The Arizona sentinel., 1900-06-13

2 l tor in arbOriculture when its economic ? qualities are better known As to the fig, the most desirable variety has vet to be determined. T1e~ true White Smyrna would probably prove the best.
 and that it's yield would be crCdigious goes without saying. for the trees will
 bear three crops annually. This asser-
 tt0n is based upon actual productive re-
 suits of the Mediterranean white fig
 that is known not to be the true
 Smyrna.
 ''The grape seiz5s upon what is prof
 fered to it. and becomes hardy, thrifty.
 and adaptable. The choice naturally
 inclines to the earliest for table pur-
 pOs5s. What those varieties should be
 is in process of experiment upon a scale
 that will soon solve the question, put
 it may he said that all kinds mature
 from three to four weeks before they
 do in California. They attain great
 size, cluster tightly in punches, are
 firm and highly colored, and possess Iaxquisite flavor.
 Heavy wines and brandies of an ex-
 cellent character can be made; but with
 light wines the reverse is true. for everything apparently goes to saccha-
 rine For ripening wines the climatic conditions are admirable. A quantity of common white wine, costing 45 cents
 per gallon, was brought here from Cali
 fOrnia by water years ago, and being
 found unstable, was placed in cellars
 and it's history almost forgotten. Nine.
 years later the wine was brought to
 light, when it was discovered that it Eresembled brown sherry, rich in bou- quet, smooth as oil, and delicious to the taste. It was carefully drawn from the casks. bottled. and sold at S2. 50 per bot tle
 The olive grows luxuriantly, and will
 in the future become a most profitable
 investment. Whatever it's characteris-
 tics are elsewhere, here it requires
 water and cultivation-the more water
 the better The mulberry natures rap
 idly, and when firmly rooted vigorously
 withstands great heat and lack of wa
 ter. It produces an early, large, and
 sweet fruit, and is a highly desirable
 tree to plant along the canals for it's
 grateful shade. The plum can easily
 be raised from seed. It fruits early,
 though so far the product does not com-
 mend itself particularly for table use;
 but as a stock upon which to graft
 prunes or even superior varieties of
 plums, il is everything to be desired
 An experiment in this line with the
 best prune known in California showed
 a growth of 23 inches in forty days
 from the insertion of the graft. The
 date has passed beyond conjecture. The
 plant produces magnificently, and it's
 cultivation will be prosecuted more ex-
 tensively this winter than ever before.
 The soil is in every way suitable and
 with occasional cultivation and intelli-
 gent irrigation a quick and early
 growth is assured. Apricots and
 peaches have been tested. They mature
 rapidly, bear choice fruit, and are all
 ways healthy. giving flattering irerfea-
 ti0ns- -nf-ftttttes= =stIeecez-z
 'As facilities increase, other fruit
 trees will be introduced, and with the
 same care that is bestowed upon them
 elsewhere will so soon as they become accHmated, come to yield materially in advance of the place from whence they come The field is too large to admit of Lextended comment at this time, but il
 may suffice to briefly refer to certain other products which may in time equal if not sUrpass, fruit growing as com mercial proposition as for example, | cotton, wild hemp, ramie, sugar, sugar beets, etc.
 l if not surpass. ramie. sugar. sugar
 beets. etc.
 ', Cotton has been tried from time to | time for years, with varying, but al ways satisfactory esults, and even then f without care. If watered regularly, it
 becomes a large bush, and if properly r pruned a tree being in flower, boil, and 5 cotton the year round. These bushes = and trees have in instances borne $ steadily for fourteen years, the staple $ 9f course diminishing in course of time; Il but at ten years it is not inferior to the n average staple of western India. a Wild hemp is a textileplant indigen- S ous to the country. It grows freely and 5. luxuriantly to a great height, often av- Y eraging from 15 to IT feet. It has long : strong fiber and is frequently worked l. into nets and fishing lines by the Yuma q Indians. Convulsive attempts have been = made to utilize this plant. with the .- practical result of fixing it value 2 among the fibers used in the manufac- ,. tura of cordage at about $160 per ton of e 2O0O pounds fter proper bleaching S. and manipule tion g. beautifuf fiber has l. been produced and manufactured into ,e coIored fabrics, taking the dye and re- et taining the elasticity and luster exactly is as we'll as tho fabrics of true flax and m ramie It seeds itself annually, and se imme diately following the OverfiOws of d the Colorado river. takes possession of .e every nook, corner, and open area, to h. the exclusion of everything -elsez- It 9e covers not less than 100 square miles in Fl an unbrOken stretch commencing near ,d the boundary line of the Gadsden pur- ,d chase and extending sOuthWard along i the river to Hardy's Colorado, below
 the point where the rising tides of the q Gulf of California force back the flow 1s of the Colorado river proper. m Sugar cane has been fairly tested he with the Sonora cane. The growth was VI surprisingly great, and the percentage to l of juice much increased over the yield ot at the place from which it was Origi- n- nally brought. A superior quality of S. pianoche and sirup were manufactured 4 the price realized leaving handsome .a+ margins for profit. The capriciousnesS a- of the water supply, as in the case ot nc ramie, dissolved the industry, and il er has not since been revived.
 n ''The sugar beet promises better re ar suits for the future than many of thj nc products already mentioned as prOmi he nent in the same direction. Samples no
 fully matured polarized IT per cent ,a- With proper cultivation, the percentag' .o- can be raised to from 70 to 25, and be TO sides will harvest two crops each year Ire CONCLUSION-I the valleys of tn