Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1897-04-14
The Secretary of the Interior Has Ap-
proved the Map, Field Notes, Etc.,
Relating to the Blue Water
Land & Irrigation Co.
AN IMMENSE IRRIGATION ENTERPRISE
Between $4,000 and 10000 Acres Of
Desert Land, Located on the Line of
the A. & P. Railroad, 1O6 Miles
West of Albuquerque, to Be
Reclaimed by Irri-
cation.

The u. s. Land office in this city hal
been notified that on March % the score
tary of the interior approved the surveys
maps, field notes, ETC., relating to the prop
erty of the Blue Water Land Irrigation
company.
| Next to the Pecos valley irrigation
project, this is one of the largest single
irrigation and land reclamation schemes
in New Mexico, and it's development is
of great import to the section directly
affected, and to the territory in general,
In brief this proje contemplates the re-
olamation of from $4,000 to 10000 acres
of desert land located near the line of the
Atlantic & Pacific railroad, about 100
miles west of Albuquerque. The reservoir
site is near Blue Water, a station on the
A. u p, exactly 106 miles west of Albu-
querque. The company has already 1000
acres under cultivation, which produces
alfalfa, and all kinds of grain. Thus far
the produce has found a market at Fort
Wingate, to which point rs carloads of
alfalfa were shipped during the past sea-
son. At the present time the company is
using 40 foot dam, which IL to be raised
to 80 feet during the coming summer
thus giving natural overflow over solid
rock at 48 feet. The reservoir when COM
pleted will store $4,000 acre feet of water,
sufficient for all purposes at the pres
ent time in contemplation. The com.
pany is heavily capitalized, and the sue.
cess already attained is substantial en-.
couragement for those interested to carry
the project to its fullest consummation.
The thing is no longer an experiment,
but is in actual operation in all it's de.
tails The proposition now is to extend
the scope of the scheme along lines al
ready demonstrated success. The next
step will be to increase the capacity of
the reservoir in order to furnish water for
greater acreage. A few hundred acres
will be added each year until the whole
tract is under cultivation. John Norton,
of Los Angeles, is president of the CON-
pany engaged in the work above outlined,
and among the stockholders are such well
known capitalists as w. f. Mclaughlin,
of TT. Wingate, and ]. s. Van Doran, of
Los Angeles, the last named being the
active manager.
The land included in the tract which is
being reclaimed, up to the time that this
company took hold of it was not worth
10 cents an acre for any purpose. No
more worthless or barren tract could be
imagined, and the transformation now
going on is indeed, as if by magic. But
while absolutely worthless, and produc.
ing nothing at all in the shape of vegeta-
tion under the old order of things, this
land is just the same, as rich as any to be
found 10 the world. The soil is made up
principally of loan, washed down from
the mountains, and under irrigation will
produce anything under the sun. 1t is
particularly we'll adapted to the produc.
tion of grain and alfalfa. Fruit also does
we'll in certain localities on this extensive
tract, which will develop into one of the
richest agricultural sections in New Mex
leo, within few years.