The Florence tribune., 1898-08-06
THE CASA GRANDE VALLEY
information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

of Pima, Maricopa and Yavapai and contains an area of } sos sdii9sSc could be made productive by systematic storage ( f the surplus water now running 10 waste. Next to Msricopa 1t .s the most m agricultural county Ill the ISEritory' It it traversed from east to west by ths Southern Pacific railroad, and branch or the great Santa Fe system is nov approach ing from the north. The ob1eetiye poltia pS, 0i this road is connection with the sonora road, of the same system: ne ssout5sleI1 Pacific is also building in this direction rom Tempe, and it is confidently bcDeVsor lai, uai. work will not cease until the Deer Sreek coal fields are reached and eoInectlIon ..l..i is made with another branch of that road run run ming from Bowie to Globe and now compiee- Thus it win be seen that Pinal county IS the theater of railroad building at the pres ont time, and inside of a year Florence, the county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains . population oi about l509, but with the completion or these two railroads and the Butte reservolr no city in Arizona csn approach 1t for natural advantages land large increase Tn popuia- tiOn will follow. Florence IS at an eieSatlpIIl lI of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near tue Gila river, twenty-six miles northwest ot the railroad station of Casa Grande With when il it is connected by an elegantly equlppea run by the old Casa Grande ruins, and DasSengers are allowed Q short time to h. spect them. There are many handsome Pri- vate residences in Florence, seferal i1 pIie1 stores good hotel, an excellent sreneu school employing four teachers, churcnes' secret societies, a Commercial Cup, news paper (the only one in the countyl ana .ne handsomest court house in the Ierrltory. Here is held the United States Court tor the district composed of GIla, 0rah;sn anH Pinal counties. The streets are Inea Wa.1 'sp.i. shade trees. which import ail ar or coAiiOt' on the warInest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the .iila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no Illzali, is 6 deep rich gray ash, espeei,e:lly esp,: adapted to the growth of the prune, oli!e, almond peach, fig, pear, apricot aud frults of all kinds, which pay largely on the invest ment, It is also the natural home o1 ai1ana, which grows in the most prollhc manner. The grape does exceptionally vol m tnis valley, and wine and raisin culture is destin- ed to become prominent industry Cltrus fruits have been cultivated to limited extent; there are a number of orange trees in the neighborhood of Florence " men pear their golden fruit each year without pro- lection, and a few date palm trees are also Tn full bearing. The season IS rom SIX NeeiAs to two months earl1er than Southern Cailfor- mia, which gives fruit growers an appreciat- cd advantage In
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews Is Q formidable obstacle to the destrnctiye; z; ana ana 
 valley are all bright and clean All the agri- cultural products Of temperate ana semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long 1lg seasons giving 9 succession of crops that double or treble the productive value or the land.
 PRICES OF LAND.
 Improyed lands, with government title and water right, can be bought for from S20 to $50 per acre, according to location and lm- proyements. In the immediate neighbor- hood aud to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with a heavy growth of mesquite timber yer open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in inexhausti- ble quantity is found at Q depth Of rom twenty to thirty feet; in fact river seems to be flowing underneath. Here IS spleh- did opportunity to take up and improve land with q pumping system or irrigation, which is said 10 be successful on small tracts
 However, with the completion 9i the eusse .le reservoir, pumping will be thing or the past, and it is only mentioned here for the purpose of showing what can be done, and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UNIsHABITABLE DESERT
 is in truth the most productive land on ths globe and that there is water in abuncanct fo bring every foot of it under cultivation onIy waiting for the magic wand of capita to develop it. There is no water-storast scheme on the Pacific coast that has o1e-h the natural advantages and so few englneer.
 
 nature has built the abutments in eyer-iY- ing rock and all that Is left for man to do ls to put in the headgate the bluffs W hieh form the gorge being only separated by paltry 20 feet. country is drained through this DarroW canyon 200 miles square, representing ao0o0 square miles. or larger than 4alne and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall Is sui; ficient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation IS practically liTnitiess. This may read like Q fairy tale, but it is every word true, and has been verified time and again.
 CASA CYANIDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande Valley Canal company Is the largest in the territory It covers a surface of 1890 acres, with an aver age depth of l2 feet, and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. it is sit uated fifteen miles southwest or Florence Ievee of earth has been thrown up across d adepression in the plain II coo feet i'll length I25 feet in width at the bottom and Q feet IT width at top to slope on each side, and aI average height of 25 feet. The waste is regu- lated by 3 cast iron pipes feet Tn diameter set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost Sl50,OOO, and sup plies water for 6,0OO acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern ueut maintained a station at Florence from 1g74 to 1832 The reports covering the period from July 1880, to April, 1882 gives the follow ing statistics, which may be taken as a safe guide to the prevailing temperature given during the series of six yeas:
 1880. Mean. Max D5in. July .........................55 Ill 8l September. ber.................610 107 48 Ocfoher .......,........... 6o.O S3 S2