Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-06-14
To Review the Guard,
IRRIGATION IN MEXICO.
Only Water Needed to Attain Won
derful Results With Crops.

United States Consul P. Merrill Griffith
at Matamoras. Mexico writes to the State
Department regarding irrigation in Mexico:
Vast areas of land In the states north Of
the City of Mexico are now lying unculti-
waited, unimproyed. unused, and conse-
Quently almost uninhabited- This Is caused
by the scarcity and uncertainty Of the rain
fall, and yet II is quite possible by capital
and engineering skill to change the greater
portion Of this desert into a garden.
Several important undertakings, which
will undoubtedly be Of great benefit 10 this
country. are now under contemplation. In
one place plans were submitted and esti-
mates completed at considerable cost as
far back as 1894 The locality referred to
Is situated in the north Of the state of
Tamaulipas, in this consular district. be-
tween the city OF Camargo and the town OF
Reymosa.
1T is proposed to erect dam across the
San Juan river some twelve miles above
Camargo and conserve three-rourthS OF the
waters of that river. The canal is designed
to embrace about 2D0.OO0 acres Of the land
between the foothills and the banks of the
Rio Grande- This land today Is almost
worthless, and scarcely suitable for goat
pasture. The soil, however, is the finest
alluvial and is from thirty to forty feet in
depth. On the banks of the Rio Grands in
this vicinity several small farms, the
owners of which are lifting the water from
the river and irrigating few acres. Mag
nificent results have BEEN obtained in the
growth of cane, corn, cotton and vegeta-
bles; and one may conclude that with the
realization of this project enough cotton
could be grown to supply the amount re-
Quired by the Mexican cotton mills which
are now importing the raw material from
the United States.
One fact especially noteworthy in the
construction Of irrigation works in this
country is that the expenses are paid in
silver, and that building stone cement
lob
are exceedingly cheap In most of the states
OFTEN water supply can be provided at a
charge TO the landowner not exceeding $40
Mexican Cs4I2 gold per acre for the prime
cost of a water right. and an annual rental
may be contracted for at 81 Mexican per
acre At present, foreign investors seem to
be interested only in tropical land which
costs from So to s12 gold per acre and about
the same amount to clear before anything
can be grown on It; while in the northern
STA there Is large quantity of desira-
BILE lands that can be bought at from 81 to
% Mexican (SO.94 to 1886 per acre and
where the cost of irrigation either by gray
ltation from the rivers or by pumping, If
properly managed, would be comparatively
small
The lands, when irrigated. would realize
handsomely. returning possibly not less
imam 20 per cent to the investor If planted
In cotton. cane. corn. beans. beets or other
products suited to the climate. Probably
the most important consideration In such an
undertaking Is the employment of q com
potent engineer have been Informed that
great many Of the large irrigation works
nave failed because of a lack In this re-
gard.
The arid states of Mexico have many
natural resources; no great difficulty would
be experienced in bringing them under cul-
uvation. The climate is salubrious, the
soil fertile and everything seems to indicate
that by the introduction of practical svs-
TENS OF irrigation works and the intelligent
application OF labor the most sanguine
expectations OF the investor could be real
Lied"