The Arizona sentinel., 1899-11-04
FRUIT CULTURE.

ject great interest at present, and VIII no doubt, be She principalindugtry in Yuma County. l The remarkable results that have spSuDg from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- moDstrassd that the sOil and climate of Yuma County are peculiarly adapted for this branch of agricultural enterprise. The development of these resources is of the utmost importance and is at- tracting 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, oitbs onderful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing, and which must lead to large and varied production, of the most remunerative character.
 The Commissioner of immigration In his report, published in 1888. writes follows of the rich valle, of the Gila. Colorado and Eslt rivers
 "The soil of thesO valleys is AmOag the richest on the continent. It Is formed of the detritus which the streams for ages have brought down from their mountain homes in their journoS to tho sea. By constant overAows and change Of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form
 ed soil of extreme fertility, Near tn. streams it is dark Glluvial mold, we'll adapted to small
 grains and grasses. Farther back there is q rich sandy loam, mellow and porous, and especially favorable for fruit culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive npacity 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 labor of the cutiyatoY Is reduced to the
 minimum. In nearly All of them two crops year can be growth, and vegetation is month ahead 8 of California. The farmers plants a cottonwood saping before his door, and within the year he has . a shado tree twenty-five feet high! Alfalfa be
 six timss during the seas on and it Is actual
 fact the grape-cuttings have produced within eigh
 teen months! What State or Territory make s such showingf The climate, It must be renem f bored, is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never
 falls in these southern valleys. The farmer begins to plant in November, and by the middle of May l"is harvest Is ready. Ro'A Are in bloom, frui l. trees are blossomng, and the grain fields re sts = of green, when she fields of the Eastern tarmer
 ere covered with snow and ice.
 IF Every variety gTMnsi grasses, fruits and Vege tables grown in the teIAperate and semi-tropi
 zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona e Wheat, corn barley oats ard all the small grain g give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels s l.. the acre. Alfalfa clovek, timothy, Bermuda an, >. all the cultivated grAsS4s grow luxuriantly, tn
 former giving from eight to ten tons to the acT each year, Every variety of vegetable raised i n the United States can ble grown iD Arizona, an
 nowhere are they found better quality.
 ,ri "Besides the products mentioned, these semi . tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane, to
 bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception of tn U sugarcane but little attention Is paid to the cult vation of other stapet but 1t has been demonstra Id ed that the soil and cn,ats specially sdApte , to their successful gTowth. Cotton-growing Is D
 experiment in ArzoIaA, for it Is record ths when the EuropeanTk first penetrated this regior D. they found the P hs Indians wearing fabric Id made of ci ton groWta in the GilA valley.
 ''But 1t is their aidaptabilty for fruit cultuI that assures to these valley lands dense popula W ton and aProspeTolus future. Almost every val iesy known be Ased in their fruitful soils. Tn ot apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and as tarine, Si delicious flavor, and give ger ', erous yield. The grape of all varieties i.a hon
 In these sunny vatss. No place In the grape-grov ing belt of the PaSi Coast can show so prolific th yield. The quality is all that could be desirs ,h and the wine, although its manufacture Is yet BIT perimental. Is of A fine flavor. delicious bouque
 and uns surpassed by any native product tab T. beverage. Experiments with tue raisin-gral in have shown that tEtis climate and soil posse le every advantage for the production xna !: 'n this staple article Of commerce.
 Id "Besides the fruits already mentioned, the oI s. ange, lemon, lirre, olive, fig, pomegranate, an TX others of the citrus family, be grown y fully in the valleys of Southern Arizona. Orang as trees now in bearing In the Salt River vslle 'h and at Yuma; while the bananas Is also being cu tvated at the latter place. The Arizona orange
 quality and flavor will compare iavorsbly with tn
 best California.
 IA "In the valleys of the Colorado. the Salt asd th
 Gila rivers, there is room for thousands It Is nc
 too much to say that nowhere within the limits
 this broad Union can be found . more desirabl
 region for the making of A home. No laboriou
 clearing of the land Is required; It lies AlmoI ready for the blow. Trees and shrubbery have S 1' rapid a growth that within eighteen months th
 immigrant can surround his abode with attraction which would require years to mature in less lavore
 climates. Fruits ripen and are ready for rnarke =. full month before the California product. Th
 bright sunshine makes life luxury. and the purs
 dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhAle I, re For tho establishment of colonies such as we hay
 made of Southern California . arden, Arizon m presents unrivsled opportunities Thousands c
 acres, now proftless, be made productiv
 by 4e construction of irrigating ditches, and ther
 Is no investment which assures larger or nor Id permanent returns"
 LAMBS AND 2OIfQ