12 SOUTHERN ARIZONA. 



amount of money invested in these canal enterprises will not fall 

 short of $1,250,000. 



At present there is not over one hundred thousand acres thor- 

 oughly reclaimed though the lands covered already by the canals and 

 which with little labor can be made susceptible to irrigation amount 

 to nearly 300,000 acres. 



There is no doubt as to the water supply in the Salt River. 

 There is, indeed; such a great abundance that the precious fluid is 

 going to waste which should be applied to useful purposes. Land 

 which is irrigated at regular intervals year after year, requires less 

 water each succeeding year until the fourth or fifth year is reached. 

 The soil from constant irrigation gradually becomes well saturated 

 and the water beneath the soil gradually raises nearer to the surface. 

 In the Salt River valley the water beneath the surface of the soil 

 has raised seventeen feet in ten years. Wells that then were thirty 

 feet deep to water are now filled to within thirteen feet of the top. 

 In some cases the alfalfa roots have struck the lower moisture ren- 

 dering further irrigation for them unnecessary. 



Heretofore the products of the Salt River valley have been 

 principally grain and alfalfa, but the railroad communication made 

 with the Southern Pacific provides a ready outlet for products 

 more profitable, but requiring rapid transportation. 



The farmers are turning their attention more and more to fruit 

 and grape culture. 



All kinds of deciduous fruits grow to great perfection in this 

 valley. Especially is it noted for its apricots. This fruit matures 

 earlier by four weeks than in California, and the crop can be dis- 

 posed of without competition. It is a thrifty growth, and the yield 

 is large. A tree begins to bear at two years' old, and at four years 

 gives an average return of two hundred pounds. These trees, when 

 well matured, yield a profit annually from three hundred and fifty 

 to five hundred dollars an acre. 



There is no spot on earth where the grape grows to greater 

 perfection, or is more luscious. 



Mr. J. de Barth Shorb, who is the most experienced horticult- 

 urist and viniculturist in the United States, having been for twenty 

 years largely identified with orange culture, grape growing and wine 



