The Arizona sentinel., 1907-01-23
COLORADO and GILk 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 tbe limits of this l broad union can be found Q 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 ? bode with at- | fractions which would require years to mature | in less favored climates. Fruits ripen and are l ready for the market full month before the
 makes life luxury, and tho pure dry atmoS- | phere brings health to all who inhale it. For
 the establishment of colonies. such as are made I 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 of doing justice to this wonderful bit of country
 Pineapples dates, almonds and walnuts 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 largo and re- l Hunerative returns than is afforded here. With
 9 matchleSS climate where all forms of dis ease known to the damp and vigorous regions | of the east and north gre unknown, where the bright sunshine kiSSe' into bloom und fra grancc 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 ideal f cid for invest
 ment and to homeseekerS yeritaoie paradise In which to settle.
 The soil of these valleys Is among the richest
 oD 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 oyerfiowS 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 grGinS and grasses. Far thcr back there is q rich sandy loan, 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
 litic is the growth of thefruits, cereals and veg etdbleS that the labor of the cu1tivator 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 Q cottonwood Sapling before his door
 and within the year he has shade tree twenty five feet highl Alfalfa cln be cut six times dur ing the season, 0nd it is an actual fHct that
 grape cuttings have produced within eighteen
 months, What state or 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
 mcr begins to plant in November, and by the
 middle Of May his harvest is ready. Roses arc
 in bloom, fruit trees are blooming, and the
 grain fields are a sea of green, when the fields
 of the Eastern farmers ure cOvered1with 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
 q 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 grown in Arizona, and nowhere are they found of better quality
 Resides the products mentioned. these semi
 tropical valleys produce cotton, Sugar-c1ne, 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 adAptability for fruit culture that assures to these valley lands dense pop variety known can be raised in their fruitful soils. The apple, pear, plum, peach. apricot and give generous yield The grape of all va rieties is at home in these sunny valeS. No place in the grape-grow1ng 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 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 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 aye now in bearing In 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.