The Arizona sentinel., 1898-06-18
LANDS AND SOILS,

The lands Of Yuma County comprise the river
 bottoms and valleys and the uplands or p,eqas Tho
 bottom ands are moister and slightly mere fertile
 If, indeed, it is possible to make comn5-fs-rs
 where all are so wonderfully productive and prolific The uplands or mesas are warmer and. perhaps
 lightly for betterthe cultivation of the citrus fruits
 Yuma contains variety of soil The valley land of thel Gila and Colorado rivers have for the most
 part deep sedimentary soil of brownish, gray sandy loam, resting, in most places, upon gray clay subsoil at depth Of from ten to twenty feet below the surface, The clay subsoil forms a hard pan which is impervious to water These soils have been slowly formed by the decomposition of shales sandstones, marls. limestones etc., mixed with or ganlc and vegetable matter washed down by the
 mighty rivers and have been gradually deposited uufng the course of centuries. The fertil;zing oroWnlsh mud held in the wat tIof the Colorado anu GlIa rivers resembles that from the Nile and ITS quantity varies from O.I to O.5 per cent, though the water when even considerably discolor- ed by mud is good to 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
 00 fO1-N9So'J tiiOoL pilOS llilOIlC GClQ ana car bonade of limestone beds through which the Colo rauo passfs 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 1t IS constantly supplying the land with the rlchestfertiizng elements The soil of She valleys IS extremely rich in dedomposed vegetable matter and uncombined carbon, readily absorbing the aerial gases such especially, as oxygen, which en- terlng the soil, decOmposes the organic matters so that they can be taken up and nourish the plants WHICH may 9e considered leading feature in 1t fertility. It also readily takes up and retains moisture, while the frmness of it's particles affords every facility for percolation and the activity of capillary action. In its mechanical composition it's particles are in a state of very fine division which renders 1t more productive than coarser soils I acquiries heat readily in the daytime and the loss or the heat at night is very gradual so that it re- mains always warm and Is not subject to sudden changes of heat and cold. Besides its essential con Sutuents Of water, organic vegetable matter ! sand and clay, chemical anal ysis shows that lime soda, magnesa, iron, ammonia and available forms or nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash enter into composition in the proportions best adapted to add to its fertility though of course, as Is always the case in soil analysis, it's composition varies in different localities and is not always constant.
 The soi the uplands, or mesas, lighter and more grayelly and in some places of a .ree, Ioamy cac2reous 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 or chalk than the bottom lands. It never cracks and retains moisture admirably in summer. It is of that character which VIII produce wine that will keep good for fifty or a hundred years, and improve annually, not being liable to sour, or on exposure to the air. after one year old, to become turbid and change color in the bottle or glass