El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-06-26
IRRIGATION IN MEXICO.
Mexican Lands Rapidly Changing
Hands.


ba.ieodas. sad large bodies of wild
lands held by private individuals o
svndlcates in Mexico are rapid |.
cbaneipR hands at prices far in ad
yauce of those of last year. and Ger
tainiy 500 per cent above those de
mauded four years ago. This ad
vanc- is warranted by the production
of the soil Gin the southern
state, where the annual rain
crops OF cereals per aunum, where rub
Der. van l.s, cocoa, coffee, plan tains
nineapples, oranges, and other valuable
tropical and semitropicsl products ar
cu,t;v.ted But Mexico Is not all tro
pical nor semitropical, and the above
remarks are only applicable to those
lands in the south, which do not ex
coed one-fifth of the area OF this rep
ublic.
From statistics obtained in the city
of Mexico it appears that nineteenth;
of the transfers of lands made durinQ
the past year have been for lands
situa.ed within $50 miles north and
south of the railroad running across
the Isthmus of sTehuantepec. AS the
territ Try embracing the richest por-
tions o: these tropical lands is some
what limited and is now almost all
controlled by investment and improve
meut companies, it is safe to suppose
that investors will pay more
attention in the future to the more
northern states, which cont ain many
millions OF acres OF the richest soil
and which are situated in q climate
more congenial to the American or
European settler. Vast areas OF land
in the 1T ite- north of the City of Mex
leo are now lying uncultivated, unim-
proved unused, and copee queEtly al
most uninh bited. This is caused by
the scarcity and uncertainty of the
rainfall. and yet IL Is quite possible by
ca oital and engineering skill to change
the greater portion of this desert into
Q garden.
With but few exceptions, irrigation
appears to be practiced today in the
most primitive fashion, out the topo-
graphical and geological formation OF
. great portion of the country Is espe-
cislly suitable for the successful opera
tion of modern systems, and by con-
structing reservoirs to store the rain
water dams, gravitation can als, pump
ing, sinking artssian wells, ETC., enor-
NOUS areas of magnificent soil are sus-
ceptible of development. The value OF
irrigation in this country has been
confirmed by the experience of the
LaRuna district in the state of Chihua-
D.
state producing cotton: but this ex-
ample has as yet been followed by but
few large landowners.
Several important undertakings,
w b1ch will undou btedly be OF great
benet to to this country, are now un-
der contemplation. In.one place, plans
w-.e submitted and estima tes complet-
ed at considerable cost as far back as
1894. The locality referred to ia stu
~ To
auIipas, in this consular district, be-
tween the city of Camargo and the
town of Reymoss.
1t Is proposed to ere ct dam across
tho San Juan river some IL miles above
Camargo and conserve three-fourths
of the waters of = at river. The canal
Is designed to embrace about zoo, 900
acres of the land between the foothills
and the banks of the Rio Graude. This
land today is almost worthless and
scarcely suitable for goat pasture: The
is from 80 to 40 feet in depth.
On the banks of the
Rio Gcsude in this vicicity are
several small farms, the owDers OF
which are lifting the water from the
river and irrigating few acres. Mag
nifcent results have been obtained in
the growth of cane, corn, cotton, and
vegetables; and one may conclude that
with the realization of this project,
enough cotton could be grown to sup
ply the amount required by the Mex
icap cotton mills, which are now i'm
porting the raw material from the Unit
ed States.
De fact especially noteworthy in
the construction of irrigation works in
thI- country is that the expenses are
pa d in silver, and that building stone,
lime, sand, gravel, earthwork,
and labor are exceedingly cheap ia
most of the states. Often, a water
supply can be provided at charge to
lean (S4. u gold) per acre for the
prime cost of water right.
and "a annual rental may be contract
ed for at 81 Mexican per acre. At
present, foreign investors seem to be
interested only in tropical land, which
costs from S. to SI2 gold per acre and
8 bout the same amount to clear before
anything eau be grown on it: while in
the northern states, there is large
quantity OF desirable lands that can be
bought at from So to So Mexican (SO.94
TO 81 36J per acre. aud where the cost
Of irrigation, either by gravitation from
the rivers or by pumping, if proper
~ N managed. would be comparatively
small.
The lands, when irrigated, would
realize handsomely, returning posi- bly,
not less than 20 per cent to the invest
Dr. if planted ia cotton, cane. CORP,
beans. beets, or other products suited
TO the climate. Probably, the most
important consideration in such an
is the employment of a
,ompetent engineer. 1 have been in
formed that great many of the large
rigation works have failed, because
Of lack in this regard.
The arid states of Mexico have many
natural resources; no great difficulty
would be experienced in bringing them
under cultivation: the climate is aalu-