Morning journal and courier., 1881-05-23
Teachers Meeting.
New Mexico and the grfcu
 and the Cereals.


 and the Cereals.
 Prof Silliman lectured before the New Ha- ven Teachers association Saturday afternoon on "The Geography of the New Vest" Many teachers were out to hear the lecture. What the Nile was to Egypt the Rio Grande was to New Mexico regards agricultural wealth The implements of agriculture iu New Mexico were primitive and rude. Some times stick is used for blow, and Indian or Mexican women of the lower classes drag them. The adobe huts of the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico were described, and the way the people live and pictures of the huts were shown. The only cereals the Pueblos raise are wheat, barley and maize on limited areas, but they are highly productive. They are the Yankees of New Mexico, being forehand- ed, economical and neat, always having wheat on hand. s'It so happened just in the nick of time," said the professor, 'that brought seeds of these cereals here. Prof. Brewer, who had been appointed by Gen. Walker to prepare articles on cereals for the census, met me and wanted to know where he could get samples of the cereals of New Mexico. I gave him some and they went at once into the laboratory to be analysed. The re- suit flies in the face of our modern notions of the necessity of the rotation of crops and is very astonishing. It was found that no corn before analysed is so rich in oily or fat-producing clements The moist corn contains from five to sixp per cent. of fat; the dry about eight per cent. Our corn contains a little more than one half of that The barley is sballed' and was found | to be the richest in nitrogenous clements ever analysed in the world It contained 174 per cent. of flesh producing elements. | This is a very remarkable fact. Ordinarily, \ barley contains from ten to eleven per cent. l of these. The Pueblos don't fertiize their l lands; they never use superphosphates ln- ! deed they never boast of them. Then how ! do they raise such crops The explanation ! is easy and interesting. It was illustrate | by the researches of 8 chemist who was en- gagged in 8 government survey. The fertlll- | zation is furnished by irrigation. Water from the mountains brings down all the al kaline elements and other elements of an in- | organic nature necessary for the growth Of plants. This accords with the researches of Laws and Gilbert of England, who for forty | years have spent their time and fortune in \ vestigating the growth of plants. They find | that wheat and barley can be grown on the
 same land thirty years in succession without l rotation and no fertilization save that which
 is afforded by recurring seasons bringing in ! organic matter.''
 The I 5blos retain their ancient Aztec l language, which is unwritten. They learn l Spanish and are nominally Christians but
 actually Papists, and inclined to idol wor
 ship. They worship fire with drum beating ceremonies. Their ancient pottery includes
 the sacred owl The owls of the Pueblos are
 like those Dr. Schlieman dug up at ancient | Troy in material and construction. The ! sacred oil and 8 stone bucket were shown the teachers. An ancient turquois stone mine l was described. Lots of beautiful turquois ! l,ol Ioa-, l1o1 of %ho oiT1o | the turquois stones so valuable, robbed from
 the ill -fated Montezuma, were gotten out of
 this mine. In 1880 the Spaniards forced the
 Pueblos to go to work in the mine. Lots of
 Pueblos were killed by caving in of part
 of the mine at one time This so exasper-
 ated the Pueblos that they rose and drove
 out the Spaniards. New Mexico is valuable
 chiefly for quarrying and mining. There is
 plenty of coal the'e. Silver ore has recently
 been gotten out in southern New Mexico.