The Florence tribune., 1898-08-13
THE CASA eRANDE VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

m Jne GGruSn OpSl Oi tNG HSot.
 Pinal county was organized in 1915 from portions of Pima Maricopa and Yavapai 1 counties, and contains an area of 5 1888 square miles. or 3, S5,5z0 acres, one-thIrd or whlch could be made productive by systemallc | storage Sf the surplus water now running to waste. Next to Maricopa it Is tine most lm- portant agricultural county the territory. 1t it trayersed from east to west Dy the Southern Pacific railroad, and brahch pl the great Santa Fe system Is now approach. ing from the north. The objective point or this road Is connection with the sonora road, of the same system; The sou aon'hern f.s,,, Tempe, and it is confidently believed that work will not cease until the Deer creek coal fields are reached and eonnectloh IS made with another branch of that road run ming from Bowie to Globe and now complet- ed to Fort Thomas.
 Thus it will Dc seen that Final county IS the 9heater of railroad building at the pres @nt time, and inside of Q year Florence, the county seat, will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains population of about i500 but with the completion Of these two railroads and the Butte reservoir no city in Arizona can approach 1t for natural advantages .and large increase in popula- tion will follow. Florence IS at an eleVatlon of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near the Ifila river twenty-six miles northwest Of the railroad station of Casa Grande, with which it is connected by an elegantly equipped lpily stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa dranue runs, anu ;.' passengers are allowed short time to ln- spect them. There are many handsome Pri- Vate residences in Florence, several prick stores, good hotel, an excellent greSHee ggrcSes secret societies. a Commercial Cup, news paper (the only enc in the countyl and the e handsamest court house in the Territory. Here is held tke United States Court for the district composed of Glla, 0rahain ann Pinal counties. The streets are lined with hal vrh hipb imnarf air Of cOmfOrJ on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the .5ila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no AllKali, is deep, rich gray ash, especiaily adapted to the growth of the prune, srses onye almond, peach, fig, pear, apricot and fruits of all kinds. which pay largely on the invest ment. It is also the natural home of alfalfa, which grows in the most prolific manner The grape does exceptionally well in this valley and wine and raisin culture IS destln- cd to become prominent industry. ,Slerus fruits have been cultivated to lmited extent; there are number of orange trees In the neighborhood of Florence which bear their geiden fruit each year without pro- lection, and few date palm trees are also m full bearing. The season is from six weeks to two months earlier than Southern Cahfor- nia, which gives fruit growers an appreclat- ed advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews Is Q formidable obstacle to the destructive and unsightly scale-bug, and the fruits or the valley are all bright and clean All the agrl- cultural products of temperate and semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving 0 succession of crops that double or treble the productive value or the land.
 PRICES OF LAND.
 Improved lands, with government title and water right, can be bought for from so to $50 per acre, according to location and im- -provements. In the immediate neighbor- hood and to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth of mesquite timber yer open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in inexhausti- sble quantity is found at a depth of rom twenty tc thirty feet; h fact, river seems to be flowing underneath Here is splen- did opportunity to take up and improve land with pumping system Of irrigation which is said to be successful on small tracts However. with the completion ot the butte reservoir. pumping will be thing of the past, and it is only mentioned here for the purpose of showing what can be done, and tc magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UNI6HABITABLE DESERT
 Is in truth the most productive land on thu globe. and that there is water in abundance to bring every foot of it under cultivation only waiting for the magic wand of capita to develop it. There IS no water-stofsgt scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-hai the natural advantages and so few engineer. ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Her' nature has built the abutments In eyer-iy- ing rock and all that is left for man to do Ii to put in the headgate, the bluffs which form the gorge being only separated by PaltrJ 220 feet. A country is drained through thii narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 10000 square miles. or larger thau Maine anc Massachusetts combined. The rainfall is sui ficient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation Ii practically limitiess. This may read like 6 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 surface of 1900 acres, with an ayer- age depth of F feet, and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. It is sit uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. leyee of earth has been thrown up across n depression in the plain II, 000 feet in length, d25 feet in width at the bottom and 25 feet in width at top, to l slope on each side, and an average height of 25 feet. The waste is regu- lated by cast iron pipes feet in diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost S150,OO0 and SUD- plies water for 5000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.