Arizona weekly citizen., 1883-03-18
Some rncis Ahnut MeNirn.

Some Facts About Mexico.
 At a recent dinner given to Mr. Ro- nero, the Mexican Minister to the United States, by MT. Henry J. Fox, and others at Philadelphia, Mir. Romero
 made some very excellent aud interest
 ing remarks on the conditions of Mexi- can trade and it's prosperity, with a
 special reference to the commercial
 treaty, then before Congress for rat.i-
 cation.
 The following are a few extracts from
 bis lengthy remarks, and they are
 worthy of perusal:
 Although I am not aware that Phila-
 delphia has invested any capital in the
 construction of railroads m Mexico, l
 believe this city has invested largely in
 mining property in the border States of
 Mexico. The Mexican National ExplOr- ing and Mining Company of PhIladel-
 phia, which IS private corporation, but properly cOrpOrated according tO the laws of this State, has already been ln operation for two years and they now
 control the Minas Niegar, nea- Nillald- ana In the State of New Leon; Santa Barbara. San Juan de los Lagos, La | Conception, and several other mines m the Iguana district, near IampasOs. ID the same State of New Leon. This
 same company controls mountain of magnetic iron called, in Mexico, Piedra
 Iman, near LampssOs, and other silver [ and copper properties. There are, be-
 sides, other companies organized lu this city for working other mines ID the ! States of New Leon, COahuiis ard Du-
 rango. The Guadalupe Mining Com | pany Is now in full working order, hay | ing its machinery m full operation and | employing very many native hands m working of the mines. The pieces Of | silver at our seats came from that mine. ! The Iguana Smelling GLd Mining Com pany reduce all the ores of the lguana
 district and own Iseveral mines, one of ! the principal ones being ZaujOn Chico.
 The Cadela Smelling and Mining Com ! pany, hich is now working the Panuco | Copper mine, has been organized also ID 1 this city and owns a mine which experts
 assert can rival any copper mine in the world.
 La Providercia Mining Company, of Durango, IS working exclusively with Philadelphia capital, as well as the Car ralvo Mining Company, of which Mir. $. b. nun ISbAs bA bLAio NAt A0 A4At -EltAUl manager. Philadelphia capital is also
 invested tO some extent ID the rich mines of BatopIlas, of V hich Governor Shepard, well known in this country, Is the manager. l have seen at the office of General Grant in New York. just be fore coming to Philadelphia, some sam ples ot the BatOpilas ore which contain l from S20,OO0 to S25, 900 per ton.
 YOu gentlemen all know well that l Mexico is almost the richest if bot the 1 very richest mining country in the l world. Mexico alone has produced, | without any improved machinery, over | twO-thirds ol ali the silver now in ex- ! istence. The production of the Pacific ! States Of this Enion will be far excelled ! by the Mexican mines when they are properly worked.
 A year of good crops in Mexico is a real calamity m many agricultural dis tTicts of that country. As the prOdUc- tiOn in that year far exceeds the con- sumption of the immediate neIghbor- hood, and grain cannot be transported to any distance on account of the high cost Of transportation, the prices fall often far below the actual cost Of the grain, SO that for the year an abundant crop IS the ruin of the planters.
 The high cost Of transportation ex- plains why almost the whole Gulf and ] Pacific coasts of Mexico consume flour from the United States, nOtwithstaud- 1 ing the high import duty 1t pays over l A. cents pOTnd ClOcents akllOgraml-l and why in several places, as Is now the | case in 1uca tan, even Indian corn is | imported from the United States. when | corn IS produced in great abundance all l over Mexico and when wheat IS also | produced very abundantly in the high | lands and cold localities.
 When railroads make transportation ! easy and cheap all this will change of l course, and the roads will have all these articles to transport for home cOnsump- ton and We might then become large ex- porters of grain.
 The climatic conditions of Mexico | affect the production of certain articles in a very peculiar way. Rain falls Tn great abundance as you approach the equator, and is considerably diminished as you come north. In the State sf Chipas, the most southern portion of Mexico, 1t rains SIX or eight months dur- ing the year; in Oaxaca from five to SIX, in Pusbla and the city of Mexico be- tween three and four, and further north considerably less, excepting some lOcali- ties near the coast or on high noun tains, where the rainfall is controlled by different causes.
 The heavy rains which fall from the City of Mexico towards the south and southeast make 1t almost impossible to raise wheat by natural irrigation, and the only way Of raising it Is by planting 1t during the dry season that IS, m win ter-and cultivating 1t by artificial irri- gatiOn, always, however, with the dan ger of having occasional and unexpected rains which might destroy the crop.
 The necessary consequence Of this Is that wheat gro wing IS quite expensive in such localities, which are thickly pOpu- lated, and the wheat from San Martin tone of the best wheat regions in the State of Puebla B worth. at the cIty of Puebls, about S4 for 100 Mexican pounds, which are about I01 1l5 of your pounds. But as you approach the north and the rainfall lesssns-abOut Oueretaro, for iu- stance, and in what VIC call ''El Bauiio," l a very fertile region of Central Mexico. only about one hundred and fifty miles north of the City of Mexico by the pres ent roads wheat can be raised during the rainy season that is, with natural irrigation, and therefore its cost is there quite low and is quality Is very good.
 The abundance of the rains in South ern Mexico, which prevents the growing of wheat b. natu al irrigation, helps the abundant and cheap raising of barley; and while about the i City of Mexico bushel of wheat is worth < eight of barley, in the Banjo the price ( of each Is about the same. {,