Southwest-sentinel., 1894-10-30

OF late the cainagre plant fol
tanning purposes, is attracting
much attention,not only in our own
country but ia Europe and as fai
down in the other hemisphere as
Australia. The demand for the
roots for planting and for material
tor making leather, comes from all
sources.
In view Of this state of things
and che exceeding great demand
and value of it for making leather
rapidly, it seems bestfor the farm
ers in this valley and all over the
Territory where the plant grows,
at this time when the water supply
is so uncertain, to engage in its
cultivation.
Being indigenous to the arid eli
mate, growing as it does with little
or no water, SO easily raised, and
SO very valuable, it can be made
lucrative to all who are willing to
raise or even dig it in its wild state
on the mesas, where it nbounds to
a considerable extent.
Now if every farmer will plant
one to ten acres, he can, in a very
short time, roalize much more FOR
the roots of the plant than from
any other product, grass, alfalfa,
cereal OF vegetable-and that too,
on very ordinary poor soil. l
don't mean sand, hard stiff soil OF
stony ground, but such soils as we
find generally in the valley of the
Rio Grande.
On the college farm, / have been
cultivating canaigre for three
years and can speak from expert
ence about its growth and yield,
both above water and under irriga-
ton. In October, one, two and
three-year-oll roots were planted
out ard the yield of that under
water has varied from an estimate
of four to ten tons per acre of green
roots. When first planted, they
were merely thrown into the
ground, without its having had any
previous preparation, in rows two
burrows apart and the tubers two
feet apart in the rows. Later on
the land was plowed shallow and
partly ridged up, irrigated in the
fall and then again in winter.
Each Hill that grew made all the
way from one to four pounds of
marketable roots, besides enough
small ones to seed the land for the
next year. The largest tuber
found in digging ten hills at ran
dom, weighed fourteen ounces and
the rest of the hill, exclusive of the
one that was planted, weighed
more than four pounds. Later
experiments with its cultivation
show that a deep and thorough
preparation Of the land will amply
pay all expense and labor in that
line, inasmuch as the roots grow so
much larger and more abundantly.
The roots to plant out an acre
or ten, can DO found almost any
whore in the Territority, and will
cost the farmer no more than his
time and the labor of digging
them. The labor Of putting them
into the ground, cultlyating and
irrigating them will be no more
than that Of an ordinary crop Of
corn.
l would recommend the planting
of the roots right end up by hand
in the absence Of better machinery
in rows two feet apart and not
more than a foot and a half in tho
rows--the smaller the roots the
better Irrigate between the rows
in the fall and again in winter,
because the seeds ripen in May
and tly away, 1t is well to gather
them when quite green to COW in
a separate bed for the next years
root-crop. Planting the roots can
be done at any time when the
plants are not growing and they
can DO dug at any time from May
to November without any material
damage.
In October Of laat year ! planted