The Arizona sentinel., 1907-01-16
COLORADO and GILA VALLEYS

In the valleys of the Colorado ard Gila rivers l there IS room for thousands It is not too much to say that nowhere within tbe 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 TOT the blow. Trees aud shrubbery have so rapid a growth that within eighteen months the immigrant can surround his 9 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- phere brings health to all who inhalei 1t. For the establishment of colonies. such are made in Southern California, Arizona presents un- rivaled opportunities Thousands of acres now kprotitleSs can be made productive by the con- StructiOn of irrigating ditehes, 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 andrwalnuts will do well. Strawberries, raSpberrieS, 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, 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 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 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 honeSeekers veritable paradise
 in which to settle.
 on the continent. It is formed of the detrituS
 which the streams for ages lave brought down
 from their. mountain homes in their journey
 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 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 Cor 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 the'fruits, cereals and veg
 etLbleS 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 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 it is an actual fact that
 grape cuttings have produced within eighteen
 months, What state 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 a 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 Semitropie zones can 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. Alfalfa timothy, clover, Bermuda and 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 can be growr in Arizona, and nowhere are they found of better quality.
 Resides the products mentioned. these semi tropical valleys produce cotton, sugar-cane, to- baccO, hemp and rice. With the exception of 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-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 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 their fruitful soils. The apple, pear, plum, peach, apricot, quince and nectarine. are of delicious flavor and give q generous yield. The grape of all va rietieS is at home in these sunny wales. No place in the grape-growing belt of the Pacific 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 every advantage for the production and curing of this l 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 are now in bearing In Salt river l 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 | with the best California.