The Arizona sentinel., 1900-01-24
FRUIT CULTURE.

FRUIT CULTURE.
 Fruit production throughout Arizona is sub iect great interest at present, and will no doubt, be the principal industry in Yuma County |. The remarkable. results that have sprung from very superficial and imperfect culture has de- nonstrated 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 fail to convince, even tbe most skept ical, ofthJ Onderful superiority of Yuma County over Southern California in fruit growing, and which must lead to large and varied production, l of the most remuneratve 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 thesc valleys is among the richest on the continent It is formed of the dstritus which the streams for ages have brought down from their mountain homes in their journeY to the sea. By constant oyerhows and change of channel tho deposit of this rich vegetable matter has form ed soil of extreme fertility, Near ths streams it is a dark Llluvial mold, we'll adapted to small grains and grasses. Farther back there is a rich sandy losm, 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 u any part of the United States. So rapid and prolific
 Is the growth of the fruits, cereals and vegetable: that the labor of the cultivator is reduced to the | minimum. In nearly all of them two crops 8 year l can be growth, and vegetation is one month ahead | of California. The farmers plants . cottonwood saping before his door, and within the year he ha. shade tree twenty five feet high! Alfalfa caR be cut six times during the season. and 1t is an actua fact the grape-cuttings have produced within eigh 1 teen months! What State or Territory can mak. | such showing2 The climate, 1t must be remem bered, is nearly perpetual summer. Snow nevoI falls in these southern valleys The farmer begin. | to plant in November, and by the middle of May h's harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees are blossoming, and the grain fields re . sts | of green, when the fields of the Eastern farmer, l are covered with snow and ice.
 Every variety grains. grasses, fruits and vegs | tables grown in the temperate and semirropic | zones can be produced in the valleys of Arizona Wheat, corn barley, oats ard all the small grsini give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels tC | the acre. Alfalfa, clover, timothy, Bermuda and | all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the l former giving from eight to ten tons to the acrs each year, Every variety of vegetable raised il | the United States can be grown ip Arizona, and nowhere are they found better quality.
 Upasidaa he nroducka rnankionad kbaaa aav,,;
 tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar cane, to- | bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception of the sugarcane but little attention is paid to the cult
 vaton of other staples but 1t has been demonstrat ed that the soil and climate are specially adapted | to their successful growth. Cotton-growing is nc | experiment ia Arizona, for it is record that | when the Europeans first penetrated this region they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cation grown in the Gila valley.
 "But it is their adaptabilIty for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense popula- | tion and aprosperous future. Almost every var. iety known be raised in their fruitful sols The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quinoe and nee tarine, are of delicious flavor, and give gen. l erous yield. The grape of all varieties isa home In these sunny vaes.. Nc place in the grape-grew. ing belt of the Pacific Coast show prolific a yield. The quality is all that could be desired and the wine, although it's manufacture is yet ex- perimsuta, is of . fine flavor, delicious bouquet and uns arpassed by any native product as table beverage. Experiments with the raisin- grape every advantage for the production and curing of this staple article of commerce.
 Besides the fruits already mentioned, the or ange, lemon, lime, olive, fig, pomegranate, and others of the citrus family, be grown success fully in the valleys of Southern Arizona Orange trees are now in bearing in the Salt River valley and at Yuma; while the bananas is also being cul- tivated at the latter place. The Arizona orange in quality and flavor will compare favorabIy with the best California.
 "In the valleys of the Colorado the Salt and the Gila rivers, there is for thousands. It is not too much to say that nowhere within the limits of this broad Union can be found 6 more desirable region for the making of home. No laborious clearing of the land is required; it lies almost ready for the blow. Trees and shrubbery have so rapid growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his abode with attractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are ready for market 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 a arden, Arizona presents unrivaled opportunities Thousands of acres, now proftless, can be made productive by construction of irrigating ditches, and there is no investment which assures larger or more returns"