The Arizona sentinel., 1906-10-10
COLORADO 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 car, be found more desirable re-
 zion for the making of home. No laborouis
 clearing of the land is required; 1t lies almost
 ready for the blow. Trees aud shrubbery have
 so rapid growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his q bode with at fractions which would require years to mature in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are
 ready for the market full month before the California products The bright sunshine
 makes life luxury, and the pure dry atmos- pherc brings health to all who inhale 10. For
 the establishment of colonies, such as are nude In Southern California, Arizona presents un- rivaled opportunities. Thousands of acres now profitiess can be made productive by the con struetion of irrigatinR ditches, and there Is no investment which assures larger and more per mnnent return.
 The statements in this article onYu una 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, rnSpberries, blackberrieS. currents, gooseberries and all varieties Of small fruits can be successfully cultivated. h. deed. Yuma county is not only the natural home of the citrus and semitropical fruits, ns 1 almost every fruit, nut.plant, grain. grass. or 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 of dis ease known to the damp and vigorous regions 1 of the east and north are unknown, where the bright sunshine kisse' into bloom and fra grance every form of vegetation, and where tho l clear days and cool balmy nights are one long continued poem of happiness and delight, VIC 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 I which the streams for ages have brought down | from their mountain homes in their journey 1 to the sea. By constant overfowS and change | of channel, the deposit of this rich vegetable matter has formed a soil of extreme fertility | Near the streams 1t 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- l life is the growth of thefruitS, cereals and veg etables that the labor of the cultivatOr is re-
 duced to the minimum, In nearly all of them two crons year can be grown and vegetation is onS month head of California. The farmer plants cottonwood sapling before his door, and within the year he has a 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
 months! What state or territory can make such a showing? The climate, 1t must be re-
 mem bered. is nearly perpetual summer: snow
 never falls In these southern valleys The far mer begins to plant in November and by the l middle of May his harvest Is ready. Roses are 1 in bloom. fruit trees are blooming. and the
 grain fields are sea of green, when the helds l 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, 1 corn barley, oats and all the small grains give
 yield of from twenty-five to fifty bushels per
 acre. Alfalfa, timothy, clover. Bermuda ana
 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 con be grown in Arizona, and l nowhere are they found of better quality "Besides the products mentioned, these semi | tropical valleys produce cotton, Sugar-canc, to- l bacco hemp and rice. With the exception of l the sugar.cane, but 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-gr growing is no experiment in Arizona, l for 1t 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 fefs their addpta bility for fruit culture l that assures to these valley lands dense pop ulation and a 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, l and give a generous yield. The grape of all va
 rieties is at home in these sunny vaies. NO place in the grape-grOwing belt of the Pacific coast can show so prolific yield. The quality 1 is all that could be desired; and the wine, 1 although it's 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 this climate and soil possess every 1 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. 1 Orange trees are now in bearing In Salt river valley and at Yuma; while the banana is also
 being cultivated at the latter place. The Art zona orange in quality and flavor will compare l favorably with the best California.