The Arizona sentinel., 1901-01-09


 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.
 l The lands situated in and about the Gia 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 rplandS; 1, high but compar- ! Gtivciy level plains: ,, mountains.
 ! The bottom lands. as well as those slightly higher stretch along either side Of the Gila and | Colorado rivers for varying distances north and south until they meet the moro elevated mesaS 1 which rise from the valley. The bottoms lie
 directly along the river and are subject to inun-
 dation annually. Immediately following the
 subsistence of the waters the local Indians were
 in former times accumtomed to plant corn,
 pumpkins melons and other vegetables. These
 spring into maturity with startling rapidity,
 rarely failing to yield bountifully without addi- tional irrigation. The custom is occasionally | followed by resident farmers to this day, with | excellent results although but single crop can | be harvested These bottoms form D per cent ! of the valley lands, and may without difficulty
 be secured from further invasion by system of dilses and lereeS, if deemed necessary and deSir- able. The soil throughout the valley is rich brownish yellow sandy loaIn. generous mellow, porous, with a depth ranging from to 20 feet, the whole resting upon underlying strata of gravel end sand that readily carry from the surface such excess of water might otherwise prove injurious to seeds and growing plants. Concerning the geological formation of these lands the following from the report of the citizens executive committee is sufficiently comprehensive:
 There is unmistaizable geologic evidence that all this land during some prehistoric period was covered with water, constituting in fact an enormous lake, the surfaces rising in places to upper portion Of the outskrting meSaS. The soil 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 magnesiumlime forma- tionS, and the potash from the decompoSing granite rocks were carried with unceaSing re- gularity year by year, until deposited in the bottom. Eventually upon the disappearance of the lake. the rich fertile alluvium, than which there is none better. was left to reward the efforts of the modern huSbardInen. But nature. not yet satisfied with her handiworlI directed the accumulation Of the detTituS washed from the distant mountainous region. As result, the soil is extremely rich in the elements best adapted to thorough fertilization, for it contains a certain amount of organic matter which, on decomposing, further enhances it's agricultural value. By constant overflow and change of channel the deposits are evenly distributed over considerable areas, the process continuing through centuries These soils are further en- riched by decomposed organic contributions, including the sandStoneS marlS, limeStoneS, shales, etc Besides the ingredients mentioned, a chemical analysis shows that iron, ammonia. and phosphoric acid enter into its composition in the proportions best adapted to add to its productive qualities. The extremes of tempera- turc are somewhat greater than on the high lands, but there is also more moisture.
 ''The bottom lands are so easily cultivated that it is not uncommon after clearing the sur face from the brush and stubbie, to pass over the ground with an ordinary cultivatOr single time, afterwards sowing to grain and grass. In three CT four months large crops are harvested the soil meanwhile being entirely innocent ot the blow All plants seem to grow rapidly, maturing remarkably early. Indications of an cient ditcheS are apparent throughout the val ley, showing plainly the existence of irrigation works by the ancient AZtecS. CuriOuSly enough, in certain instances, the identical routes of these long extinct people have been followed for codsideratable distances by their modern sue ceSSors."