Bisbee daily review., 1903-11-08
t,um,Unn..un .NvjIGt
 IN HFW MEXICO
OUR SISTER TERRITORY WILL BE SCENE OF NEXT OPERATIONS
Government !rrisation Plan Means Greater West.-Some Difficulties Yet tc be Overcome.

4 preliminary examination has been made by the engineers of the United States Reclamation Service of two impo' tant pro,ects in New Mexico. known as the Hondo and the Urton fake projects. A cursory examina- tion indicates ;aat each project is feasible from both an engineering ana a financial point Of view.
 The land CT the Hondo project which could be irrigated to advantage amounts 10 possibly 15,0o0 acres. and the first estimate of cost of putting the water on the land is about s20 per acre Land which can be irrigated most easily from the Hondo reservoir Is nearly all ir the hands of private parties so that the question of coloni" ,ation would cause no trouble. It is all first class irriysble land. free from sIkah and. because of the underlying limestone formation. it will never be troubled from tha; source. The lands if watered. will be easily worth slV0 an acre when planted in alfalfa or corn. and if used for fruit raising will eventually have higher value. The works contemniated fo- this project sre the enlargiDr Of the natural reser- voir and an iniet and outlet canal. which involve 10 engineering difficult ties.
 The la0d on the Urtou ! ake project Is all government land with the ex- centioa cf a few claims bordering the river. This laud is unGerlain by a very porous sandstone which will probably a~orf so1d suhirainage and p-even; trouble rom alkali. The reservoir site is au excellent netural jenression and will hold 190.- GOO acre-feet without any expense evce1t for the outlet works. which win be in red sandstone.
 The works contemnlated in this pro'ect are: a dam and head works on the peccs river about 10 miles above Fort Sumner: about 3s miles Of canal to carrv 19o0 seoond-feet in times ot Bood: three structures al crossings of Creeks: the necessary outlet works including tunnel 1000 feet long; and about 30 miles Of distributing canals On he lands to be irrigated. A rougn estimate uf cost of this project IS VI o2005O or siT per acre. There is Gtt'e doubt that this land would all De settled up rs.iIlv. as it is withir twenty uiies of the Pecos Valley and Northeastern railroad, which line would undoubtedly build a branch
 OiS section.
 There are however. some uncertain tjeS in connection with the Droiec being the nOssi1iiitv of the reservoir not being flied some years. The dat: relating % the stream measurement are not comn'et5. and it will he neres sa-v 10 cuntinua the records of tn. run-off of the Pecos river during thu (ime the ;aurvess oi the canal and O Ge jrripsbie lands are Neiue mace Srd during the construction until tn' works are finished. IL appears iron tha best information that the reser Ynir could be tiled every ordinar year hut orcaeiorailv d~v year. suc1 Ss 7403. creates doubt as to the DOS sih'iity ce o''vsv5 fi'iing the reServoi, It is n-,,eshIe that the seepage fror the irriCafeG iands considered unde these n-o'ects would eventually nor than Dlate up ior any apparent los teiow them ocCa-ioned bv the prt Pecos river