The Arizona sentinel., 1907-07-10
ONCE A MT,iHTY srREAN.

tIEes runs up along the rfVCT. Wnlcn tHefG takes
 a westerly trend aRd from Yuma to Mexico is
 e4lly iew miles,
 ONCE A MIGHTY STREAM.
 -AgcS ago, when Ghe mountain ranges Of Ari-
 zona ard California lowered toward the stars.
 at least twice as high as thoy do now, rains
 were very frequent and came jic;7n in torron:fa
 volumes al along these mountain ridges The
 Colorado River in these r,tst ages was q mighty stream sweeping down debris in tons every scconG Of ita How. Tac Colorado sink was at i that time great inland sea, which spread oyer I the country on both sides oi where the river now runs. As the erosion of winds and storms lanGslides and glaciers wore dovn the mountain ridges year by year, tic great river carried down vast amount of sit, eroslon from tlie
 rocks full of pho4pha9e' lines aud GisintcgrateJ grani6cs. as well as the vegetation along it's banks and t2giS vas Sn deposited f1 what gre now the sinks Of tfe Colorado.
 As the mountain tops were worn down, the rains became less frequent and less in volume but the erosion oE rocks and river banks the trees and vegetable mould torn fro1.l the banks stilI came down and settled into the bottom of tife gfeist inland lake. This geological process went or from age to age to our tiI1e, leaving the Colorado at Yuma Q stream about half a mile wide and being tt the present time about twenty feet deep in the deepest portion.
 It is rot necessary to remind Calfornidns t-as tie Spanish missionaries and explorers called this river the Colorado because of the reddish color Of it's waters IL is tire Colorado u3 in the Grand Canyon in Arizona and down past The Needles. But at this time Of the year. after passing the mouth of the Gila. instead of the red rfger t becomes the brown river. It act ually looks today if 10 per cert of it's flow was silt and only g per cent water. The great weight of this mrss Of liquid iInpregnated by so much solid makes the cutting of of tho flow of the river where the railroad is trying to close the break much more difficult. Once chozed off however the silt wfI settle around the rocks and make solid dam for all time to come.
 RICHES or SOIL WONDERFUL
 But the object of this story is to cell attention once more, and for perhaps the thousandth time, to the riches of the soil along the Colorado or both sides, incident to the depositing Of this mass of de5rls during all the past ages. Going through the country on the Arizona side of the river for several miles below Yuma, one en- counters the same type of country and soil that is found in the Imperial Valley country around Brawley, Calexico and other points west of the river. The fertility Of the black prairie soils of Illinois has astonished people engaged fa agri- | culture for nearly 1O9 years Thefegtiity of tlge valley Of the Nile has been a matter Of history ! for at least c @ years. Those who are familiar ! with Illinois prairie soil and those who know ! what the valley of the Nile Is for agriculture | know that this lower Colorado River region sur passes both of them.
 If you ask farmer along this stretch Of country if the soil is six feet his eyes will open with aStoniShnent at your ignorance. He Will | tell you no one knows whether it is @ feet, 619 or 6C0) feet deep. It is practically without bot tom. IL is so thoroughly well mixed with sand, granite and other rocks that it never bal;oS. It is as easily worked as ii heap of ashes, and responds to cultivation in way that is marvellous.
 CUT TEN CROPS YEARLY
 Arizona has establisaed ar experiment. statioz in the heart of this big valley, which is some twenty four miles long, and in spots ten to twelve miles wide, down o1 the lower level The results Grc wonderful. Last week thcv were cutting @ crop Of aIfalfa on this expert nental farm, and for ten consecutive months they will cut succeeding crops. The only months when tlse crop is not cut here are December and January
 Cotton and tobaeco grow with the greatest uXuriance and this rich alluvial soil will be acted in a very few years as the ideal spot in 5he whole country for dairying, hog raising, the production of poultry and vegetables, which one lesitateS to call carly or late, as they will be perennial. New potatoes will be produced in he middle of January, tomatoes Will be ripe by Inc first of March, ripe grapes will be gath ,red in the early days of May, and apricots by he middle Of the same month. Chickens and turkeys flourish there in the winter time beyond III experience anywhere else.
 The rainfall is exceedingly light and comes { ,nly three or four times in whole wi; te With ali abundance of green alfalfa and vege- ables in the dry and not overheated climate prevailing in the winter months, chickens are , rec from the disaases taat Tna77e their raising