Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-09-29
Farming in Mexico.
SAN DIEGO, TEXAS, Sept. 10, 1886.
Correspondence of the spEcTAToR.l

SAN DIEGO, TEXAS, Sept. 10, 1886.
Correspondence Of the SPECTAToRl
Editor Staunton Spectator 1t is said
| that the inhabitants of China read the same
books, sing the same songs, eat the same
kind of food that their fathers did four
| thousand years ago in fact, that the au
| thentic history of that country, running
back to the time of Moses, so states, and
| is not to be doubted. Just so, one would
! judge that the poor Mexican did the same,
judging from the tools and implements he
uses in tilling the soil. The Egyptian OK
yoke and the Roman plow often seen in the
pictures of antiquity appear in the Mexican
| fields in reality, and are truly objects of
| interest to the stranger, and of pride to the
| possessor, for this low class of farmers take
great pride in their wooden plows, and
| seemingly useless implements.
THE POOR FARMER
though he may appear to be such, is not
always poor in financial point of view;
| for he often owns thousands of acres of
land, and sheep, goats, horses and cattle
without number that is he don't know
how many he really owns. And to de-
scribe one Of these farms, will be to de
scribe all, for what one does, all do the
way one plants his crop, all plant the
way one plows, all plow. They use two
kinds of fences. One is made of the tops
of mesquet trees, and in our country is
commonly called brush fence. The other
nothing more or less than a brush fence,
but is made by setting the trunks of this
same mesquet tree in the ground about two
| or three feet apart in two parallel rows, and
| twisting the tops of the same trees between
them, making very durable fence, as this
mesquet is proof against rain and sunshine,
lasting for years in fact, fences of this
kind have bsen known to last for fifty or
hundred years. A fence of this sort sur
rounds field of nine or ten acres, and
often less, in the center of the farmers
land and comprises his farm. Gates are
not known on Mexican farm, and a couple
of poles form what we call bars. just out
side of this field stands the farmhouse, or
jocal, hut made of dobs, with only one
roam, covered with tile, with dirt floor,
a blanket for a door, no window, no bed,
no stove or fireplace except few stones in
the center of the apartment, where the
carne (meat) and tortilas, (pancakes), are
prepared, with no escape for the smoke,
except through the opening called a door.
And as smoke Injuries the eyes as vinegar
does the teeth, this accounts for Mexicans,
as rule, having bad eyes, and as vinegar
is unknown to them, they have fine teeth.
However, this kind of life seems to be ap
preciated by this people, for
YEAR IN AND YEAR OUT
they follow in he same routine, whether
from choice or necessity. He yokes up his
oxen to his wooden plow and scratches
over this same field that his father scratch
ed before, plants his corn too thick, plows
it too little to ever raise anything but
''nubbins." Wheat, oats and rye are too
uncertain for him to SOW in fact, there is
not ono farmer out of thousand that has
ever raised these cereals. These farmers
| never raise but one crOp,-corn-cOrn in
the Spring, corn in the Fall-corn year in
and year out. They use the blade and
stock for fodder, which answers the place
of hay, and the nubbin or grain for bread
and little the oxen or ponies get of these
| half ears of corn. He has no regular time
| for planting his corn, and no regular time
for plowing it. He raises no vegetables,
such as potatoes, turnips, &c. He has no
orchard, hence has no apples, peaches, &c
He plants no garden, hence he has no
garden truck, such as beans, cabbages, &c.
can't obtain it elsewhere from his neigh
| bors or friends, which he uses lavishly in
his soup and with his meat, and if he can't
use it any other way, eats it raw. One
would naturally ask
WHAT DOES HE EAT?
Meat, pepper and garlic. For breakfast,
he has meat and pepper, seasoned with
garlic for dinner, he has meat and garlic
seasoned with pepper and for supper, he
eats pepper and garlic seasoned with lit
tie meat; and his system is SO saturated
with pepl er and garlic that the buzzards
will not eat him, and history tells us that
hundreds of Mexicans killed at the battle
of San Jacinto remained on the battlefield
for days and weeks and literally dried up
undisturbed by these birds, on account of
the pepper their systems contained-l
Though he may have a hundred COWS, he
never has any butter or cheese. AS a |
general thing, be has plenty of chickens,
generally of the Spanish breed, and never
is he without dogs-seldom less than three
or four, and often halfdozen. 'Tis said
that the farmer writes his history upon his
fields. This may be so, but in this case, it |
is an unwritten history. To be sure, he
has home, such as it is, and he has land
but he allows it to remain as it was created |
untitled, unused. Is it ignorance or want
of push and energy? He certainly seems
contented to live on and on in this way as
his fathers lived, looking with contempt
upon any advice given him by Americans
or eigners-making little, spending
little. knowing, doing, thinking little, and
caring less.
The corn is kept with the shucks on, for
should they be removed, the weevil would
destroy it. Manure is never utilized, hence
the only field the farmer has naturally
grows poor, and his crops year by year
fearfully less. May be once in ten years,
necessity compels him to attack smallpiece
of new ground, but this is not often done.
THE CLIMATE
is better adapted for raising all kinds of
fruits, grains, and vegetables in fact,
any and everything will grow in this coun-
try. For eight months in the year the
mean temperature averages about 65 de-
grees Fahrenheit-speakingo of the country
generally-during the remaining Summer
months the mean temperature is about 80
degrees. During July and August, al
| though trif1e warm, no injurious effects
| are experienced. The air is pure, dry, and
eXhilarating. Sunstrokes are never known,
| and one feels 100 degrees in the shade in
| this country less oppressive than rs degrees
in an Eastern city, where the air is not only
impure, but he gets but little of it.
A farmer can not only raise everything
he plants or sows, but obtains a good price
for it. Corn sells at $1.25; the common
shocks of fodder, after the ears are pulled
off, will bring him $500 dozen; apples