The Arizona sentinel., 1899-12-30
FRUIT CULTURE.

FRUIT CULTURE. ject great interest ct present. and will no doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County. Tho remarkable results that have sprung from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- mcnstrated 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 careful attention. Experiments have been made, with care, and facts in regard to the culture of different kinds of fruits have been collected which cannot fal to convince even tbe most skept ical, ofs5s Ondcrful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit. growing, and which must lead to 8 large and varied production ot the most rsmunerstiye character.
 The Commissioner of immigration in his report published in 1886, writes as follows of the rich valley of the Gila, Colorado and Salt rivers
 The soil of these valleys is among 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 journs to the sea- By constant overlows and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of ,xtreme fertility Near ths streams it is 8 dark Illuyial mold, we'll adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is a 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 aEd vegetables that the labor c the cultivstor is reduced to the minimum. Tn nearly all of them two crops a year can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead | Of California. The farmers plants cottonwood sapling beforehis 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 an actua fact the grape cuttings have produced within eigh teen months! What State or Territory can mak. such showing? The climate, it must be remem bered, is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The farmer begin to plant in November, and by the middle of May N's harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, frui trees are blossoming, and the grain folds re ssl of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmer | are covered with snow and ice
 | Every variety grLns. grasses, fruits and vege | tables grown in the temperate and semi-gropi l zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona Wheat, corn barley, oats ard all the small grain give yield of from twenty five to fifty bushels t the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda an, all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, tn former giving from eight to ten tons to the acr each year, Every variety of vegetable raised il | the United States can be grown iD Arizona, ant nowhere are they found better quality
 l tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane, to bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception of tn sugarcane but little attention is paidto the cuIti vation of other staples but it has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate are specially adapte to their successful growth. Cotton growing is n experiment in Arizona, for it is on record tha when the Europeans first penetrated this region they found the Pima Indians wearing fabric made of cItton grown in the Gila valley.
 'But it is their adaptabilIty for fruit cultur that assures to these valley lands dense popula tion and aprosperous future. Almost every var iety known be raised in their fruitful soils Tn apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, qunce and nec 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 I SOooS yield. The quality is all that could be desired and the wine, although it's manufacture is yet ea perimental. is of fine flavor, delicious bouquet andzsns arpassed by any native product as tabl beverage. Experiments with the raisin-grap have shown that this climate and soil posses every advantage for the production and curing this staple article of commerce.
 "Besides the fruits already mentioned, tho ol ange, lemon, lime, olive, fig, pomegranate, an others of the citrus family, be grown success fully in the valleys of Southern Arizona. Orang trees are now in bearing in the Salt River valle and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul tivated at the latter place. The Arizona orange Ii quality and flavor will compare fsvorably with tn best California
 "In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and tn Gila rivers, there is room for thousands It is no too much to say that nowhere within the limits c this broad Union can be found more desirabl region for the making of home. No laboriou clearing of the land is required; it lies almos ready for the blow. Trees and shrubbery have 8 rapid growth that within eighteen months tn immigrant surround his abode with attraction which would require years to mature in less iavore climates. Fruits rpen and are ready for marke full month before the California product. Tn bright sunshine makes life luxury. and the pure dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhale Il For the establishment of colonies, such as we hay made of Southern California arden, Arizon presents unrivaled> opportunities Thousands c acres, now profitless, be made productiv by Ae construction of irrigating ditches, and ther Is no investment which assures larger or nor permanent returns"