Arizona republican., 1909-02-07
A GENERAL VIEW D

That there may be no misunder- standing about this Mesa City orange belt the subject is approach ed cautiously and from a generality progressing to the main point. In a general way all who have lived in this valley for many years, know that the major portion of 1t on both sides of the river has soil that will grow orange trees or all most anything else that is planted. The designation of any part of it as an orange belt means only that in that particular section the soil may be slightly better adapted and the conformation of the country is such that frosts are less frequent and severe, wherefore the trees are less likely to be injured. The country is a region where killing frosts never occur. If the definition here were made as elastic as 1t is in Florida and certain parts of Cali fornia, where a killing frost is ex- pected every six or eight years and perhaps more frequently, one would be justified in saying the entire val ley is an orange belt, for where 1t has been tried trees have been known Ito withstand the frosts all over the valley. though killing frosts in some of the lower levels have occurred oc- casionally.
 Ana the entire valley being taken as a whole, it is quite possible that the Mesa City section embracing the whole mesa or tableland from the river bluff, south for ten or fif- teen miles, a matter of 30,000 or 10000 acres, would be likely in a competition, to prove itself better orange land than any area of similar size now under cultivation north of the river. This is because, first, the land is higher than on the north side and the temperatures so far as re- corded are about equal, and second, the mesa bench rises abruptly from the river bottom forty feet, within the distance of a hundred yards, only a mile or so to the north of the cor poration line. According to the well established theory that the effect of the cold air currents Is less se- we're when they have an opportunity to roll off toward a depression. keep moving instead of lowering over a particular spot, the entire Mesa is fairly well situated, the northern half of 1t is well situated, and the ex- treme northern part, nearest to the river bench is ideally located. This Is the proved Mesa orange belt, in area somewhere between five and ten thousand acres, bounded indef- initely as experimenting has been meager.
 Along this northern part of the mesa the colder currents may sweep off quickly into the Lehi bottoms while to the south there is a slope so gentle as to be unnoticed by the naked eye, but nevertheless a slope, and from a short distance south of Mesa City there is not only the gentle southern slope but a decline of ten or fifteen feet to the mile in a westerly direction. It is thus shown that the ideal orange land is north and east of the town of Mesa, judged by the contour theory and by the soil which is very deep and rich. It Is not proposed to waste much time on soil discussion for 1t is generally admitted that the soil Is good enough on all the higher lands of the valley where 1t is deep enough and it is certainly deep enough anywhere on the mesa plain. little further along how natural con- ditions further south may be inn proved for the orange man by water conditions, making 1t a better orange section than has hitherto been sup posed. It is more desirable at this time to take up the subject of tenn peratures, or climate, in the PROVED Mesa City orange belt.
 PROVED ORANGE BELT
 This belt extends clear across the mesa from its western escarpment to the limits of cultivation to the east. and circling around somewhat with the confor- nation of the country as 1t slopes westwardly from the eastern foot hills: At present the upper reaches