The Arizona sentinel., 1906-01-31
COLORADO and GILA VALLEYS

In the vallers 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 more desirable re- zion for the making of home No laboroulS 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. bode with at- fractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are ready for the market a full month before the California products The bright sunshine makes life luxury, and the pure dry atmoS- phere brings health to all who inhale 1t. For the establishment of colonies, such as are made
 in Southern California Arizona presents un- rivaled opportunities. Thousands of acres now profitleSS 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 or doing justice to this wonderful bit of country PineappleS. dates almonds and wainutS will do we'll Strawberries, raSpberrieS, blackberrleS, currents goose berries and all varieties Of small fruits car be successfully cultivated. h. decd. Yuma county is not only the natural home of the citrus and Semitroplcal fruits, aS almost every fruit, utplant, grain, grass CT vegetable which can be produced in either troplc 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 a matchleSs climate, where all forms or dls- ease known to the damp 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 of happiness and delight, we can offer to capitalists an ideal field for invest ment and to hOmeSeekerS 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 overf1oWS and change of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has formed a soil of extreme fertility Near the streams 1t is dark ailuvlal mold, well adapted to small grains and grasses. Far ther back there is a rich sandy loam. mellow | and porous, and especially favorable tor fruit l culture. It has been already demonstrated that the productive capacity Of these valleys IS not surpassed by lands of equal area in any l part of the United States. So rapid and pro- life is the growth of thefruitS, cereals and veg ctlbleS that the labor of the cultiVatOr Is re- duced 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 has shade tree twenty | five feet high Alfalfa can be cut six times dur | ing the season, and 1t is an actual fact that grape cuttings have produced within eighteen l months. 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 mer begins to plant in November, and by the middle of May his harvest is ready. Roses are | in bloom. fruit trees arc blooming, and the | grain fields are sea Of green, when the neIdS | of the Eastern farmers are covered with snow and ice.
 Every variety of grains, grasses, fruits and vegetables grown in SemitrOplc zones can be l produccd in the valleys of Arizona. w heat, corn barley, oats and all the small grains give d yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels per acre. Alfalfa. timothy, clover, Bermuda and | all the cultivated grasses grow luxuriantly, the ! vii pipht to the acre each year. Every variety of vegetable raised Tn the United States can be grown in AIlzona and nowhere are they found of better quality
 Besides the products mentioned. these semi | tropical valleys produce cotton, Sug2r-cane, to
 bacco. hemp and rice. With the exception of | the sugar-ca but little attention is paid tc the cultivation of other staples; but 1t has been | demonstrated that the soil and climate arc
 specially adapted to their successful growth Cotton-grOwihg 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 cottoI
 grown in the Gila valley.
 l But it is their addptability for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense pop
 ulation and a prosperous future. Almost every | variety known can be raised in then frutt1u
 soils. The apple, pear, plum peach apricot
 uuince and nectarine are of delicious flavor
 and give generous yield The grape Of all Va
 rietieS is at home in these sunny yaleS. Nt
 place in the grape-growing belt Of the Paclht
 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 bev
 craze. Experiments with the raisin grape have
 shown that this climate and soil possess ever!
 advantage for the production and curing Of thl'
 staple article of commerce.
 '.Besides the fruits already mentioned, tht
 orange, lemon, lime, olive, fig, pomgranate ant
 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 alSt
 being cultivated at the latter place. The Ari
 zona orange in quality and flavor will compar
 favorably with the best California.