The Arizona sentinel., 1906-10-17
COLORADO and GILA VALLEYS

In the valleys of the Colorado ard Gila rivers
 there s room for thousands. It s 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 q home. No laOorOuis clearing of the land is required; it lies almost ready for the blow. Trees aud Shrubbery have so rapid growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his 2; Dode with at- fractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripGH and are ready for the market a full month before the California products The bright sunshine
 makes life a luxury, and the pure dry at9lOS- pbere brings health to all who inhale it. For the establishment of colonies, such as are made Tn southern California Af1Zona presents Un- riyaled opportunities. Thousands of acres now prOhtless can be made productive by the con Strrction of irrlgatlng ditcheS. and there IS no investment which assures larger and more per rl2nent 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 Pineapplcs, dates, almonds and walGutS will do well. Strawberries. raSpberrieS, blacEberrieS currents, gooSe6erries and all varieties of small fruits car 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 tue 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 a matchless climate, where all forms of dis ease known to the damp and vigorous regions of the east and north are unknown where the bright sunshine llisSe' into bloom and fra
 grance every form of vegetation, and where the clear days and cool balny nights are one long
 continued poem Of happiness and delight, we
 can offer to capitalists an ideal field for invest
 mert and to homeSeekerS vertable paradise
 in which to settle.
 The soil of these valleys is among the richest
 on the continent. It is formed of the 1etritUs
 which the streams for ages have brought down
 from their uloun4ain homes in their journey
 to the sea. By constant overilowS and change
 of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has formed q soil of extreme fertility
 Near the streams it iS dark alluvial mold
 well adapted to small grains and grasses. Far
 ther back there is 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 etlbleS that the labor ef tdc cultivator is re- duced to the minimum. In nearly eli of them two crops a year can be grown. and vegetation is one month head of California. The farmer plants 2 cottonwood Sapling before his door, and within the year be has d shade tree twenty five feet high! Alfalfa can be cut six times dur ing the season. and 1t is aH actual fact shat grape cuttings have produced within eighteen monthSi What state or territory can make such 6 showing? The climate. it must be re- neln0eTcd. is nearly perpetual summer. snow never falls in these southern valleys. The far Tner 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 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 cen be produced in the valleys of Arizona. Wheat, corn. barley. oats and all the small grains give yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels per acre. Alfaifa. timothy, clover, Bermuda and all the cultivated grasses grow laxuriantIy, the former giving from eight to ten tons to the acre cach year, Every variety of vegetable raised in the United States can ne grown in Arizona, and nowhere are they found Of better quality
 .'BesiacS the products mentioned. these semi | tropical valleys produce cotton. SlG2r-cane to- bacco, hemp and rice. With the exception Of the Sugar-cane but little attention is paid to the cultivation Of ether StapleS but 1t haS heou demonstrated that the soil and climate are sncci:tilv adapted 70 their successful growth. | Cotton-g:owilg is no experiment in Arizona. for t iS on record that when the Europeans first penetrated this region, they found the Pima Indians wearing fabrics made of cotton grown in the Giia valley.
 '-I3ut 1t is their ad4ptabilitr for fruit culture tb2t aGSpTGS to these valley lands B dense pop Ulati9n and q pfoSperCUS future. Almost every variety known can be raised h their fruitful | soils. f'lre apple, pear, plum. peach. apricot, Guiace and Gectarine. are of delicious flavor, | and give a generous yield The grape of all va | TiellcS Is ct home ln these sunny ViAeS- TO ! place ia the CrapG-grO wing belt of the Pacific | coast can show so prolific yield. Tbe quality | iS G,l that could bo 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- ! craze. Experiments with the raiSin grape have | shown that tn S climate and soil possess every | GdvantaGc for the production and curing or this | staple article of commerce.
 Resides the fruits already mentioned, the | orange, lemon, lirce, olive, fig, pomgranate and | others Of the citrus family, can be grown Suc- | ccssfully n the valleys Of Southern Arizona [ Orange trees are now in bearing In Salt river | valley and at Yuma; while the banana is also |
 
 zOEa orange in quality and flavor will compare | favorably with the best California.