Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-26
BIG COTTON RANCH.
1t is Located in Mexico and Covers
175 Square Miles.

40 square mics.
From the Two Republics.
What is probably the largest individual
cotton plantation in the world is located
in the republic of Mexico, within the Tia
hualilo cuenca, or cotton belt, that lies be-
tween the watershed of the Rio Grande
and the Bolson de Mapimi. There are 17a
square miles under cultivation, covered
with the snowy blossoms for miles.
In 1889 a project was formulated for car
rying ditch across the desert to the head
of the TIahualilo cuenna and converting
the whole area into huge hacienda. Juan
Llamedo, Spanish capitalist Of Mexico City.
undertook the enterprise, in which he was
aided by the federal government of Mexico.
A preliminary survey showed that the low
est level of the basin to be irrigated
about 100 feet below the point on the river
NaZas which it was proposed to dam: that
the main canal would require a develop
ment of thirty-nine miles, and that the
slope Of the lands within the basin was
such that about 1I5 square miles out of the
2lO composing the basin could be advan-
tageously irrigated. Since then by the aid
of modern engineering and American ma
chinery, 10 square miles have been placed
under cultivation. This required men and
money and a high degree of engineering
capability. The plan of irrigation was in
trusted by Mr.. Llameio to Jose Farjas, a
Spanish engineer. An estate Of 10000 acres
.
water supply, was purchased, and rip-rap
was thrown across the river at a point
where it is about LOO feet wide at the
flood. This constituted a dam, and from
the dam the line of the main canal was
traced to the entrance of the Tlahuiio
basin, thirty-nine miles. The canal was
made seventy-two feet wide at the base,
six and a half feet deep, with a grade OF
from eighteen inches to three feet to the
mile, except as to one particular section.
This canal terminated in a distributing
tank to the entrance of the irrigable area,
from whence it bifurcated, one arm clasp
ing the western side of the basin and the
other the eastern, and both having the
same average grade. One of them was fif-
teen miles in length, thirty feet wide at the
bottom, and with a depth of five feet, while
the other subcanai was thirteen miles in
length, with a width of thrty-siX feet at
the bottom and depth of six feet.
Transverse bitches, at right angles to the
side branches, were then laid out and all
the land thus laid open to irrigation was
set out in blocks of uniform size, each con-
tanning Mexican sitio, conventional area
measuring Spanish league on each side
and measuring nearly 4,5o0 acres The
total dtching called for under the plan in
Cluded the main canal of thirty-nine miles,
the first and second branch canals, respec-
lively, of fifteen and thirteen miles; TWEEN
ty-nine miles of transverse canals, fifty
miles of parallel bitches, and HOO miles of
distributing bitches. The total excavation
called for was about 3,700,000 cubic yards
for the main canal, and for all the other
canals and bitches on the first section
about 100000 cubic yards The first sec
ton involved ninety square miles, From
1000 to 5000 poems were employed on the
work. and a little over year was occupied
in digging the main canal. The most ap-
proved agricultural implements and utensils
had been imported in advance from the
United States. Upon the completion of the
bitches each of the sitios was placed under
the management of an administrator and
4 of ad eiyliS traf ta1
the hacienda of ZaragoZa, some eight miles
down the basin from the distributing tank
and nearly in the center, being prepared for
cultivation. Extensive buildings were also