The Arizona sentinel., 1899-11-25
FRUIH CULTERE.

FRUIT GULL l. toE-
 Fruit production throughout Arizona is Q sub ject great interest at present, apd will no doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County The remarkable results that have sprung from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- monstratcd that the soil and climate of Yuma County arc peculiarly adapted for this branch of agricultural enterprise The development of these resources is of the utmost importance and is at tractiug careinl attention Experiments have been made, with care and facts in regard to the culture of different kinds of fruits have been collected which cannot fail to convince, even tbe most skept ical, oft1g ondcrful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing, and which must lead to large and varied production, of the most ramuncratiye character.
 The Commissioner of Immigration in his report, published in 535, writes follows of the rich valley of the Gila, Colorado and Salt rivers 'The soil of these valleys is among She richest on the continent. It is formed of the detritus which the streams for ages have brought down from their mountain homes in their journey to the sea. By constant ovoraows and change Of channel,
 
 ed soil of ,xtrcme fertility Near ths streams it is dark llluvial mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is rich sandy loam, mellow and porous, and especially favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive apacity Of these valleys is not surpassed by lands of equal area in any part of the United States So rapid and prolific is the growth of the fruits cereals and vegetables that the labcr Of the cultivator is reduced to the minimum. In nearly all of them two crops year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead of California. The farmers plants a cottonwood saplng before his door, and within the year he has shade tree twenty-five feet high! Alfalfa can be cut six times during the season, and it is actual fact the grape-cuttings have produced within egh- teen months. What State or Territory can make such showing? The climate, it must be remem bered, is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The farmer begins to plant in November, and by the middle of May lis harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, frui, trees are blOssoming, and the grain fields a sea of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow and ice.
 Every variety O grlins, grasses fruits and vege tables grown in the temperate and scnli-tropiC AIiSo O'sIi D' PiOuiCC' III OilC -4lSSo OA Wheat, corn barley, oats ard all the small grains give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels tC the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow Iuxuriantly, tho former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre each year, Every variety of. vegetable raised il the United States can be grown in Arizona, and nowhere are they found better quality
 'Besdes the products mentioned these semi tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane to- bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception of the sugarcane, but little attention is paid to the cuti vaton of other staples; but it has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate are specially adapted to their successful growth. Cotton-growing is nc experiment in Arizona, for it is record tha when the Europeans first penetrated this region they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of (, tton grown in the Cila valley.
 ''Bu5 it is their adaptabihty for fruit cultur, that assures to these valley lands a dense popula. tion and aprosperous future. Almost every var iety known can be raised in their fruitful sos Th apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and nee tarine, are of delicious flavor, and give gen erous yield. The grape of all varieties isa hom, in these sunny wales. No place in the grape-grow ing belt Of the Pacific Coast can show so prolific ] |. and the wine althoughits manufacture is yet ex pcrimental. is of 9 fine flavor, delicious bouquet and uns lrpassed by any native product as a tabl beverage Experiments with the rasin-grap have shown that this climate and soil posses every advantage for the production and curing c this staple article of commerce.
 ''Besdes the fruits already mentioned, the or ange, lemon lime, olive, fig, pOmegranate, an, others of the citrus family, can be grown success fully in the valleys of Southern Arizona. Orang trees are now in bearing In the Salt River valey and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul tvated at the latter place. The Arizona orange il quality and flavor will compare favorably with thu best California.
 'In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and tht Gila rivers, there is room for thousands It is no too much to say that nowhere within the limits O this broad Union can be found a more desirable region for the making of a home No laboriou. clearing of the land is required; it lies almos ready for the blow. Trees and shrubbery have SC rapid growth that within eighteen months tho immigrant can surround his abode with attractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are ready for market a full month before the California product The bright sunshine makes life luxury, and the pure dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhale It For the establishment of colonies such as we have made of Southern California arden, Arizona presents unrivaed opportunities Thousands O acres, now proftless, can be made productive by e construction of irrgating ditehes, and there permanent returns"