The Arizona sentinel., 1898-11-26
LANDS AND SOILS.

The lands of Yuma County comprise the river bottoms and valleys and the uplands or mesas The bottom ands arc moister and slightly mere fertile if, indeed. it is possible to rn Ike comparisons where all are wonderfully productive and prolific The upands or mesas are warmer and, perhaps
 lightly for betterth cultivation ofthe citrus fruits Yuma contains a variety of soil The valley land of rhel Gila and Colorado rivers have foI tine most part deep sedmentary soil of browuish, gray sandy O.'In, resting, in most places, upon a gray clay subsoil st depth of from ten to twenty feet below the surface, The clay SubsOil forms hard pan which s impervious to water. These soils have been slowly formed by the decomposition of shales ssndstoreS, marls. lmestones etc, mixed with or gane and vegetable matter, washed down by the 1 mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course of centuries. The fsrtiIiz!nz brownish mud held in the wat tIof the Colorado and Gila rivers resembles that from the Nile and l its quantity varies from O.1 to O.5 per cent, though the water hen even considerably discolor- cd oy mud is good drink, resembling in this res pect the Missouri river water. chemical analysis | of the sediments of the Colorado and of the Nile | exhibits a wonderful similarity in the constituent parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting a triflc less pOtassa, most phosphOric acid and car bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo rado passes. In other respects the sediment of the Colorado s almost identical with that 0: the Nile It will be noticed therefore that when this water is used for irrigation it is superior to artcsan waters since it is constantly supplying the land with the estfertilizng elements. The soil of the valleys is extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matter and uncombinod carbon, readily absorbing the aerial gases, such especially, oxygen, which cn te:ing tho soil, dccomposes the organic matters 1 that they can oc taken up and nourish the plants whic. may Ne considered leading featur in it fertility. It also readily takes up and retain. moisture, wh!,e tc frmress of it's particles afer!s every tacihsy for perco!ation and the activity c, capillary action h ts mechanical Composition it, particles are in state oi very fine division which l renders it nlore productive than coarser soils I scGuiries heat readily in the daytime and the les, of the heat at night Is very gradual so that 1t re mains always warm and Is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cold. Besides it's essential con | stitueDts of water, organic vegetable matter sand and clay, chemical analysis shows that lime soda, plagnesia iron, ammonia and available forms of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash enter into composition in the proportions best adapted tC add to it's fertility, though, ot course as is alwa. the case in soil analysis, its composition varies iI different localities and i5 not always constant
 ] The sol O the uplands, or Iaes3s lighter and more gravey and in some places of .rce, loany calcarcous character. The mesa lands are warm ana generous. They seem especially adapted for the grape, olive and citrus fruits generally Their soi contains more masnesia, lime CT chalk than the bottom lands It never cracks and retains moisture admirably in summer It is of that character wicI will produce wine that will keep good fer fifty Cl hundred gears, and improve annually, not being
 liable tc sour, exposure to the air, after onC year old to become turbid and change color In tn, l bottle or glass