The Florence tribune., 1898-10-08
THE CASA eRANoe VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the. Garden Spot of the West.

In the Garden Spot ot the West.
 Plnal alcounty was organized in 1875 from portions of Pima. Maricopa and fayapat miles or s. ,a2O acres, one-third of which could be made productive by a systematic storage Of the surplus water now running to waste. Next to Maricopa 1t Is tho most tnl- portant aericuitural county In the Territory. It 1t traversed from east to west by the Southern Pacific railroad. and branch of Ing Ing from % the % north. The objective point of this read Is a connection with the Sonora road, of the same system; The Southern Rsciilc Is sse building h this direcon trSm tSae work will not cease until the Deer Creek coal fields are reached and connection IS made with another branch of that road run ning frem Bowie to Glebe and HOW complet-
 Thus 1t viii De seen that Pinal county Is the theater sf railroad building at the pres ent time, and inside of O year Florence, the county seat. wilLbe
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present 1t contains @ population Bof two railroads and the Butte reservoir no city in Arizona can approach it for natural advantages, and a large increase In popula- of 1858 feet assve sea level, situated near the Gila river, twenty -slx miles northwest ot the railroad station of Casa Grande, with which t is connected by an elegantly equipped run by the cid Casa Grande ruins, and passengers are allowed 0 short time to in- spect them. There are many handsome pri- stores, good hotel, an excellent graded school employing four teachers, churches, secret societies a Commercial Club. 2 news Here Is held the Unftsd States Court for t6ss PInai counties. The streets arc lined with shade trees. which impart an air of comfort on ths warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THH VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river. the waters of the e3ila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no adapted to the growth of the. prune, olive, almond, peach, fig, pear. apricot and fruits of all kinds. which pay largely on the invest which grows in the most prolific manner. The grape does exceptionally well in this valley, and wine and raisin culture is destin- ed to become 2 prominent industry. Citrus Citrus extent; there are number of orange trees in the neighborhood of Florence which bear their golden fruit each year without pro tection. and a few date palm trees are also in full bearing. The season Is from six weeks to two months earlier than Southern Califor- mia. which gives fruit growers an appreciat- 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 of the valley are all bright and clean. All the agri- cultural products of temperate and semt- tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving . succession Of crops shat double or treble the productive value of the land.
 PRICES OF LAND. Improved lands, with government title and water right, can be bought for from go to f5O per acre, according to location and tm- provements. In the imnediate neighbor- hood and to the south of the Casa Grande ruins there are thousands of acre. covered with heavy growth of mesquite timber yes open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water In mex xhansti- twenty to thirty feet; in 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 of the Butte reservoir, pumping will be Q thing of the purpose of showing what can be done, and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UNINHABIxARLz DRsRzx
 is in truth the most productive land on the globe, and that there Is water in abundance to bring every. foot of 1t under cultivation, e 1 develop % E. M Tbere @ T E no wat WaseP-ssoPase % scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-half the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutznents in ever-iiv- ing rock. and all that is left for man to do Is to put in the headgate, the bluffs which form the gorge being only separated by paltry 20 feet A country Is drained through this narrow canyon 200 miles square, representing 900 square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall is suf- 6cient to i'll the reservoir twice a year, and the land to be brought under cultivation is practically limitless. This may read like fairy tale, but 1t 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. Itcovers a surface of 1900 acres with an aver age depth of 12 feet, and contains about eight thousand million gallons of water. It is sit uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. A levee of earth has been thrown up across a depression In the plain fl. 900 feet in length, 125 feet in width at the bottom and g feet in width at top, 9 to slope on each side, and an average height of g 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 $150,O00, and sup piles water for 5000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The sfsrnaI servfea ff fha ,ana~aI s-,,~-,,