Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-25

-HE Arizona of yesterday. tn
Arizona of whooping cowboys
vast stretches of barren sand
and boiling hot summers-tha
Arizona is we'll known and as well dis
liked. But the Arizona OF today, VIII
brave young farmers. waving fields ol
alfalfa and miles upon miles of the
best orange groves In the United States
with its educated Indians and Its
bran-ncw industry of easy and un-
measured wealth in ostrich raising
this Arizona is a lovely and charming
young debutante about to enter the
ssterhood OF states. clothed in the
green and gold of her own hitherto un
guessed but vast resources. May have
the pleasure OF presenting Miss Arizo-
mar
Observe her alfalfa fields. Five crops
OF hay, and each worth $40 a ton. Not
only the cattle upon thousand hills
are fed with Its succulent juices. but
the queer birds which lay the eggs of
gold live wholly on this western field.
Most people In Arizona raise alfalfa,
anything beside the deadly dull and
useless Bermuda grass. Alfalfa is
slow. sure. and easy. a man can't
keep poor II he will only water and cut
his alfalfa. His wife may do 1t for
him with the proverbial teaspoon. but
even so her teaspoon would need 10
hold gallon IL her husband had 20
acre piece in alfalfa For 20 acres cut
even four times q year would mean at
least $3,500 and that's not bad income.
Peaches-there's peachest Time was
when mon In Arizona discussed eager
ly tho relative values OF Elberta and
others. But that WAS long. long ago
perhaps as long as three years ago.
Then there are figs. OF course figs
grow In Arizona Likewise almonds
and nlso dates But all of these are
crops for slow and patient OrientaIs or
equally SLOW and ploddng Latin peas
ants. But the get-rich- quick American
man simply shoulders his hoe-doNn |
there In the Arizona of today-and cuts !
out all such tedious and expensvely |
grown trines as these, and plants every |
where oranges. Dark-green leaved, low |
branching. glossy, yellow globed orange |
trees. Why? Because Miss Arizona-
with her new silver threaded streams |
trailing across her BOSOM from the
Granite Ridge dam. the mighty Roosa-
Welt and ella dams, and others like
these. has awakened to the glorious fact
that she has California and old Florida
beat mile on the question of
oranges. She can grow quite as many
TO the acre, and, perhaps because of
her dry climate. her oranges are su-
perior In size. sweetness and flavor. Dis
people in the New York
markets who pay $3.50 a box for Cali
fornia oranges, gladly pay IS for the
Florida fruit and still moro eagerly
snap up the Arizona oranges at 81
box.
So, when you read the land In Mari
copa county, which now brings $3.50 to
1850 an acre will be worth from s5OC
10 $500 as soon as the orange trees on
them come into full bearing. be not sur
pr1sed For. remember that $500 an acre
IS an average return from an orange
grove.
Have the Latter-day Saints in Mese
and Maricopa county planted any
Are they alive to this infant
giant of wealth In their midst? Surely
'ome of them understand But is il not
rue. on the highest possible authority.
hat. The children of the world arc
wiser in their generation than the chill !
lren OF liSht?" No matter, 1t Is always
rue.
When the acreage payments for water
under the Roosevelt dam come due {
1eXt summer, you will see again the .
natural phenomenon of the two or three
pig fish quietly swallowing up most
'f the small fry who can't struggle on