The Arizona sentinel. [volume] (Arizona City [Yuma], Yuma County, A.T. [Ariz.]) 1872-1911, 1905-01-18
COLORADO and G!Lk VALLEYS

In the valleys of the Colorado ard ella rivers
there is room for thousands 1t is not too much
/ to say that nowhere within the limits OF this
broad union can be found Il more desirable re-
gion for the making of home. No labOriouS
clearing of the land is required; it lies almost
ready for the plow. Trees apd Shrubbery have
so rapid a 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 are
ready for the market Il full month before the
California products. The bright sunshine
makes life u luxury. and the pure dry atmoS-
pbere brings health to all who inhale it. For
the establishment of colonies such as arc made
in Southern California. Arizona presents uns
rivaled opportunities. Thousands Of acres row
prOitleSS can be made productive by the con-
Struction of irrigating GitcheS and there is no
Investment which assures larger and more per-
m0ncnt 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
PileapplcS dates. almonds and walnutS will do
well. Strawberries, raSpberrlcS DlackbcrrieS,
currantS, gOOSeGcrrieS and all varieties Of
small fruits can be successfully cultivated. In
deed, Yumd county IS not only the natural
home OF the citrus and Scmitropical fruits, as
almost every fruit, nut, plant grain. grass. or
vegetable which can be produced i'll either trOpc
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 CEpltal seeking large and re-
muueratiYe returns than is Afforded here. With
u fnatchlesS 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
GRANGE every form of vegetation, ana where the
clear days and cool bulmy nights are one long
continued poem OF happiness ard delight, We
can Offer TO capitalists an ideal field for invest
ment and to hOmeSeel1erS yeritAble paradise
in which to settle
TIE soil of these valleys is among the richest
on the continent. 1t 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 oTerfow9 and change
Of channel. the deposit of this rich vegetable
matter has formed soil of extreme fertility
Near the streams it Is "a dark alluvial mold,
we'll adapted to small grains and grasses Far
ther back there is u rich sandy l0arf. mellow
and porous. and especially favorable for fruit
culture. 1t HIS been already demonstrated
that the productive capacity of these valleys is
not surpassed by lands OF equal Grea in any
part of the United States. So rGpid and pro-
life is the growth of thef fruits cereals and veg
ctLbicS that the labor of the cu}tivator is
duced to the minimum, In nearly all of them two
crops "a year can he grown and vegetation is
one month head of California. The farmer
plants cottonwood SaFing before his door;
ana within the year he has d 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! What 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. fruit trees are blooming, and the
grain fields are q sea of green. Wlien the fields
of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow
and ice.
Every variety Gf grains. grasses, traits and
vegetables grown i'll semitrOpie yOneS can be
produced III the valleys Cf Arizona Wheat,
corn, barley. oats and all the small grains give
j yield of from twenty-five TO fifty bushels per
acre. Alfalfa. timothy, clover, Bermuda and
all the cultivated GRASSES grow luxuFjantlF, the
former giving from eight to ten tens to tie agre
each year. Every variety OF vegetable f;f$eG in
the United States can he grown in Athens; and
nowhere are they found OF better Quai;ty.
Besides the products mentioned these semi
tropical valleys produce GOTTEN, Sugar-cane to.
bacco. hemp and rice, With Tire exception os
the Sugar-caGc. bat little attention is paid to
the cultivation of other staples; but it has been
demonstrated that the soil and climate are
specially adapted to their successful growth.
Cotton-growilg is no experiment in Arizona
for it is on record thai WREN the Europeans
first penetrated this region they found the
Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cotton
grown in the G LA valley.
But it /. their addrta 5iity for fruit culture
that assures to these valley lands u dense pop
variety known can be raised in their fruitful
soils. The apple. pear, plum peach. apricot,
ounce and nectarfne are Of delicious f12vor.
ard give n generous yield. The Crane OF all va
rietieS is at home in these sunny wales. No
place in the grape growing belt CT the Pacific
coast can show so prolific yield. TIE quality
is all that could be desired: and the wine,
although its manufacture Is yet experimental,
is of fine flavor delicious bouquet, and un-
surpassed by any native product as a table bev-
erage. Experiments with the ralSln 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
ceSSfully in the valleys of Southern Arizona.
Orange trees arc now in bearing In Salt river