SOUTHERN ARIZONA. 9 



owners sold the product of one crop to a wine-maker, who was to 

 gather them from the vines at his own expense, for over $1,300. I 

 copied this myself from the inspector's certificate. The whole amount 

 of labor which the owners had expended on this plot, including the 

 cost of irrigation, was not over $25. 



A gentleman in Phoenix, Arizona, whose ranch I visited, has an 

 orchard of peaches ; he assured me that he had sold the product of 

 that orchard for $500, and the purchaser was to gather the fruit 

 himself. 



A gentleman in Riverside five years ago bought 100- acres of 

 land for $2,000. His income from that land at this time is from 

 $300 to $500 per acre, and the land to-day cannot be bought for 

 $1,000 per acre. 



The wonderful results of irrigation on these desert lands have 

 attracted the attention of stock and fruit growers to such an extent 

 that there is a great demand for lands that are favorably situated 

 for irrigation. So large a portion of these lands in California which 

 can be irrigated, and the high prices that those which are cultivated 

 are held at, have compelled new settlers to look for cheaper lands, 

 and naturally their attention has been called to the Salt River val- 

 ley, Maricopa county, Arizona, as the most desirable locality for 

 stock and fruit raising. There is no one single natural advantage 

 possessed by the wonderful fruit-growing region of Pasadena or 

 Riverside, Cal., that does not exist in the Salt River valley of Ari- 

 zona. But this valley has natural advantages which do not exist in 

 Southern California, viz., less variation in temperature and a uni- 

 formly dry atmosphere, admirably adapted to fruit-drying, and, what 

 is more important and essential of all, an abundant quantity of 

 water, far exceeding the amount attainable in the irrigating region 

 of California. * * * 



For nine months in the year the climate of this region is unsur- 

 passed on the continent. There are no fogs, dew, or dampness. 

 Lung complaints and malaria troubles are unknown, and out-of-door 

 life can be enjoyed all the year round. The hottest portion of the 

 year is in the months of July and August, during a portion of which 

 it was my fortune to be there. I slept out of doors the greater por- 

 tion of the time, which is the general custom, the houses being built 

 one story high, beds being placed on the piazza at night. 



For many days during my stay the mercury ranged from 110 to 

 115, notwithstanding which I suffered no more from the heat than 

 I do at home with the mercury ranging from 80 to 90. There is 

 no perspiration to be observed, the atmosphere being so dry that it 

 is absorbed as soon as it reaches the surface of the body. I did not 



