Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1890-08-05

appended extracts Of interest to New
Mexico readers:
SANTA FE.
The farming season in New Mexico has
been an unusually prosperous one. All
crops are produced here by irrigation with
the exception OF the Manzano valley, 100
miles south OF this place. There the rain
fall amounts to from sixteen to eighteen
inches annually, but it comes at such a
seasonable period that generally the
moisture is sufficient to produce very
good crops.
Indian corn, wheat, oats, rye, barley
and alfalfa comprise the articles chiefly
grown. In the northern part of the terri
tory, however, the nights are too cool for
the production of large corn crops and the
farmers are beginning to confne them
selves to the smaller cereals and to alfalfa.
The latter yields five cuttings per season,
and will this year come fully up to the
average of five tons per acre. In southern
Santa Fe county w. P. Metcalfe has just
Graded ten acres of wheat that will aver
age about thirty bushels to the acre and
which was grown without irrigation
This is unusual, being made possible only
by the abundant rains which came in the
early spring TO that particular region.
Water for irrigation purposes has been
more plentiful this season in all the
streams, outside of few sections in the
extreme southwestern portion Of the terri.
tory, than for five years past. This is at
tributed to the fact that heavy SHOWS fell
in the mountains during the winter and
no warm rains came in the early spring
to rapidly thaw them out and send the
waters therefrom flooding toward the Rio
Grande or the Pecos.
In the Mesilla valley there has been
some lack of water, only, however, be-
cause of the defective canals. Crops
throughout southeastern New Mexico
promise well. In Colfax county many
new farms have been established about
the reservoirs and canals of the Maxwell
Grant company, some of them having
100-acre fields of alfalfa and the extraor.
dinary moist season there promises full
harvest. In Mora, Taos and San Juan
valleys the season is above the average.
Horticulture is becoming an important
factor in New Mexico. In every valley
where water for irrigation is at all plenti-
full orchards, large and small, are Just now
coming into full bearing, and in few
years New Mexico fruit, already enjoying
limited notoriety for its superior flavor,
will help to supply the mark cts of all
western cities. At this time daily ship
ments of small fruits, peaches, pears,
cherries, nectarines, apricots and plums
are going out of Santa Fe. AS yet Colo.
RADIO is the most accessible market. Ell
Paso takes much of the fruit raised here,
but transportation rates are very high as
compared with those accorded other fruit
growing regions OF the west. The peach
and grape crop this year will be enor-
nous, as will also the pear crop. One
Santa Fe orchardist manufactured twenty
barrels OF vinegar out Of his pear crop
last year, being unable to get his luscious
fruit on the Denver market because of the
unreasonable cost OF transportation. From
the Meslla valley grape shipments have al
ready commenced. In the San Juan
region OF New Mexico orchards, but
years old, are now in full bearing. Mr..
William Locke, of San Juan county, N.
NJ, estimates his peach crop this season
at 500 bushels. 1t is from this region of
New Mexico, that Durango, Silverton,
Rico and southwestern Colorado towns
derive all the fresh fruit consumed in
their markets.
On the whole the present season in New
Mexico for farmer, fruit grower and
stockman is turning out to be one of gen.
eral prosperity.
ESpANOLA.
Farmers are in the midst of wheat har.
vest here. Most of the harvesting is done
with cradles, though the primitive sickle
or reaping hook, such as was in use in
Spain 1000 years ago, is still used by a
great many who despise innovations. A
good many have advanced far enough to
use the modern sickle with teeth to it.
Several bundles of these were received by
Bond Bros. this season.
There are only two MOVING machines
in the Espanola valley, and they were
brought here to cut alfalfa. The wheat
crop is better than an average here this
season, because there has been an abun