The Arizona sentinel., 1908-12-16

the Colorado on both sides, incident to the
 depositidg of this mass of debris during all the past ages. Going through the country
 on tue Arizona side Of the river, for several
 miles below Yuma, one encounters the same 1 type Of country and soil that is found in the
 Imperial Valley country around Braw'ey, Calexico and other points west of the river
 The fertility of the black prairie soils of Hi
 nois has astonished people engaged in agri-
 culture for nearly one hundred years. The
 fertility Of the valleys Of the Nile has been
 matter of history for at least coco years. Those
 who are familinr with Illinois prairie soil, and those who know what the valley of the ! Nile is for agriculture. khow that this lower Colorado River region surpasses both of them. l If you ask a farmer along this stretch of country if the soil is six feet, his eyes will ! open with astonishn1ent ai your ignorance.
 He will tell you no one knows whether it is
 50 feet, 69e or 8,CO0 feet deep It is practically
 without bottom. It is 50 thoroughly well mixed with sand, disintegrated granite and other rocks that it never breaks. It is as easily worked as a heap of ashes, and re- spends 10 cultivation in 8 way that is mar velous
 CUT SEVEN CROPS YEARLY.
 Arizona has established an experiment station in the heart of this big valley, which is some twenty-four miles long, and in spots ten to twelve miles wide, down On the lower level. The results are wonderful. Last week they were cutting crop sf alfalfa on this ex- perimental farm, and for seven consecutive months they will cut succeeding crops. The only months when the crop IS not cut here are December and January.
 Cotton and tobacco. grow with the greatest luXuriance and this rich alluvial soil will be noted in a very few years as the ideal spot in the whole country for dairying, hog raising, the production Of poultry and vegetables, which one hesitates to call early or late, as they will be perennial. New potatoes will be produced in the middle of January, tomatoes will be ripe by the first of March, ripe grapes will be gathered in the early days of May, and apri- cots by the middle of tue same month. Chic kens and turkeys flourish there in the winter time beyond all experience anywhere else.
 The rainfall is exceedingly light and comes only three or four times in a whole winter. 1 With an abundance Of green alfalfa and veget- able the dry and not overheated climate prevailing in the winter months, chickens arc free from the disease that make their raising difficult elsewhere. There is no spot in South ! ern Illinois or Missouri so adapted to the pro- duction of corn as this valley along the Cobra do River. With alfalfa and corn, the butter, | cheese, eggs poultry and pork to be raised on q twenty-acre farm will amaze thosek who have the experience in American agricultural affairs l
 The winter climate around Yuma is q thing so intoXicatingly SalubriouS That no words car describe it. Those deserts Of America, as we have regarded them heretofore, seem to defy i the Ills that human nature elsewhere is 50 | prone to contract and suffer from. The atmos i phcrc is as dry as punk, the skies cloudleSsly | clear, the air mild as possible, and every i breath seems to be an inspiration of new life. i The United States has an experiment farm on 1 the mesa just on the outskirts of Yuma. Here l
 ults even more marvellous than in the valley ! arc produced. Down on the lower levels there ! are little nips Of frosty mornIugs occasionally | during December and January, but on the mesa | the breath of frost never touches the most del ! jcate vegetation. Oranges grown al the Feder- | al experiment. station are unsurpassed in their ! delicious quality.
 Yuma is busy, up-to-date town. The more modern Improvements consist of several blocks ! Of attractive brick buildings a three-Story post i office building, also of brick, and many other nice structures. Among some of the greater | improvements which are being made are a | I55 900 school building d S15.C00 ice plant, a | fine clubhouse for the railroad employees, a larger passenger depot, and the probability of | a new court house to cost $15, ,000. There is con siderable business done there, but the people i have not begun to awaken to the vast poSSibili i ties of the place They should at once erect all ; up-to-datc tourist hotel. It should have ample grounds around it and be planted with all ! kinds of tropical vegetation. If atmosphere were only transportable like mineral waters | and one could send consignEertS of this Yuma . winter air to the East, the inspiration of it's | hea!th-giving qualities would bring 25,000 i tourists every winter to the banks of the Colo rado River.
 Yuma needs only 10 uIlcc known its climatic ; attractions in the parts of the East swept every year by blizzards and snowstorms to attract city full every winter. The fertility of the val . lcy below will almost make itself known with i cut enort ou the part of the people But with valley full of intelligent and industrious rural . population, producing fruits and vegetables, poultry, eggs fresh milk and fragrant butter, | Yuma should be one Of the most delightful winter resorts in ali America. There is every thing there to furnish tourists with thc most