The Arizona sentinel., 1904-03-30
COLORADO sse AN.
 GlLA VALLEYS.

In the valleys of the Colorado and Gila rivers there is room for thousands. It is not too much to say that nowhere within the limits of this broad union can be found more desirable re- zion for the making of a home. No laboriouS clearing Of the land is required; 1t lies almost ready for the blow. Trees aud Shrubbery have so rapid growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his abode with at fractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and arc ready for the market full month before the California products The bright sunshine makes life a luxury, and the pure dry atmoS- phere brings health to all who inhale it. For the establishment of colonies such as are r2ade in Southern California, Arizona presents un- rivaled opportunities. Thousands of acres now protitleSS can be made productive by the con struction of irrigating ditcheS and there is no investment which assures larger and more per manent return.
 The statements in this article onYuma county are not exaggerated in fact they fall short of doing justice to this wonderful bit of country PineappleS, dates almonds and walnutS will do we'll Strawberries, raSpberrleS, blackberr1cS entrants, gooseberries and all varieties of small fruits can be successfully cultivated. In deed, Yuma county is not only the natural home of the citrus and semitrOpical fruits, as almost every fruit nut plant, grain, grass or vegetable which can be produced in either tropic of the temperate zones will thrive in the rich and fertile soils.
 With the bright prospects ahead of the town of Yuma and Yuma county there can be no bet ter investment for capital seeking large and re- munerative returns than is afforded here. With 0 matchlesS climate, where all forms of dis ease known to the damp and rigorous regions of the east and north are unknown, where the bright sunshine kiSSe' into bloom and fra grance every form of vegetation, and where the clear days and cool balmy nights are one long continued poem of happiness and delight, we can offer to capitalists an ideal field for invest ment and to homcSeekerS q Veritable paradise ia which to settle
 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 journey to the sea. By constant OverdOwS and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has formed a soil of extreme fertility | Near the streams 1t is a dark alluvlal mold, | well adapted to small grains and grasses. Far ther back there is a rich sandy loam, mellow l and porous, and especially favorable for fruit | culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity of these valleys IS not surpassed by lands of equal area in any | part of the United States. So rapid and pro- life is the growth of thefruitS, cereals and veg etLbles that the labor of the cultivator is re- duced to the minimum, In nearly all of them two ! crops a year can be grown, and vegetation is | one month head of California. The farmer | plants a cottonwood sapling before his door, l and within the year he has shade tree twenty | five feet highI Alfalfa can be cut six times dur | ing the season, and it is an actual fact that grape cuttings have produced within eighteen l months. What state or territory can make such showing? The climate it must be re l membered is nearly perpetual summer. Snow l never falls in these southern valleys. The far l mer DeglnS to DlEQb III NONcLQDCr, uuu Uy GHe middle of May his harvest is ready Roses are | in bloom, fruit trees are blooming, and the | grain fields are a sea of green, when the fields | of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow and ice.
 | Every variety of grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables grown in semitrOpic zones can bt produced in the valleys of Arizona. Wheat corn, barley, oats and all the small grains give | a yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels pel acre. Alfalfa, timothy, clover, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre l each year, Every variety of vegetable raised 1T | the United States can be grown in AIiZona, anC nowhere are they found of better quality.
 "Besides the products mentioned, these semi tropical valleys produce cotton, Sugar-cane, to bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception ol l the sugar-cane, but little attention is paid tC the cultivation of other staples; but 1t has beer l demonstrated that the soil and climate arc | specially adapted to their successful growth l Cotton-growing is no experiment in Arizona
 for it is on record that when the Europeans | first penetrated this region, they found tht Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cottoI grown in the Gila valley.
 | But it is their adaptability for fruit culture
 that assures to these valley lands a dense pop
 ulation and a prosperous future. Almost every variety known can be raised in their fruttfu
 soils. The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot quince and nectarine are of delicious navor l and give generous yield. The grape of all va
 rietieS is at home in these sunny wales. N(
 place in the grape-growing belt Of the Paclh(
 coast can show so prolific yield The qua!1t!
 
 | although it's manufacture is yet experimental l is of a fine flavor, delicious bouquet and un
 surpassed by any native product as table beV craze Experiments with the ralSln grape haVi
 shown that this climate and soil possess ever!
 advantage for the production and curing Of th1 staple article of commerce.
 "BeSides the fruits already mentioned, thu | orange lemon, lime, olive, fig, pomgranate an( | others of the citrus family, can be grown sue cessfully in the valleys of Southern Arizona Orange trees are now in bearing In Salt rive valley and at Yuma; while the banana is als,
 being cultivated at the latter place. The Ari
 zona orange in quality and flavor will compar favorably with the best California.
 ..In the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt ant
 the Gila rivers, there is room for thousands
 It is not too much to say that nowhere within
 the limits of this broad Union can be found ; more desirable region for the making Of home No laborious clearing of the land is re
 ouired; it lies almost ready for the blow
 Trees and shrubbery have so rapid a growtl
 that within eighteen months the immigrant cal
 surround his abode with attractions whicl
 would require years to mature In less faVore'
 climates. Fruits ripen and are ready for mar
 kot full month before the California product
 The bright sunshine is luxury, and the pure
 dry atmosphere brings health to all who 1nhal
 it. For the establishment of colonies such
 have made of Southern California garden
 Arizona presents unrivaled opportunities | Thousands of acres, now prOhtleSS, can D
 made productive by the construction of 1rr1gat
 ing dtcheS, and there is no investment wh1cl
 assures larger or more permanent returns