Arizona republican., 1908-04-01
THE GOOD FEATURES OF
 THE SALT RIVER VALLEY

THE SALT RIVER VALLEY. To the Editor of The Republican: Sir:-The good features of the Salt River valley are so numerous as to ! make the topic inexhaustible and neither time nor space. will permit of our touching on all. One of the great est and best features of this fertile valley. this land of sunshine. of health and extreme prosperity. with no snow. no ice. little mud, and never cyclone is the great diversity of its farm pro- ducts.
 A knowledge of the long list of ce- reals, fruits, of many variety, and vegetables, grown here, not as an ex- pertinent, but to good profit. alone of- fers great Inducements to tourists. homeseekers and the man with money or muscle only. at his command Climatic conditions are such. as to not only bring great relief to thise seeking rest from cold winds, snow, sleet and ice. but to produce abund- antly from these level, fertile lands, alfalfa, the greatest of all forage crors. wheat. barley, oats, corn, can- taloupes. water-melons. oranges. the best that grow. lemons. pomelos, figs. olives, dates. plums, pears. peaches. and strawberries for ten months in the year. Also all kinds of vegetables
 In order to realize the great beauty and profit in the production of all this feed, fruit and vegetable growth. one must become acquainted with the facts that the greatest pine forest in the United States is in Arizona: that this commonwealth out ranks all oth- CTS in the production of copper; that the mines produce immense quantities of gold and silver and that they are only in their infancy. and that all these make home market for all the farmer can grow. In the fall of each year thousands Of cattle and sheep are driven from the ranges among the hills to this valley where they fatten on what has not been shipped to near by mining camps, of the five crops of alfalfa harvested during the previous season.
 The ruling price of s125 per cwt, for milk makes the earning power of the COW. who eats green feed in the open field. three hundred and sixty
 
 anywhere else within the border of the United States. The same condi- Jions that produce big flows of milk the year around without sign of stable or shelter renders the hen a money getter of no small value; in fact a Neritable mortgage raiser Force of habit acquired in sections where large farms were almost a necessity. caused the earliest settlers here to acquire tracts ranging from so to $40 acres. and the ease by which these large holdings and the abundant crops they produced were handled. made them very profitable. But in keeping up with the progress of the time. more intense farming is being practiced, large farms are being cut into ten ana twenty acre tracks and many farmers are not only making a good living on these. but have a neat little bank ac- count on the side. Land values have there is no doubt that the next five will see a repetition of the past ten.
 The completion. by the government. of the Tonto or Roosevelt. dam, which will be within a few years at an ex- penditure of over three and one-haIf millions of dollars. will not only re- claim much new land but will furnish regular supply 10 thousands of acres now under partial cultivation. ana assure the success of another farming industry, namely the growing of sugar beets. and for the manufacturing of which into sugar. an Ss00.000 plant has been constructed and tested and now only awaits the coming of the steady supply of water to insure its success
 We are therefore not confined to any one branch Of agriculture The ad- .vantages offered the poulter. the dairy man. the gardner, the grower of fruit or of alfalfa, the flock master, or the lover of fine cattle, horses and mules, are numerous and equal.
 Success is written on the face of every farmer yau meet. That a man is engaged in agriculture in the Salt River valley is sufficient evidence of his well doing and establishes his credit with the merchant or the banker
 Coupled with this visible prosperity we have climate which can only be compared to never ending day in June. clear, warm. filled with sun- shine. artless as the perfect blend of Natures art, in which the harmony of turquois sky is tinted with the gold and red hues of a summer sun; the Zeohers from the Pacific now laden with the scent of orange and alfalfa blossoms. waiting the music of the mocking bird or the call of the quail.
 fertile. ever verdant valley. em- erald in the green of growing grain and alfalfa, moistened with water from the Rockies. dancing in the light of an unclouded sun. Such is this oasis of the Great American Desert, the land that God forgot
 r. s. BALDWIN. Tempe. Ariz.. March 24 1908
 REALISM IN ART.