Arizona republican., 1908-04-01
OBSERVATIONS
Of One Who Has Been in the Mesa
 District For Years.
Mesa. Arizona, March -. 19

ducing section in the world and ii
 now remains for some one, by way of
 comparison (and the tash should not be
 a hard one) to show that the broad lev
 el and fertile acres of Salt River val
 ley. Arizona. and especially the lincOm-
 parable Mesa lands in our immediate
 vicinity are capable of yeilding more
 wealth per acre for labor expended
 than any other section of like area in
 thh world. For the information of
 the New Conner and others who are
 not so new. and by way of illustrating the great productiveness of our soil. and incidentally to give a little early history of the town, il may be well to call attention to the fact that Mesa was once a vast orchard and vineyard:
 that stone cast either north or south. from any point on Main street would scarcely fail to light in a grove of fruit. The early settlers who laid out and built homes in Mesa invariably planted their city lots to trees and vines. thinking to have a small family orchard and vineyard. but in an in credibly short time the grape vines and fruite trees commenced yielding in such an abundance that, owing to NAlt letCh Ol SilippiilE IdNlilllcS lOIS Ol table grapes, apricots, peaches, plums. figs and other fruits, of incomparable flavor. perished and so it happened that these vineyards and orchards that had yielded so nobly, with prac- tically no cultivation or care except to turn on the magic water. gradually gave way 10 broad fields of grain and alfalfa, fields where hundreds of fine horses. cattle. hogs and sheep enjoyed the luxuriant growth of alfalfa in such quantities as can be grown only in this great valley.
 Conditions now are changed; We have the railroads at our doors, ready tO haul our fruits. with lightning like speed. to the ever increasing mining camps of our great mineral producing territory. to Mexico and all parts of the United States. But the old timers have found it SO easy to build bank account from the growth and sale of alfalfa, grain. horses, cattle, hogs. sheep, poultry, butter and eggs. that the more pleasant and profitable occu- patton of fruit growing has been sadly neglected and it remained for our Eastern and California brothers to im-
 
 our oranges and grapes. which sold last season on the eastern markets for from two to three times as much as fruit of the same kinds from elsewhere From the small family orchards and vineyards that remained after the completion of the railroad from Mari copa to Phoenix. we picked and pack ed various fruits which we hauled to Tempe and in this way reached many of the mining camps in the Territory and in New Mexico. as well as the City of Mexico where we had a good market The amount of fruit that could be handled under these condi- tions, however, was so small as com pared with the yield. that the older orchards continued to be neglected and to go unirrigated. until now all that We have left is the oranges, figs and pomegranates that grow wild on thc ditch banks and the Thompson seed less raisin. It was a common thing to pack from one tree : to 15 crates of nice apricots and the writer has record of having packed 27 crates of nice fruit from one large tree, fruit that if produced under present conditions would net the grower from so cents to 1 one dollar per crate.
 At this rate and figuring 12O trees to | the acre what might our land not be l worth. Mir. E. w. Jones last season l from 16 acres of seedless grapes, 1 sold on the local markets and shipped to | Chicago. realized a net income of $3300 | and the owners of our comparatively l young orchards realized a nf profit | Of from s17O to s40O per acre. and so it ! can readily De seen that. owing to the | earlineSs. sweetness and carrying | quality of our fruit, a result Of our l perfect soil and genial sun. that we | have the whole United States and ! Canada for a market.
 Last winter I received a letter from MT. Frank Simpson. president of the Frank Simpson Fruit Co. of Los An geles. Cal. a house of worth and long standing. and Mir. Simpsonsin testify ing to the good qualities of our Wash ingtGn Navels that were shipped from here for Thanksgiving. said that they were the sweetest and best specimens he had ever had the pleasure of seing at that time of the year and that they Were, in fact as good as he had seen at any season. Aur cantaloupes oranges, quinces. pomegranates. etc, took prizes at the St. Louis Exposition, and why not since they are thirty days earlier and 30 per cent sweeter than fruit from other sections.
 A quarter section, more or less, planted to oranges and other fruits, with an uptodate packing house in connection and run on the principal Of our Cooperative Creamery would pay better, surer dividends than any gold mine. We are just in receipt of a letter from Ii. L. Woods of Chicago in which he states that good head let- tuce, such as we could grow here would bring in Chicago at this time of the year 75c to $1.00 ped dozen. if shipped in car lots under refrigeration. Lettuce and many other vegetables might be grown with profit between the rows of the young trees and thus the grower of fruit would have a from the beginning Vegetables grow out in the open all { winter and two crops of potatoes can be grown in year on the same acre 1 of land, one crop of potatoes and a crop of corn, etc, without impover- ing the soil, no fertilizer being used except that brought onto the ground by way of irrigation. As side issue the growers of fruit