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The Salt River Valley the Farmers' Land
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The farmer or city man is immediately
impressed with the fitness of the Salt River
Valley for a great and prosperous com
munity. Here the streams have filled up
a great valley between the ranges of
mountains with washings from the water
sheds which is of course a very rich allu
vial soil, completely filling what once must
have been a great canyon. It is known
that the soil in some places is six hundred
feet in depth. They have gone down that
far and do not know how much farther
down it does go. The fine soil runs down
for fifty or sixty feet when a bed of gravel
is struck carrying pure water, then the
same soil is encountered for about the
same distance (fifty or sixty feet) and
another bed of gravel, and so on for hun
dreds of feet. It will neve? be necessary
to add fertilizer to thfs soil for it has been
pronounced to be the richest in the world.
In only two other places in the world has
soil with the richness of Salt River Valley
"loess" been discovered. The land is all
very nearly level and it is necessary to
level only a very small part of it to irri
gate. The appearance of it would indi
cate that the whole valley was leveled ages
ago by the aboriginal farmers who popu
lated the valley. The writer has had the
interesting experience of exploring some
of the ancient mounds which at one time
were large buildings erected by these peo
ple of whom so little is known and who at
one time farmed this fertile country. Ar
guments have been advanced by some that
this valley is the original site of the Garden
of Etlen (it certainly can be called that
now without stretching the imagination)
for people who have been all over the
world and who know state that this beau
tiful climate and fine soil is equalled by
none. Although some other localities have
a much higher state of development it will
only be a very short time until the country
here is developed. The water question is
forever settled now and there will never
be any doubt as to whether or not there
will be enough water for irrigation for the
land. People are investing thousands of
dollars in improvements without fear and
it is the improvement and use that makes
land worth money. Many people are com
ing here from California to invest their
money and make their homs California
has reached about as high a state of devel-
opment as is possible with the limited
amount of land which they have for agri
cultural purposes. It has been stated by
well informed and responsible men that
there is mpre irrigable land in the Salt
River Valley than in all of southern Cali
fornia. The cost of water maintenance
in the Salt River Vailey is only SI to SI Co
per acre per year while in California they
think nothing of paying as high as $10 per
acre per year for the same service. Water
is the most important factor. The less the
cost of up-keep the larger the profits It
stirs all the farmer in one to look over
these broad plains, seeing everywhere the
absence of waste land, and the presence
of soil that is rich in color, fine in texture,
LLOYD C. THOMAS
mellow and inviting, and where cultivated,
showing Its quatities in the abundance of
the crops. Plainly, when all the condi
tions are adjusted for the best results, we
will look to find opulent farmers here, who
live on the "fat of the land "
' KINDS OF SOIL.
The different soils are known by the fol
lowing descriptions: The sandy loam, the
gravelly loam, the Maricopa loam and the
Glendale loess, The sandy loam has less
than ten per cent of gravel and is here the
same as elsewhere, rich and easily worked
The gravelly loam constitutes the best land
for orange purposes, and is of course closer
to the mountains from which the soil was
washed. This land is rapidly becoming
more valuable and while it. can still be
purchased cheap in its unimproved state
(before oranges or other fruit are planted)
it will be the, most valuable land that can
be purchased. The Maricopa loam is of
the same nature but a little heavier than
sandy loam and is found in a very small
part of the valley.
The Glendale loess spoken of in the first
part of this article covers a big part of the
valley. This is similar in type to that
found in the Mississippi valley but much
richer. Far out in the valley it represents
the finer elements which naturally were
carried farthest. It is highly decom
posed material, and analysis shows much
lime, potash, and phosphoric acid The
last is a most valuable constituent and
exists here in the surprising proportion of
twenty-two one-hundredths per cent
Five one-hundredths per cent is consider
ed very good in what is called "rich" soil.
A great deal of this Glendale loess is
planted to sugar beets which of course are
very rich in the elements that make up
sugar, some of the beets being said to have
as high as twenty-five per cent Sugar
THE KIND OF CLIMATE
In a large part of our country (the
United States) the summer is spent in pre
paring for the winter. People heve been
slow in learning that there is such a thing
as good soil where an enjoyable climate
can be found. The two most necessary
elements of production are warmth and
moisture combined with good soil. But
few people have-' believed that thsre is a
c'imate that does not hinder in the farm
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GRAIN FIELD. PEACH ORCHARD. ORCHARD SCENE.
work. Here this is the case. The cli
mate is ideal all the jear round "Grow
ing weather'' for crops is practically all
the time. To be "frozen out." "burned
out" and "dried out" is unknown here.
When moisture is wanted, the water is
"turned on" and that is all there is to it
Sugar beets come up in January and
many crops are planted in that month
Alfalfa is green all the year and is cut
from fiva to seven times per ear
I have before me a recent report of L.
N. Jesunofsky, Sectional Director of the
United States Weather Bureau, stationed
at Phoenix. He says in part, "Located at '
an altitude of 110S feet above sea level,
Phoenix possesses fully as man) distinc-
live climatic features relating to dry
atmosphere, bright sunshiny days, mark
ed absence of windstorms, and freedom
from ice and snow as any other locality.
