The Arizona sentinel., 1897-07-31
can nowhere be surpassed, containing as i. does al the essential clements of richness and fertility.
FRUIT CULTURE.

the essential clements of richness and fertility. FRUIT CULTURE.
 Fruit production throughout Arizona Is . sub feet great interest at present, and w!ll no. doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County. 1 The remarkable results that have sp-uDg from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- 1 monstrated that the soil and climate ofYurna. County arc peculiarly adapted for this branch of agricultural enterprise. The development of these l resources is of the utmost importance and is as- tracting careful attention. Experiments have been made, with care and facts in regard to she culture ! of different kinds Of fruits have been collected which cannot fail to convince, the most skept- teal, of the wonderful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing, znd which must lead to a+large and varied production, | of the most reraunerstive character.
 | The Cor missioner of Immigration in his report, l published in sS8, writes as follows of the rich 1 valleys of the Gila, Colorado ard Salt rivers 1 The scil of these valleys is among the richest On the continent. It is formed of the detritus which the streams for ages have brought down from their mountain homes in their Journey to the ! sea. By constant overaows and change oi channel She depot of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil os ,E.reme fertility, Near tho streams it is . iar, alluvial mold, well adapted to snali grains aud grasses. Farther back there Is rich sandy loau, mellow and porous, and especially favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity of these valleys ia not surpassed by lands of equal area in any part of the United States So rapG and prolific Is the growth Of the fruits cereals and vegetables that the labor of the cusiyator 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 8 cottonwood sapling before his door, and within the year he has . shade tree twenty five feet high! Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season. and 1t s an actual fact the grape-cuttings have produced within eigh { teen mo1ths! What State or Territory make sEch showing? The climate, it must be remeIn- { 5eTed, ,js nearly perpetual summer Snow never
 falls n these southern valleys. The farmer begins 1 to plant in November, and 'ty the;niddle of May his harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees blossoming, Gnd the grain fields are sea | of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow and Ice.
 | Every variety grains grasses, fruits and vegs- tables grown in the temperate and semi tropic zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona Wheat, corn barley, oats and all the small grains give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels to 1.-the acre. Alfalfa clover, timothy, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre each year, Every variety of vegetable raised in the United States can 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- I T XI,o of fho
 sugar-cane but little attention is paid the cuti-
 vaton of other staples but it has been demonstrat-
 ed that the soil and climate specially adapted
 to their successful growth. Cotton growing is no l.experiment in Arizona, for 1t Is on record that
 whenthe Europeans first penetrated this region, they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cotton grown in the Gila valley.
 oBut it IS their ada9tsbility for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popule-
 ton and aprosperous future. Almost every var ietyksown can be raised in their fruitful soils. The apple, pear, plum peach, apricot, quince and nee tarjne, are of delicious flavor, and give gen erous yield. The grape of all varieties iss home in these sunny vales. No place in the grape-grow- ing belt of the Pacific Coast show so prolific 8
 yield. The quality is all that could be desired; and the wine, although it's manufacture is yet ex- 1 perimental is of a fine favor, delicious bouquet, and unsurpassed by any native product as table 1 beverage Experiments with the r2isin-grape have shown that this climate and soil possess every advantage for the production and curing of | this staple article of commerce.
 "Besides the fruits already mentioned, tho or ange, lemon, linrs, olive, fig, pomegranate, and others of the ctru9 family, can be grown success ! If Ariz Grap trees are now in bearing in the Salt River valley and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being eul- tivated at the latter piece. The Arizona orange in quality and flavor will compare favOrably with the best California.
 "In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and the Gila rivers, there is for thousands. It is not ! teo much to say that nowhere within the limits of this broad Union can be found more desirable region for She making of home. No laborioUs clearing of the land is required; it lies almost really for the blow. Trees and shrubhery have so rapid growth that vithin eighteen months the nmigrant can surround his abode with attractions which would require years to naturi in less favored l climates. Fruits ripen and ready for market c full month fore the California product. The 1 bright sunshine makes life luxury, and the pure, dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhae II. For the establishment Of colonies, sUc5 we have made Of Southern California arden, Arizona presents unr;vaed opportunities Thousands of acres, ROW proftless, can be made productive by the construction of rrgaring 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 so this derfui land PiHeapples, dates, almonds and wal nuts will do well. Strawberries, rsspherres, black berries, cnFrars ooseberres, 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, nat, plant, grain, grass vegetable which be produced in either tropic temperate zone, will thrive in it's rich and fertile soils.
 ARIZONA.