THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



257 



more that will later be served by private pumping systems. 

 Evidences of prehistoric cultivation of this district are abun- 

 dant, pottery and crude implements of all kinds having been 

 found in considerable quantity. Many people are of the 

 opinion that the land has been leveled by these ancient people, 

 they deeming it impossible that it would be left so nearly 

 level by nature but. be that as it may, the fact remains that 

 the land requires little labor to prepare it for irrigation, and 

 that the crops repay bountifully for effort expended. 



The town of Mesa has a population approximating 2,500 

 but this number, due to the rapid influx of settlers to the 

 country tributary to it, is rapidly increasing. All modern 

 conveniences and social advantages are found here such as 

 city water works, gas and electric light. All the leading 

 fraternal organizations are well represented. The broad, 

 shady streets, beautiful homes and up-to-date school system 

 make the town a particularly inviting residence place.^- The 

 Evans School for boys, widely known, is established here. 



Chandler, the new town now being laid out, is seven 

 miles south of Mesa, the so-called "Chandler Ranch" lands 

 being reached from Mesa. 



Mesa is located upon the Arizona Eastern Railway, a 

 subsidiary of the Southern Pacific, with numerous daily 

 trains to Phoenix and, via Tempe, with all eastern and 

 western points. 



The highest land lies to the east of town and many 

 horticulturists predict that it, eventually, will be the select 

 orange belt of the valley. 



The pumped water, delivered .by the Reclamation Service, 

 issues at a temperature of from 78 to 80 degrees and is a 

 great factor in protecting trees and vegetables from winter 

 frost. 



Only in recent years have a few orange orchards come 

 into bearing in this district, and these have passed through 

 the dry and wet years common before the Reclamation Ser- 

 vice made a permanent and steady water supply possible. As 

 a result the trees left are those which have survived a proc- 

 ess of elimination. Navel oranges have netted as high as 

 $3.55 per box, f. o. b. Mesa, and during the recent past have 

 netted good interest returns upon a valuation of $1,000 to 

 $3,000 per acre. This fruit reaches the eastern market in 

 season to command top prices. 



All kinds of deciduous fruits do well .here as in all sec- 

 tions of the valley, barring cherries, which seem to require 

 higher altitudes. Peach trees often bear from 100 to 150 

 Ibs. of fruit the third season from planting and other fruits 

 in proportion. Vegetables and grains do well in this section. 

 Cabbage is shipped out in car lots. A great deal might be 

 said about fruits, vegetables, grains, etc., but stock-raising in 

 its various phases and alfalfa culture are staple industries 

 in any country. 



A co-operative dairy and ice plant has been in successful 

 operation at Mesa for a number of years. It has been aptly 

 said that "grass is the basis of agriculture." Marvelous 

 yields of alfalfa are common in the Salt River Valley. Cut- 

 tings of 8 to 10 and even 14 tons per acre annually have 

 been secured upon scientifically-tilled land. Among these 

 rich and fertile fields, it may well be said that the Dairyman's 

 paradise exists. Hundreds of farms today in the New Eng- 

 land and mid-Atlantic states are operated as dairy farms at 

 a loss to the owner. Twenty acres in Mesa Meadows will 

 support more cows and make more for the owner than the 

 best of the depleted farms of the east. To those who know 

 the unfortunate condition of the dairy situation upon the 

 worn-out farms, the Salt River Valley offers a change of 

 condition and environment that may cause him, once seen, 

 to believe that he, verily, has found the land of "Milk and 

 Honey." 



TEMPE DISTRICT. 



The city of Tempe lies about eight miles south of 

 Phoenix, being served by both the Southern Pacific main 

 line from Phoenix and the so-called "Hayden" branch to 

 Mesa, Chandler and Casaba, affording direct communication 

 for all the district. It is the oldest settlement in the valley, 

 yet lacks none of the elements of a progressive community, 

 being equipped with all the conveniences characteristic of the 

 average enterprising western community. 



It is distinctly an agricultural town and a school town. 

