Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1899-12-21
Its Great Importance Pointed Out by
New Mexico's Governor.
In a Report to the Secretary Of the Interior
He Shows What Has Been Accomplished
in the Territory The Various Crops
Produced and Profits Derived
From Them.
washington Times,)

der the caption OF Ten acres. what a
man can do with a small tract of land
under irrigation" the governor says:
Sweet potatoes of most excellent
quality yield abundartly in all the val
leys of the central and southern por-
lions of the territory, and constitute
one of the best crops that the former
can raise, because they enable him to
realize a good return for his seasons
work from a very small tract of land,
which is an important consideration to
a farmer anywhere, but especially so to
one in an irrigation country. The soil
and climate Of this country seem to be
peculiarly adapted to the growth of the
sweet potato; the quality of the product
is fully equal to that of the famous po-
tatoes of New Jersey and a fair aver
age crop will give from 800 to 1000
ton. They never sell for less in the fall
thar 81 a bushel, and those hal are
kept into the winter usually bring as
much as 81. From this it will be seen
SAAoS chC oSAS ~ ~ w o"NSN PNS~
toes in New Mexico will yield the far
mer as much money as he car hope to
realize in a good year from so acres of
corn or wheat in Kansas or Nebraska,
and since the results are to be meas
ured by dollars Inc not by acres, it will
be apparent to anyone that the irriga-
ton farmer, although he may not be
able to cultivate fields as broad as those
Of his neighbor in the rain belt, has a
better prospect of success and a decid-
eddy better chance of a bank o at
the end of the year..
THE GROWING OF VEGETABLES.
THE onion is another product that
seems to be peculiarly adapted to this
section of the country. The large white
Spanish onion, which grows to a great
er perfection in the southwest than any
where else in the United States, affords
n of the most profitable crops that
can be grown in this territory, and re-
quires irrigation to bring it to perfec-
ton. On account of it's beautiful sill
very color Inc it's peculiar mild flavor,
this onion finds ready sale in any part
of the country, and always brings the
highest market price. The yield is
about 500 bushels to the acre, under
proper cultivation, and the price at
home ranges from 81 to $3.50 per bushel.
Celery and asparagus are also arti-
which are especially adapted to the
soil and climate of this country, and at
tain here a degree of excellence rarely
found in such articles grown elsewhere.
1.-THE New Mexico celery is far supe-
rior to that grown in California, and is
pronounced by all who try it fully equal
in all respects to the famous Kalamazoo
product, which is noted throughout the
country for it's superiority.
And when 1t comes to asparagus,
New Mexico can fairly claim to beat
the world for nowhere else on the
continent is there raised as
paragus which can at all compare with
that grown in the valley of central and
southern New Mexico. In many places
there are large quantities of saltpeter
in the soil (the American settlers call 1t
alkali,' because 1t comes to the sur
face after a rain and makes TIE ground
white, causing it to resemble the alkali
of the north). This article, which is
deleterious to many kinds of vegetables,
is the favorite food of asparagus and
obviates the necessity Of applying salt
to the ground, as has been done wherev-
er this vegetable is grown in the eastern
or middle states.
THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.
"An asparagus bed of one acre will
yield, after the third year., about 200
pounds a day for sixty days, which is as
long as it is wise to cut it; this will
bring an average of 10 cents a pound
during the season. An acre in sweet
potatoes will yield 900 bushels, worth
a bushel at least, as as soon as they
were dug. An acre of onions will yield
and an acre of celery can be relied upon
to bring at least $500. A man needs two |
acres in alfalfa, and two in corn or oats |
for his horse and COW, and two acres for
house lot, orchard and kitchen garden.
That makes ten acres in all, which is
as much as any man needs to farm for
profit, and Is fully as much as the most |
industrious man can cultivate properly.
There is an abundance of good land for |
such purposes to be had in all parts Of
the territory. Take, for example, the
Rio Grande valley, the oldest portion of
the territory in point of settlement, a
that has been settled for more
than 300 years, and vet not one-fourth
the available land in this section Of
the country Is under cultivation at the |
present time. Beginning a little above
and going down to a point a
below San Marcial, we have one
of the most desirable and fruitful Sec
tions of the famous valley, and lying
in what may properly be called
the agricultural center Of New Mexico,
a district of about 150 miles in length,
and with an average width of about Ave
miles, embracing $50 sections, or $50, 900
acres; and yet a careful writer, who has
travelled frequently over the district Of
country in question, says: IF we con-
cede that one-tenth of the land is now
under cultivation, we are making a very
liberal estimate" But If we should al
most double this very liberal estimate
we should still have In the district re-
ferred to about 0 1000 acres Of unused
land.
WATER IN PLENTY.
And there is no waste land in this
district named; 1t Is all arabic and all
tillable, and needs only the application
Of water to make It as productive as the
best lands in any part Of the world. The
Rio Grande carries water enough for
the cultivation Of the whole Of this
tract without encroaching in the least