The Florence tribune., 1899-01-07
TAG eAsA eaANpg vALLEY.
nfornatioa for Those Seeking Homes
 In the Garden Spot of the West.

Pinal county was organized in 1875 from portions of Pima, Maricopa and Yayapai counties, and contains an area of 5.36e square miles, or 3,4S5, ,520 acres one-third of which could be made productive by systematic storage S'f the surplus water now running to waste. Next to Marieopa it Is the most im- Portant agricultural county in the Territory. 1t lt traversed from east to west by the southern Pacific railroad, and a branch of the great Santa Fe system is now approach ing from the north. The objective point of thls road is a connection with the Sonora road, of the same system. The Southern Pacific is also building in this direction from Tempe, and it is confidently believed that work will not cease until the Deer Creek coal fields are reached and connection is made with another branch of that road rum ming from Bowie to Globe and now complet- ed to Fort Thomas.
 Thus it will be seen that Pinal county is the theater of railroad building ut the pres ene time, and inside of year Florence, the oounty seat. will be
 RAILROAD CENTER.
 At present it contains a population Tof about l500 but with the completion of these two railroads and the Butte reservoir no city in Arizona can approach it for natural advantages, and u large increase i'll popula- tion will follow. Florence Is at an elevation of 1858 feet above sea level, situated near the Gila river, twenty-six miles northwest of the railroad station of Casa Grande, with which 1t is connected by an elegantly. equipped deily stage line. Going and coming stages
 
 passengers are allowed short time to in- spect them. There are many handsome pri- yate residences in Florence, several brick school employing four teachers, churches, secret societies, a Commercial Club. news paper (the only one i'll the countyla and the handsomest court house in the Territory. Here is held the United States Court for the district composed of Gila, Graham and Pinal counties. The streets are lined with shade trees, which impart an air of conIort on the warmest days.
 PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY.
 Unlike the Salt river, the waters of the .sila are fresh and pure; the soil contains no lll1ali, is deep. rich gray ash, especially adapted to the growth of the prune, olive, almond, peach, fig, pear, apricot and fruits of 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 i'll this valley, and wine and raisin culture Is destln- ed to become prominent industry. Citrus fruits have been cultivated to a limited extent; there are number Of orange trees in the neighborhood of Florence which bear their golden fruit each year without pro- lection, and 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 dexs is a 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 semi tropic zones are easily grown here, the long seasons giving a succession of crops that 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 so to $50 per acre, according to location and inn provements. In the immediate neighbor- hood and to the south of the Casa Grande 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 inexhanstl- ble quantity is found at depth Of from 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 thing of the past, and it is only mentioned here for the magnify the further fact that what was once considered
 AN UNIsHABITABLR 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. Ihere IS no water-stoTage age
 
 the natural advantages and so few engineer ing difficulties as the Butte reservoir. Here nature has built the abutments in eyer-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 220 feet. A country is drained through this narrow canyon 200 miles square representing 40,OOO square miles. or larger than Maine and Massachusetts combined. The rainfall is suf- hcient to fill the reservoir twice year, and the land to be brought under cultivation is practically limitless. This may read like fairy 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 a surface of 1890 acres, with an aver age depth of F feet, and contains about eight million gallons of water. It is sit- uated fifteen miles southwest of Florence. A levee of earth has been thrown up across Q depression in the plain Il, coo feet in length, l25 feet in width at the bottom and g feet in width at top. 2 to 1 slope on each side, and an average height of 9 feet. The waste is regu- lated by 3 cast iron pipes feet in diameter, set in solid masonry, regulated by gates and tower. This reservoir cost S150,000 and sup plies water for 6.0O0 acres.
 Meteorological Statistics.
 The signal service of the general govern nent maintained station at Florence from | S7i to 1892. The reports covering the period | rom July, 1880, to April, 1882, gives the follow