The Florence tribune., 1898-06-04
THE CASA eRANDE VALLEY.
information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

In the Garden Spot of the west. 2 Pinal county was organized in 1875 from { portions of Pima, Maricopa and 1aVulai counties, and contains an area or e,5os squaaItS miles. or 8. 1855 52O acres, one-third of which { could be made productive by sSstslnoeiio storage of the surplus water now running .o waste. Next to Maricopa II IS the '.'i.,.x iosH t portant agricultural county tnthe Ierrleors. It it traversed from east to west py ene Southern Pacific railroad, and branch pi the great Santa Fe system IS now app nf ing from the north. The objective point ol this read Is connection with the oonora road, of the same system; me ooutfneIn oofua. Pacific is also building i'll this dlrectlon ron Tempe, and it Is confidently believed that work will not cease until the Deer Creek coal fields are reached and .eonneetloh IS made with another branch of that road run ming from Bowie to Globe and now cotnpiee- ed to Fort Thomas. Thus it will be seen that Pinai county Is | the theater of railroad building at the pres tSo ent time, and inside or Q year rlorehco, eho county seat, will be
 ARAILRoAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population sof nbout l500 but with the completion or these two railroads and the Butte reserVolr ho city in Arizona can approach It TOT hatuIai advautages Rand a large increase in popuia- tion will follow. Florence is at an elevation of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near the Gia river, twenty.slx mles ,,s;t h;cS it is connected by an elegantly equlppeu Tlrily stage line Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande runs, anu ;, passengers are allowed short time oo lIi- spect them. There are many hanuSoinS Pr yate residences in Florence, several Dr5ch stores, good hotel, an excellent graSeu gIobes school employing four teachers, churches, secret societies. a Commercial ClhDs lens- h paper (the only one in the countyh ana .ne handsomest court house In the leFrn'otis. FIl. .i. Here is held the United States Court tor the district composed ot Gila urnnsidi ii1.ad u.;th 4h a1,o do xt-hi al iT0narf O on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 fTnl;,se the Salt river. the waters of the .sila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no aikali, is deep, rich gray ash, especiaily adapted to the growth of the prunei es, eonyse, almond beach, fig, pear, apricot and Ifuits of all kinds which pay largely on the invest ment It is also the natural home Of alfalIa, which grows in the most prollnc mahnsSr. The grape does exceptionally well III tnIs i valley and wine and raisin culture IS destln- ed to become a prominent Industry. Si.ius fruits have been cultivated to hnllIeu extent: there are number of orange trees in the neighborho0d of Florence which pear their golden fruit each year without pro lection, and a few date palm trees are also m full bearing. The season is from SIX weeks fo two months earlier than Southern Calitor- mia, which gives fruit growers an appreclaO- ed advantage ln
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews Is a formidable obstacle to the destructive and unsightly scale-bug. and the fruits or the valley are all bright and clean. All the agfi- cultural products of temperate ana semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving Q succession of crops that double or treble the productive value or the land.
 PRICES OF LAND.
 Improved lands, with government utle and water right, can be bought for from sz9 to $50 per acre. according to location ana lin- proveInents. in the immediate nelg hDor- hood aud to the south of the Casa 0rande ruius there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth CT mesquite tlmDer yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley Water ln lnexRans.l, zs s, ble quantity Is found at a depth ot from twenty to thirty feet; in fact river seems to be flowing underneath. Here IS splen- did opportunity to take up and improve Aand with a pumping system of irrigation which is said to be successful on small tracts
 However, with the completion ot the Buttt reservoir. pumping will be thing or tht 5past and 1t is only mentioned here Tor tht purpose of showing what can be dofle ana tt magnify the further fact that what was onc' considered
 AN IRRITABLE DESERT
 as }p truth the most productive land on th' globe and that there is water in abundance to bring every foot of 1t under ciliLlHatioh only waiting for the magic wand of capita to develop 1t. There is no water-storag' scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-hai fhe natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. her nature has built the abutments in ever-lIy ing rock and all that is left for man to do l to put in the headgate, the bluffs which torn the gorge being only separated by a paisr' .220 feet A country IS drained through thl narrow canyon 200 miles square, representlns 40OO0 square miles, or larger than Maine a1is Massachusetts combined. The rainfall IS SUI ficient to fill the reservoir twice year, ant the land to be brought under cultivation l practically linitless This may read like fairy tale, but it is every word true, and hii been verified time and again.
 CASA CYANIDE RESERVOIR.
 The reservoir of the Casa Grande VaIle, Canal company is the largest in the territory Itcoyers a surface of 16g0 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet, and contains about eIgh thousand million gallons of water 1t Is sit uated fifteen miles southwest Of Florence A levee of earth has been thrown up acros a depression in the plain 14,O00 feet in length 125 feet in width at the bottom and 70 feet II width at top, to slope on each side, and al average height of 2 feet. The waste IS regu lated by cast iron pipes feet in diameter set ill solid masonry, regulated by gates an' tower This reservoir cost Sl50,0OO, and sup plies water for 6.000 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern rnsnt maintained station at Florence iron Is7f to l882 The reports covering the perioS Avxr;1 rrf4za fha ff,Iln