The Arizona sentinel., 1898-10-01
LANDS AND SOILS,

The lands of Yuma County comprise the river bottoms and valleys and the uplands mesas The bottom ands are moister and slightly mere fertile It, indeed, it is possible to make comparisons where all are 80 wonderfully productive and prolific The uplands mesas are warmer and, perhaps bghtyfor bcttertbe cultivation of the citrus fruits Yuma containsa variety of soil The valley land of thel Gila and Colorado rivers have for the most part deep sedmentary soil of brownish, gray sandy loam, resting, in most places, upon a gray ciaJ subsoil at depth of from ten to twenty feet below the surface, The clay subsoil forms a hard pan which IS impervous to water. These soils have been slowly formed by the decomposition Of shales sandstones, mariS. limestones, ett., mixed with or gAnlc and vegetable matter, washed down by the mighey rivers and have been gradually deposited during the course of centuries The fertiIjzinS brVwnish mud held in the wat CIof the Colorado and Glla rivers resembles that from the Nile, and It's quantity varies from O.I to O5 per cent, though the water V hen even considerably discoIor- ed by 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 wonderful similarity in the constituent parts of each. That of the Colorado exhibiting a S---1N A~So POsoooa1 must pHOSplOT1c 3clQ ana car ponade Of limestone beds through which the Colo rado passes In other respects the sediment of the Colorado Is almost Identical with that of the Nile
 It will be noticed therefore, that when this water is used for irrigation it is superior to artesian waters since it is constantly supplying the land with the richest fertzing clements The soil of the vslleys Is extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matter and uncombined carbon, readily absorbing the aerial gases, such especially as oxygen, which en- tering the soil, decomposes the organic matters so that they can be taken up and nourish the plants winch may De considered leading feature in it fertility It also readily takes up and retains moisture, while the frmness of its particles affords every facility for percolation and the activity of Capillary action. In it's mechanical composition it's particles are in state Of very fine division which | renders it more productive than cOarser soils I
 acquircs heat readily in the daytime, and the loss of the heat at night is very gradual, that 1t mains always warm and Is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cod Besides it's essential con stituents of water, organic vegetable matter, sand and clay, chemical analysis shows that irns soda, maSnesis iron, ammonia and available forEs of nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash enter into composition in the proportions best adapted to add to It's fertility, though of course, is always the case in soil analysis, it's composition varies In | different localities and is not always constant The sol the uplands, or mesas, lighter and more gravelly and in places of .ree, loalny, calcareous character The mesa lands are warm and generous. They seem especially adapted for the grape, olive and citrus fruits generally Their soil contains more magnesia lime CT chalk than the
 bottom lands. It cracks and retains moisture | IVnira
 will produce wine that will keep good for fifty or
 a hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour exposure to the air. after one
 year old, to become turbid and change color in tine
 bottle or glass.