The Florence tribune., 1899-08-05
TIE CASA eRANpE VALLEY.
Information for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot Of the West.

Pinal county was organized in 1875 from .portions of Pima, Maricopa and favapai counties, and contains an area of ,, 5,30osquare miles. or 3, i35, ,520 acres, one-third of which could be made productive by a systematic storage { tho surplus water now running to waste. Next to Maricopa it is the most inl- .portant agricultural county in the Territory. It It trayersed from east to west by the Southern Pacific railroad, and branch of the great santa te system is now approach ing from the north. The objective point of -thls road IS . connection with the Sonora road, of the same system. The Southern Raclfc Is also building in this direction from Tempe, and it Is confidently believed that work will Rot cease uutil the Deer Creek coal helds are reached and connection IS made with another branch oI that road run ming from Bowie to Globe and now eomplet- sd to Fort Thomas
 Thus it will be seen that Pinai county is she theater of railroad building at the pres 'ent time, and inside of year Florence, the county seat. will be
 A RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population of about 15O0, but with the completion of these two railroads and the Butte reservoir no .clty in Arizona can approach 1t Tor natural advantages, and large increase in popula- tion will follow. Florence is at an elevation Of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near the .Gila river, twenty-six miles northwest ot the railroad station of Casa Grande. with which 1t is connected by an elegantly equipped duly stage line. Going and coming stages run by the old Casa Grande ruins, and passengers are allowed a snort time bO spect them. There are many handsome pri- vafe residences in Florence, several brick stores, good hotel an excellent graded school employing four teachers, churches secret societies. a Commercial Club, a news paper (the only one in the countyl, ana the handsomest court house in the Territory. Here is held the United States Court for the district composed of Gila, Graham and a1fnal counties. The streets are lined with shade trees, which impart an air of comfort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Uulike the Salt river, the waters of the .5iia are fresh and pure; the soil contains no Aixali, Is deep, rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, olive, almond, peach, fig, pear, apricot and fruits sot, 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 destin- ed to become a prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to a limited extsnt; there are a number of orange trees tn the neighborhood of Florence which bear sneir geIden fruit each year without pro s41ll bearing. The season is from six weeks to two months earlIer than Southern Califor- mia, which gives fruit growers an appreeiat- ed advantage in
 THE EARLY MARKETS.
 The absence of fogs and nightly dews is a formidable obstacle to the destructive and uilsigttiy scaie-bug. and the fruits of the valley are all bright and clean All the agri- cultural products of temperate and semi tropie zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving q succession of crops that land.
 PRICES OF LAND.
 Improved lands, with government title and water right, can be bought for from SEQ to $50 per acre, according to location and im- sprovements. In the immediate neighbor- hf,ft frs ffte,.f hf.f fhr fn ruins there are thousands of acres covered with heavy growth of mesquite timber yet open to settlement. These are among the choicest in the valley. Water in inexhausti- ble quantity is found at depth of from twenty to thirty feet; in fact, river seems to ie flowing underneath. Here is spien- 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 a thing of the past, and it is only mentioned here for the purpose of showing what can be done, and to magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN USINHABITABLE DESERT is in truth the most productive land on the globe and that there is water in abundance to bring every foot of it under cultivation, only waiting for the magic wand of capital to develop it. There is no water-storage scheme on the Pacific coast that has one-haf the natural advantages and so few engineer
 
 nature has built the abutmeIts in ever-liv- 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 z2D feet. A country is drained through this narrow canyon 2GD miles square, representing 40,000 square miles, or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall Is sui fcient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation IS practically. hrnitless. This may read like tairy 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 l600 acres, with an aver age depth of P 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 depression in the plain 14 eco feet in length 125 feet in width at the bottom and 9 feet in width at top, to slope on each side and an average height of 9 feet. The waste is regil- lated by cast iron pipes feet in diameter set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost SiJ0G00, and sup plies water for 6.G00 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics. ment maintained station at Florence from 1874 to 1S22 The reports covering the period from uly, 1SS0 to April, 1882, gives the follow lug statistics, which may be taken safe
 
 during the series of six yeas:
 1883. Mean. Max. Min. July y.........................e5 .e5.6 III 61 August -cO.o LIZ bJ September ber.................S1.0 107 48 October .................... 69.0 96 32 November .................-5z.l 60 % December. .5O.9 77 27
 1ool.
 January 78 21 February. y...........-...... 54.7 30 2 fJnrcn- .......J9.f F3 ~ fpfti-... Oo.l IcO 4o May y...............-...-.....7A. 10f 45 June. 1l3 fl July ...........-.............s 1I2 64