The Arizona sentinel., 1906-11-28
COL LORADO and GILA VALLEYS

In the valleys of the Colorado ard 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 a more desirable re-
 zion for the making of home. No laborouis
 clearing of the land is required; it lies almost
 ready for the blow. Trees aud shrubbery have
 so rapid a growth that within eighteen months
 the immigrant can surround his g bode with at-
 fractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates Fruits ripen and are ready for the market a fuil 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 in Southern California, Arizona presents un- rivaled opportunities. Thousands of acres now proitleSS 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 well. Strawberries, raspberrieS, blackberries,
 currents, goOSeDerrieS 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 Q maLcQlGSS climate, where all IOrulS or Q1S- ease known to the damp and vigorous regions of the east and north are unknown, where the bright sunshine kiSSe' into bloom and fra grauce 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 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 oYerflOwS and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has formed soil of extreme fertility Near the streams it is dark alluvial mold, we'll adapted to small grains and grasses. Far ther back there is a rich sandy loam, mellow 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 etdbles 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 q cottonwood sapling before his door, and within the year he has shade tree twenty five feet highl Alfalfa can be cut six times dur ing the season, and it is an actual fact that grape cuttings have produced within eighteen monthSi What state or territory can make such a showing? The climate, it must be re- membered. is nearly perpetual summer Snow never falls in these southern valleys. The far IuCT DeSiuS GO pldnG III INONCIuUCI, dnO Dy CHC middle of May his harvest is ready. Roses are in bloom, fruit trees arc blooming, and the grain fields area 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 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 luxurlantly, the f1ao each year, Every variety of vegetable raised in the United States can be grown in Arizona, and 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 or the sugar-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 in 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 Gila valley.
 But it is their adaptability for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense pop ulation and prosperous future. Almost every variety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot quince and nectarine: are of delicious flavor and give a generous yield. The grape of all va rietieS is at home in these sunny wales. No place in the grape-groWing belt Of the Pacinc coast can show so prolific 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 un- surpassed by any native product as table DeV- 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 Suc- cesSfully in the valleys of Southern Arizona. Orange trees are now in bearing h Salt river valley and at Yuma; while the banana is also being cultivated at the latter place. The Ari- zona orange in quality and flavor will compare favOrably with the best California