The Arizona sentinel., 1901-05-01

nish all the water needed and q good deal more It would take no great skill in engineering ana not very large sum of money either to con struct reservoirs or lakes in which to receive and store the overflow. There are natural basins or dry lakes into which by simple means the water could be conveyed.
 The lands situated in and about the Gna val lev may conveniently be classified as follows: First. the bottom or overflow lands ?, slightly higher valleys. lands subject to no overflow; 3 mesas or sloping uplands; i, high but compar- atively level plains: 5, mountains.
 The bottom lands as well those slightly higher. stretch along either side of the Gila and Colorado rivers for varying distances north ana south. untdR they meet the more elevated mesaS which rise from the valley. The bottoms lie directly along the river and are subject to 1nun- dation annually. Immediately following the subsistence of the waters the local Indians were in former times accumtomed to plant corn, numplxirs melons and other vegetables. These Snring into maturity with startling rapidlty, rarely failing to yield bountifully without addi- tional irrigation. The custom is occasionally followed by resident farmers to this day, with eyceI1ent results although but single crop can he harvested These bottoms form 9 per cent of the valley lands and may without difficulty he secured from further invasion by system of diles and leyees if deemed necessary and desir- able The soil throughout the valley is a rich brownish yellow sandy loam. generous, mellow porous, with a depth ranging from to 20 feet the whole resting upon underlying strata of gravel and sand that readily carry from the surface such excess of water as might otherwise prove injurious to seeds and growing plants. | formation of these lands. the following from the report of the citizens executive committee is sufficiently 1 comprehensive:
 There is unmistakable geologic evidence that | all this land during some prehistoric period was covered with water, constituting ln fact an enormous lake the surfaces rising Tn places to upper portion of the outskirting mesaS The soll | lying at the bottom was made by the washing and erosion of the surrounding mountains The
 soda from the decomposed vegetation, the mag nesia and lime from the magneslum-l1me torma' l tions and the potash from the decompoSlng
 granite rocks were carried with unceaSing re-
 gularity year by year, until deposited ln the
 bottom Eventually upon the disappearance oi | the lake the rich fertile alluvium, than Whlcn l there is none better, was left to reward the
 efforts of the modern husbandmen- But nature
 not vet satisfied with her handiwork, directed the accumulation of the detritus washed Iron
 the distant mountainous region. As result
 the soil is extremely rich in the elements oes
 adapted to thorough fertilization for 1t contains
 a certain amount of organic matter whlch' ol
 decomposing, further enhances its agrlcultura
 value. By constant overflow and change
 channel the deposits are evenly distributedoV
 considerable areas, the process contlnulns
 through centuries These soils are further en
 riched by decomposed organic contributions
 Including the SandStoneS marlS, hmeStoneS
 Shales etc. Besides the ingredients mentloneu
 a chemical analysis shows that Iron, ammoHla
 and phosphoric acid enter into its composltloi
 in the proportions best adapted to add to lC
 productive qualities. The extremes Of tempers
 ture are somewhat greater than on the hlsu lands but there is also more moisture.
 ? ''The bottom lands are so easily cuItlVaIe , | that it is not uncommon, after clearing the SUI face from the brush and Stubble, to pass oN e the ground with an ordinary cultivator slngI . | time afterwards sowing to grain and grass. Il
 three or four months large crops are harvested the soil meanwhile being entirely innocent c the blow. All plants seem to grow rapidly , maturing remarkably early. Indications Of al | cient ditcheS are apparent throughout the va , lev, showing plainly the existence of lrrlgatlo works by the ancient AZtecS. CurlouSly enougf in certain instances, the Identical routes 0
 these long extinct people have been followed 10 codSideratable distances by their modern Su' ? oeCSorS