The Arizona sentinel., 1897-08-07
can nowhere be surpassed, containing as it does all the essential clements of richness and fertility.
FRUIT CULTURE.

FRUIT CULTURE
 Frris production throughout Arizona is q sub iect great interest as present, and VIII no d9ubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County. The remarkable results that have sprung from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- monstrated tha' the soil and climate of Yuma County peculiarly adapted for this branch of agri cultural entorp is The development of these resources is of the utmost importance and is at tracting careful attention. Experiments have been made, with care, and facts in regard to .he culture of different kinds Of fruits have been collected which cannot fail to convince, even 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 remunerative character.
 The Con missioner of immigration in his report, published in ss6, writes as follows of the rich valleYs of the Gila, Colorado and calt rivers.
 ''The soil 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 overdows and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of ,xtreme fertility, Near tho streams it is dark alluvial mold, we'll adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is rich sandy losm, mellow and porous, and especially favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity of these valleys is not surpassed by lands of equal area 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 cutirator is reduced to the minimum. h nearly all of them two crops year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead of California. The farmers plants cottonwood saeling before his door, and within the he has shade tree twenty five feet high Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season. and it is actual fact the grapecuttings have produced within eigh- teen months. What State or Territory can make | such showing? The climate, it must be remem- bered is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The farnor begins to plant in November, and by ehe middle of Nay | his harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees are blossoming, and the grair fields are sea of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow and ice.
 Every variety grains grasses, fruits and vege- | tables grown in the temperate and semi-tropiG 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 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.
 l ''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 the cult vation of other staples; but it has been demonstra ed that the soil and climate are specially adapted to their successful growth. Cotton-growing Is nc 1 experiment in Arizona, for it is on record that when the Europeans first penetrated this region 1 they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics | made Of cotton grown in the Gila valley
 ''But it is their adaptabihty for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popula- tion and aprospereus future. Almost every var
 ety known can be raised in their fruitful sols The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and nee tarine, are of delicious flavor, and give gen erous yield. The grape of all varieties ia homo in these sunny vales. No place in the grape-grow | ing belt of the Pacific Coast show prolific 1 yield. The quality is all that could be desired and the wine, although it's manufacture is vet ex permental, is of fine flavor, delicious bouquet and unsurpassed by any native product as a table beverage. Experiments with the roisin-grape have shown that this climate and soil posses; every advantage for the production and curing oi 1 this staple article of commerce.
 'Basides the fruits already mentioned, tho 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 are now in bearing in the Sat River valley and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul .vated at the latter place. The Arizona orange in quality and flavor will compare favorably with the | best California.
 "In the valleys of the Colorado the Salt and the Cila livers there is for thousands. It is no; too much to say that nowhere within the limits oi l this broad Union can be found a more desirable region for the making of home. No laborious I clearing of the land is required; it lies almost ready for the blow. Trees and shrubhery nave so rapid growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his abode with attractions which would require years to matur in less favored l 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 inhale It. For the establishment of colonies, such we have made of Southern California arden, Arizona presents unrivaled opportunities Thousands of acres, now proftless, be made productive by the construction of rrgating ditches and there is no investment which assures larger or more permanent returns
 The foregoing statements are rot exaggerated; ir fact they fall short of doing justice to this won derful land. Pineapples, dates, almo2ds and wal nuts will do we'll Strawberries raspberries, black berries. currants 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, as almost every fruit nut, plant, grain, gra:s vegetable which be produced in either tropic or temperate zone will thrive in it's rich and fertile soils.