Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-06-17
FROM FRUITFUL ARIZONA.
Anders Montensen Tells OF What Gov
eminent is Doing for Farmers.

Mesa, Ariz., citizen sojourning in
Salt Lake as a visitor for some time
is Anders Mortensen, who came prinei-
pally to attend the Mutual Improvement
conference. He reports a steady Increase
of population in the territory, especially
in that part of which his home town
is the center. Mesa and vicinity mum
bers about 1000 persons among its resi-
dents, nearly three-fourths of whom live
in the city proper.
The great boon to central and south
ern Arizona settlers and the inducement
TO home-seekers is the Roosevelt reseI-
voir. 30 miles east of Mesa, probably
the most stupendous undertaking of It's
Kind in the country. BY means of
concrete dam $50 feet high the waters
OF salt river are impounded to such an
extent ms to form a reservoir miles
long and ave miles wide. When once
hlled. the basin would. 1t is estimated.
irrigate 100000 acres of land without
more water flowing into It.
The dam is several hundred feet wide
at the bottom and / Q feet on top, con-
struoted almost entirely of cement A
spillway or overflow is on either side
each 200 feet wide by 20 feet deep, thus
making the dam absolutely safe The
water from the reservoir runs down a
boxed canyon then into a diversion dam
40 miles below, where IL is taken out
In two immense canals, on either side
OF the river, and from these channels
Will run hundreds of miles of lateral
canals and bitches. The diversion dam
would be considered an immense piece
of engineering, but for the overshad-
owing reservoir dam above and pre-
ceding 1t. The whole project will be
completed In from year to a year
and a half
Land in the vicinity of Mesa has
doubled in price in two years said Mr..
Mortensen. Good land close in cannot
+ he. hsA trrlt fat. laQH titstl N Nr
I but the possibilities in the way of pro-
duction well repays for such an outlay
Mesa Is fast becoming great orange
producer. 100 cars having been shipped
from the last crop, including the out
put from Phoenix. The fruit has been
scientifically declared TO be per cent
the trees and their yield are entirely
free from pest of any kind. Pears,
peaches and grapes are also very proht-
able crops. Arizona being wonder IN
the matter of seedless raisins. Garden
stuff, too, grows better nowhere than in
our part of Arizona. and the cantaloupe
industry. which, by the way, is sum
mer production while other vegetables
are grown and marketed while II is yet
dead winter In Utah. Is of immense pro-
portions, From Ave to seven cuttings
Of alfalfa are made each year, and
the milk producer averages 81 per hun,
bred pounds for his milk. BY June !
nearly all the grain WAS harvested and
the yield was bounteous."
~ Mesa inert ~ lhIEs pStiiVH
farm, and Mr.. Mortensen brought to this
city a number of ostrich eggs. highly
polished and adorned with Illustrations
peculiar to Arizona. one-half Of the
shell depicts native life as IL formerly
existed there. while upon the other side
Ia painted changes wrought by the white
man One egg was specially designed
and presented as u souvenir to Presi-
dent Joseph r Smith by the Mutual
IMPROVEMENT associations. Others We're
distributed among Salt Lakers with the
compliments OF the land company at
Mesa.
a number Of Arizona peonle accom-
uaniei Mr. Mortensen and all sneak in
hirh terms Of the treatment accorded
them by officials of the Santa Re rail-
road