The Arizona sentinel., 1908-12-23

the Colorado on both sides, incident to tho depositidg of this mass of debris during al the past ages. Going through the country on the Arizona side of the river, fer seVera miles below Yuma, one encounters the Samt type Of country and soil that is found in tho Imperial Valley country around Brawley CaleXico and other points west of the riVeI The fertility of the black prairie soils of Ill nois has astonished people engaged in agri culture for nearly one hundred years. The fertility of the valleys Of the Nile has been q matter of history for at least 60G0 years. Those who are familinr with Illinois prairie soil and those who know what the valley of the Nile is for agriculture. know that this lower Colorado River region surpasses both ofthem
 Iryou ask a farmer along this stretch ot country if the soil is six feet, his eyes will open with astonishment ai your ignorance.
 lie will tell y2u no one knows whether it is 6D feet e0e or SEQ feet deep. It 5is practically without bo;ton.j IL Is So thoroughly well mixed with sand, dis'ntegratcd granite and other rocks that it. never breaks. It is as easily worked as a heap of ashes, and re- spends to cultivation in a way that is mar velOus.
 CUT SEVEN CROPS YEARLY.
 Arizona has cstablishcd 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 thcy were cutting a crop Of alfalfa on this ex- perimenial 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 lrd this rich alluvial soil will be noted in very few years as the ideal spot ip the whole country for dairyiEg, 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 he gathered in the early days of May, and april cots by the middle of the 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 q whole winter. With an abundance of green alfalfa and veget- able the dry and not overkeGted climate prevailing in the winter months, chickens are 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 D tweuty-acre farm will amaze those who have the experience in American agricultural affairs
 The winter climate around Yuma is thing so intoxicatngly salubrous That no words cau describe it. Those deserts of America, as we have regarded them heretofore, seem to defy the ills that human nature elsewhere is so prone to contract and suffer from. Tho Rtmos phere is as dry as punk, the skies cloudlcSsly clear, the air mild as possible, and every breath seems 10 be an inspiration Of new life. The United States has an experiment farm or the mesa just on the outskirts of Yuma. Here
 ults even more marvellous than in the valley are produced. Down on the lower levels there are little nips Of frosty mornings occasionally during December and January. but on the mesa thc breath of frost never touches the most del icute vegetation. Oranges grown at the Feder- al experiment station are unsurpassed in their delicious q iali;y.
 Yuma is a busy, up-to-date town. The more modern improvements consist of several blocks Of attractive brick buildings a thTce-Story post office building also Of brick, and many other nice structures. Among some Of the greater improvements which are being made, are q S35.nGO school building, a S15J00 ice plant, T line club house for the railroad employees, q larger passenger depot. and the probability of a new court house 10 cost S75,G eco. There is con siderable business done there, but the people have not begun to awaken to the vast possibih ties of the place. They should at once erect m up-to-datc touriS; hotel. II should have ample grounds around it and be planted with al
 kinds of tropical vegetation. + atmoSpher' were only iransportable like mineral waters and one could send conSignmcnts of this Yuma winter air % the East, the inspiration Of its hcalth-gving qualities would bring -5.oct tourists every winter 10 the banks of the Colo rado River.
 Yuma needs only to make known it's climatic attractions in the parts Df the East swept every ,ca7 by bli2zar,is ana suowStormS to attract | city fuH every 4-inter. The fertility of the val lev below will almost make iLscit known with oul effort on the part Of the people. But with i valley full Of intelligent and industrious Trra population. producing fr1Iits Dnd vegetables ,soultrv. eggs. fresh milk and fragrant butter Fufna should be ono Of the most delightful winter resorts in all America There is every thing there to furnish tourists with the mos'