The Arizona sentinel., 1898-03-26
FRUIT CULTURE.

Fruit production throughout Arizona is e sub
 ject great interest at present, and will no
 doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County.
 The remarkable results that have sprung from
 very superficial and imperfect culture hfs de-
 monstrated tha' the soil and climate of Yuma
 County are peculiarly adapted for this branch of
 agricultural entcrp"is,. The development of these 1 resources is of the utmost importance and is at tracdng carefnl attention. Experiments have been
 made With care, and facts in regard to the culture or different kinds of fruits have been collected
 which cannot fail to convince, even tbe most stept-
 lcaI of the wonderful superiority of Yuma County
 over southern California in fruit growing, and
 which must lead to a large and varied production, oi the most remanorative character.
 The co missioner of Immigration in his report,
 published iii S5j, writes as follows of the rich
 valley of the Gia, 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 consta overdows and change Of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of ,Xrome fertility, Near ths streams it IS dark alluvial mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is a rich sandy loam, 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 Ian Is 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 the cutivat9r is reduced to the m'nimuin ln nearly all of them two crops year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead of Ceiforni}. The farmers plants a cottonwood | sapling before his door, and within the year he has shaie tree twenty-five feet hich, Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season. and it is an actual fat the grape-cuttings have produced within eigh teen mo tls! What State or Territory can mako l such showing? The climate, it must be remem- 5ered, is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The farmer begins 10 plant in 'tovelnhcr and by the middle of ny 'iS harvest is ready. Roses are in boopl, fruit trees ro 1l)s omins, and the grair fields are @ sea Di green, when the fields of the Eastern farmers 're ooveced.with snow and ice.
 Every variety grains grasses, fruits and vege ablcS grown in the temperate and semi -tropc cones 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 he acre. AlaIia, clover, timothy, Bermuda ani Ill the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the ormer giving from i,ht to ten tons to the acre .ach year, Every variety of vegetable raised in he United States be grown in Arizona, and nowhere are they found of better quality.
 'Besidos the products mentioned, these semi ropcal valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane, to- 'acco, hemp and rice With the exception of the ugar-cane, but little attention is paid to the cult ation of other staples; but it has been demonstrat d that the soil and climate are specially adapted O their successful growth. Cotton-growing is no experiment. in Arizona, for it is on record that 'hen the Europeans first penetrated this region, hey found the pina Indians wearing fabrics lade of cotton grown in the Gila valley.
 "BuJ it is their adaptabilIty for fruit culture Lat assures to these valley lands dense popula ion and aprosperous future. Almost every var . 'ty known be raised in their fruitful soils. The ppc, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and nee lrne, are of delicious flavor, and give gen. rous yield. The grape of all varieties i home ! thes. sunny yaes. No place in the g!ape-srow- lg belt Of the Pacific Coast can show so prolific a ied. The quality is all that could be desired, ad the wine, althouah it's manufacture IS vet eX is of a fine flavor, delicious bouquet nd unsl slrr7ssed by any native product as table