"During the summer months, maximum
temperatures of too degrees to no degrees
are frequently recorded in the Salt River
valley, which in themselves, are far less
enervating than one would suppose, owing
to the safeguard which nature alone has
provided by the process of rapid evapora
tion. The sensible temperature experienc
ed in this section is decidedly lower than
at points located in the east or the central
states. The definition of "sensible tem
perature" is thai temperature which is
felt at the surface of the body, notably
upon the face and hands. The body is
constantly furnishing moisture to the skin,
which in cases exudes and stands in drops
commonly called perspiration. This
moisture is evaporated by the air, hence
the cooling of the skin. This effect of
cooling by evaporation, is a safe-guard
against the injurious effects of extreme
heat. The cooling of the skin subjects the
body to the direct effect of the sensible
temperature. This temperature is obtained
from what is known as the whirling psych
rometer, consisting of a dry and wet-bulb
thermometer, each, or the wet-bulb ther
mometer, namely a thermometer wrapped
by muslin, of fine texture, which is moist
ened by a small receptacle of pure water.
The dry and wet-bulb thermometers are
fastened upon an iron frame which is
whirled rapidly by means of an attach
ment to the iron frame. As the instru
ments are whirled around a given space,'
rapid evaporation from the wet-bulb
thermometer ensues. During the process
of whirling the wet-bulb thermometer is
read a number of times to note the lowest
reading, Mid the lowest depths to which
the mercury sinks, at the time of observa
tion, is the temperature shown by the wet
bulb, which is the sensible temperature.
"The readings of the dry and wet-bulb
thermometers, as made at Phoenix,
Arizona, on July 4, 1904, at 5:32 p. m.,
local time, may serve as an example: Air
temperature, or dry-bulb thermometer
reading, 105 degrees, wet-bulb, or sensible
temperature, reading, G2 degrees; percent
age of relative humidity in the air, 4 per
cent. While the air surrounding the body
had a temperature of 105 degrees and
being exceedingly dry, and evaporation
from the body being great, the body was
subjected to a temperature of 62 degrees
only.
'The c'.imatic advantages that one lo
cality has over another are, as a matter of
fact, somewhat largely comparative, for
the place that combines all of the good,
pleasant and salubriousQclimatic features
into a perennial condition of ideal and
matchless weather, is, as yet, undiscover
ed. Nevertheless, the climate of the Salt
River valley approaches close to these
conditions, with its soothing and mild
winters, its balmy springs, its warm, dry
air of summer, and its clear delicious
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SCENES
autumn. They have provan to be hclpfu
to longevity, hcalthfulncss. and freedom
from those ailments attributable to mor
bifical climates."
LAND VALUES AND PROFITS
Salt River Valley lands have been con
sidered valuable for many years and are
practically all in private ownership. Of
this'private land only about three-fifths
is in cultivation but the balance is being
rapidly put under the plow. As I have
stated before it is farmers that are needed.
When the Storage dam is completed sur
plus lands in excess of 160 acres will be on
the market for sale, the government having
decided that this would bo the maximum
holding for one person or firm, tho idea of
course being to have the land distributed
as much as possible. The good sense of
this ii apparent. The prices of raw land
in tracts of all sizes ranges from Sioo per
acre at a distance from town, to S200 or
more per acre closer to the city. Im
proved land now under cultivation sells for
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FAIR PRICE
HRST QUAUTY
ON ONE OF THE SIXTEEN OSTRICI
from $125 to Sjoo per acre, depending of
course upon the vnlue and extent of the
improvements together with the location
and size of the tract. All of this land is
advancing very rapidly in price and it can
be purchased on easy terms nt a reason
able rate of interest. The Dick Erdmans
Real Estate & Investment Company re
cently sold a small tract to a gentleman
from New York state for 8350 per acre.
This was very close to the city and In a
high state of cultivation.
These prices may seem rather high but
there are several things to be taken into
consideration.
This land is rightly rated at tho best in
tho world.
It is finely drained and easily irrigated.
It has an excellent climate.
Crops grow all the year round.
It has plenty of moUturc. Never a
crop failure.
It is much lower in price than other
Call at our store and let us
demonstrate the superior
advantages of the
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Sturgis One Motion,
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THE DESIGNS ARE SNAPPY
Geo. D.
FARMS.
lands slmiliar in other older and better
developed localities.
However the real value of land in any
country should be based on its income
producing qualities. Any of the land in
the Salt River Valley will, under cultiva
tion, return an income of ten per cent net
on a valuation of five hundred dollars per
aero or more.
Demand makes values. This land is in
demand. The valley is well watered; very
rich; easily cultivated; beautifully situated
in a healthful climate; and Is all near a
growing city, the Capital of the Territory
soon to be a state, and one of the richest
in the Union, with valuable mines, large
amount ot stock, and imtnenso forests.
The valley i.nn oasis in the desert and the
Government thought bo highly of it that it
virtually made an investment of millions
ot dollar, this being the first irrigation
project Matted by the Reclamation Ser
vice. Iicenlx, Arizona, April 17, 1910.
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