 With a splendid common school system and a Territorial 



Normal school, Tempe's educational advantages are second to 

 none. The percentage of grammar school graduates who en- 

 ter and graduate from the High School is higher than any- 

 where else in the United States. This Normal School is 

 conceded to be one of the best of its character in the coun- 

 try. Twenty teachers who are highly specialized along their 

 various lines, are employed. Graduates are granted life cer- 

 tificates to teach in the schools of Arizona and in many 

 western states it is unnecessary for the holder of a Tempe 

 Normal Diploma to take an examination before being granted 

 a certificate. 



There are scores of beautiful homes in Tempe. People 

 of independent means are attracted to the place by the edu- 

 cational advantages it offers their children, by its mpral at- 

 mosphere and fine climate. Many have winter homes in 

 Tempe, living there during the school term and elsewhere 

 during the summer. 



The population is now in the neighborhood of 3,000. 

 There has been a steady increase, especially during the last 

 five years. 



Tempe's domestic water supply is one of the best in the 

 valley. It is forced to the summit of "Tempe's Butte" and 

 there stored until used. This gives a tremendous fire pres- 

 sure, which combined with an excellent fire department, 

 causes the insurance companies to give Tempe unusually low 

 fire insurance rates. 



The cost of living in Tempe is quite low, since so 

 much of farm staples, fruit and poultry is produced in the 

 immediate vicinity. 



Churches and fraternal organizations are well repre- 

 sented. 



The Pacific Creamery Company, manufacturers of con- 

 densed milk, and the Arizona Portland Cement Company are 

 located at Tempe. With the advent of the creamery, dairying 

 has come to be one of the principal industries. The com- 

 pany, at date of writing, is paying $1.20 per cwt. for milk 

 averaging four per cent butter fat, hence the profits are 

 large. Reliable estimates place the average yield of a single 

 cow at $93.50 per annum. Dairy cows are fed almost ex- 

 clusively upon alfalfa, to which this section is especially well 

 adapted. 



Within the last few years, the Tempe farmers have 

 taken up the breeding of fine horses, importing. a number of 

 thoroughbred animals, with the result that now there are no 

 finer farm horses in the world. 



Over ten thousand range steers were fattened for beef 

 in the vicinity of Tempe last year. 



Cantaloupes and sugar beets are two of the most profit- 

 able crops grown. Like Arizona oranges, Arizona canta- 

 loupes have a reputation in the east of being the best. 



Several fine orange groves are located neaiv. Tempe as 

 is also the largest date orchard in the United "Slates, where 

 over fifty varieties are grown, the demand f,o,r this fruit 

 greatly exceeding the supply.- 



Bee-keeping is one of the industries for which the dis- 

 trict is well fitted, and there are, perhaps, few places where 

 so many bees are kept in so limited an area as is the case 

 here. The production of honey is now, and has been for a 

 number of years, an industry of no small importance. The 

 business is fairly remunerative and large apiaries are the rule. 



Ostrich-raising is also an industry, which, while re- 

 quiring a fair investment of capital, yields abundant returns. 



The city contains good hotels, stores and banks, while 

 the subject of a tourist hotel to be erected upon the summit 

 of Hayden Butte, 370 feet above the level of the valley, has 

 been broached. 



The irrigated district about Tempe is one of the few 

 not embraced within the Government project. It is served 

 by the Tempe Canal with one of the earliest "decreed rights" 

 from the normal flow of the stream. The stream-bed at 

 Tempe is of such a character that the underflow is forced 

 to the surface with the result that there is always water in 

 the stream at this point. This supply is supplemented by 

 pumped water for late irrigation, the Tempe District embrac- 

 ing the zone of "low lift." 



The advantages of this District from an agricultural 

 standpoint are numerous and the city, as already pointed out, 

 besides being a commercial community is, primarily an edu- 

 cational center. Inquiries concerning this district should be 

 addressed to the Secretary of the Board of Trade, Tempe, 

 Arizona. 



