The Arizona sentinel., 1905-03-29
COLORADO and GILh VALLEYS

In the valleys of the Colorado ard Giia rivers there is room for thousands. It iS Tot too much to say that nowhere within the limits of this broad union can be found a more desirable rc- zion for the making of a home No la5o rouiS clearing of the land is required; it lies almost ready for the plOW. Trees aud Shrubbery have so rapid d growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his - bode with at fractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are ready fer the market a full month before the California products. The bright sunshine l makes life a luxury and the pure dry atrnOS- phere brings health to all who inhalc it. For the establishment of colonies. such as are made in Southern California, Arizona presents un- rivaled opportunities. Thousands of acres HOW proftleSs 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 onYuna county are not eXaggera tel; in fact they fall short of doing justice to this wonderful bit of country PlaeDples, dates, almonds and WalnutS will do well. Strawberries, rdSpberries, blackbcrrics, currents, goOSeDerlies and all varieties Of small fruits car be successfully cultivated h. deed, Yuma county is rot cnly the natural home of the citrus and semitropcal fruits as almost every fruit, nut plant, grain, grass, or vegetable which can be produced ill 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 matchleSS climate, where all forms of dis ease known to the dump and vigorous 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 CT happiness q nd delight, we can offer to capitalists an ideal ieid for invest ment and to homeseekerS a veritable paradise in 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 OVerfiOwS and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has formed a soil of extreme fertility Near the streams 1t is dark alluyial mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Far ther back there is q rich sandy loan, mellow and porous and especially favorable for fruit culture. 1t 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 ctdbleS that the labor of the cultvator is re duccd to the minimum, In nearly all of them two crops year can be grown, and vegetation is one month head of California. The farmer plants a cottonwood Sapling before his door, and within the year he ilaS @ shade tree twenty five feet high Alfalfa Can be cut six times dur ing the season, and it is an actual fact that grape cuttings have produced within eighteen months! " hat state or territory can make such showing? The climate, it must be re- membered is nearly perpetual summer. Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The far mer begins to plant in November, and by the middle of May his harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, frtiit trees are blooming, and the grain fields are d sea of green. when the fields of the Eastern farmers arc covered with snow and ice.
 Every variety of grains. grasses, fruits and vegetables grown in semitropic zones can be 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 per acre. Alfalfa. timothy, clover, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre each year, Every variety of vegetable raised in the United States can. be grown in AIZona, and nowhere are they found of better quality.
 Besides the products mentioned, these semi, tropical valleys produce cotton, Sug2r-cane, to- bacc0 hemp and rice. With the exception of the suSar-cane, but little attention is paid to the cultivation of other staples; but 1t has been demonstrated that the soil and climate are specially adapted to their successful growth. Cotton growing is no experiment ia Arizona, for it is on record that when the Europeans first penetrated this region, they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cotton grown in the Cfila valley.
 'Butit iS their adapta bility for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense pop uatiOn and prosperous future. Almost every variety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. Tie apple, pear plum. peach, apricot, quEce and nectarine, are of delicious flavor, and give generous yield. The grape of all va rieticS is at home in these sunny wales. No place in the grape-groWlng belt Of the Pacific coast can show so prolific a yield. The quality is all that could be desired; and the wine. although it's manufacture Is yet experimental, is of a fine flavor, delicious bouquet and surpassed by any native product table beV craze. Experiments with the raiSin grape have shown that this climate and soil possess every advantage for the production and curing of this staple article of commerce.
 Besides the fruits already mentioned, the orange, lemon, lime, olive. fig pomgranate and others of the citrus family, can be grown sue cesSfuily in the valleys Of Southern Arizona. Orange trees are now in bearing In Salt river valley and a5 Yuma; while the banana is also being cultivated at the latter place. The Ari- zona orange in quality and flavor will compare favorGbly with the best California.
 lin the valleys of the Colorado, the Salt and the Crila 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 q home. No ab0riOuS clearing of the land is re- GuirCd; it lies almost ready for the blow. Trees and ShruODery have so rapid a 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 mar llet full month before the California product. The bright sunshine is q luxury, and the pure, dry atmosphere brings health to all who inhaie it. For the establishment of colonies, such as have made of Southern California a garden, Arizona presents unriValed opportunities. Thousands Of acres, now proftlesS, can be made productive by the construction Of lrrlgat ing ditcheS. and there is no investment which assures larcer CT more Dernanent returns.