevation of I55S feet above sea level, situated near the Gila river, twenty six miles northwest o1 shs W  it is connected by an elegantly equippeo daily stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande rulns, ahu passengers are allowed e short tune to ln- specJ them There are maAy handsome pri- Vate. e.residences in Florence, several pricA stores, good hotel, excellent graded school employing four teachers churcnss' L,ll'.s secret societies, a Commercial Cup, news paper (the only enc in the county, ana tne handsomest court house in the 1erfItoIy. Here is held the United states CouTt TOT 5 tng iii Gad saF Pinal counties. The streets are nned Mlen a shade trees, which inlpart an air of comfort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the Ti.a are fresh and pure; the soil contains no Allzali, is deep, rich gray ash, espeeiIs;nS I;I.H adapted to the growth of the prune; cilse, airnoad, peach. fig, pear. apricot ana Irults of all kinds which pay largely on the ins inyesl- nent. It is also the natural home CT sleila' which grows in the most prolinc manner. The grape does exceptionally well III lnls valley, and wine and raisin culture Is oes1ln- ed to become prominent industry Sitfus fruits have been cultivated to Ainltea extent: there are a number of orange trees ia the Rsighborhood Of Florence when pear taeir golden fruit each year without pro teetios, aud few date palm trees are also m full bearing. The season IS rom sl1 weeks weeks to two mouths earller than Southern Cailior- mia, VI hich gives fruit growers an appfeclat- ed advantage ill
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is Q formidable obstacle to the destructive ana uIlsightiy seaie-bug, and the fruits or the valley are all bright and clean. All the agri- cultural products Of temperate and seInl- tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving a succession or crops tnae double or treble the productive value of the land.
 Ifnproyed lands. with government title and water right, can be bought for from ~ 70 $50 per acre, according to location end lnl- froyements. In the immediate nelghDOr- hood and to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with a heavy growth of mesquite timber yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in inexhaustl- ole quantity is found at a depth of from twenty to thirty feet: in fact, river seems to be flowing underneath Here IS spien- did opportunity to take up and improve land with a pumping system or Irrlsdtlohi which is said to be successful on small tracts
 However, with the completion oi the Butte reservoir, pumping will be thing of the past. and It is only mentioned here Tor the purpose of showing what can be done, and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UEISHABITABLK DESERT
 ia in truth the most productive land on the globe, and that there is water in abundance to bring every foot of it under cultivation, oalv waiting for the magic wand of capital to develop it. There is no Wafer-Stofase scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-half the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutments in ever-Iy- 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 paltry 20 feet. 4 country is drained through thIs narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 40.O00 square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined The rainfall is suf- fcient to i'll the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation is practically hmitless. This may read like fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has been verified time and again.
 CASA GRAEDz RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Canal company is the largest in the territory. It covers @ surface of 16g0 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet, and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. IL IS sit uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. A Ieyee of earth has been thrown up across a depression in the plain l4,000 feet in length, f25 feet in width at the bottom and g feet in width at top, to l slope on each side, and an average height of g feet. The waste is regu- lated by cast iron pipes feet i'll diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost Sl50OO0, and sup plies water for 5000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern nent maintained a station at Florence from 1874 to 1892. The reports covering the period from July, 1880, to April 1882, gives the follow ing statistics which may be taken as safe