Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1893-12-20
A Double Prize Taken at the
Worlds Fair---A Great
Wine Producer.
A Splendid Coal, Mineral and
Timber Country--Whatis is Pes
sible in the Future.
Indigenous and Cultivated Plants
A Future Home of Many
Colonies.

The county of Valencia is one of the
Oldest as we'll as the largest counties in
the territory. 1t has population of
1887 persons, is 246 miles from east to
west and sixty-two miles from north to
south. The total area is 5,621 ,760 acres
and of this 100000 acres are fit for pas
turags in their natural state, and about
100000 acres are possibly irrigable from
all sources. At present there are about
10000 acres cultivated in this county, a
small proportion of which is titled with
out irrigation. The cultivated land is
divided about as follows: In tho valley
of the Rio Grande 10000 acres, all irri-
gated; in the eight precincts west of that
country 5000 acres; and in the northern
part of the county 5000 acres.
CROPS.
The principal crops are wheat, barley,
corn, beans, chile or peppers, alfalfa and
fruits. Peaches and grapes are the best
fruits in the lower valleys and apples on
the uplands. The greatest spread Of
fruit is in the neighborhoods of Belen
and Los Lunas. These crops all yield
phenomenally, and in some parts of the
county 1t is claimed that the largest har-
vests known in the world are obtained.
LARGEST CROPS KNOWN.
The following statistics are from tho
notes and observations of the Bureau of
Immigration; the vouchers for any of
these facts are of a character that passes
all criticism:
At Cebolleta, on the south side of the
San Mateo mountains, one almud Of corn,
about 1-5 of bushel, yields a Harvest of
100 fanegas-a fanega is 212 bushels>-a
return of $50 bushels of corn from the
sowing of 1-5 of bushei of grain.
Wheat yields proportionately. On one
ranch, in the neighborhood of San Mateo,
from one fanega, or 21s bushels, of seed
wheat, 80 fanegas, or 200 bushels, have
been harvested. As sown here, this would
be at the rate of about so bushels per
acre. All other crops give proportionate
returns. Harvests, even less than the
average Of the neighborhood, are from 10
to 20 per cent better than the rest of the
world. The oats that took the second
Worlds fair prize for quality were raised
near Belen, in this county, and the same
town took the first prize for wheat.
POTATOES.
The whole of Valencia county seems to
be the natural home of the tuber. White or
Irish potatoes grow wild in great abund-
ance. They vary from ~ to inches in
size. AS found uhey are of somewhat
irregular appearance, with pink skin
and white, crispy heart. The children,
even of well-to-do people, eat them raw
and say that the flavor is extremely good,
having peculiar, sweet taste. They grow
in rich sandy loan of unknown depth.
An actual occurrence will illustrate the
character of this soil. At Cerro Colorado, a
stage station on the Puerco river, we'll
was sunk. At depth of 43 feet from the
surface, ruins of houses, with ashes in the
fire places and ordinary house litter, we're
found. Pieces of coal were also dis
covered, indicating that these aborigines
used this fuel.
There is no doubt that, If these wild
potatoes were properly cultivated and de-
veloped according to modern methods,
new and valuable variety might be propa-
gated. They have all the good qualities
Of the cultivated tubers except size, are
indigenous to the soil and climate, and
would need very little water. That it
would pay to give them attention is
forsgone conclusion; and it is also as
true that the modern cultivated potato
would pay handsome profits. At Greeley,
Colo, it is not .unfrequent for potato
raisers to make $10O per acre gross; and
$50 per acre is an ordinary net profit.
FRUITS.
All of the Rio .Grande and Puerco val
leys is especially adapted to fruits. In
these two valleys there are fully 100000
acres Of bottom lands, easily irrigable
and splendidly fitted to these crops. The
general elevation above sea level is about
5000 feet. Peaches and grapes are the
staple crops, and there are now single
farms that yield tens of thousands of
pounds Of the Mission grape. At present
the majority of this product is utilized to