Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1905-04-27
Tropics of Mexico.


than five months past. Dur.
ing that time we have made two
separate trips and investigated the
land an the eastern coast (which con-
tains practically all the choice agri-
cultural land of MeXico) from Mont
| Grey, in the northeastern part, south
to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec.
At Monterey, in the northeast, the
rainfall is very slight; and from that
point to the Tampico district the rain
fall gradually increases but for u
great many products it requires al
most continual irrigation in the Mont
Grey district, to partial irrigation in
the Tampico district. Southeast from
the city of Mexico beginning about
$50 miles east and little south on
the east side of the Mountain ranges
begins the tropical section proper OF
Mexico, where the soil is very rich.
The climate from this point to within
twenty miles of the coast, is of the
best. The rainfall is ample for all
purposes, and in this section have
been made the heavy investments by
United States people in agricultural
lands, containing a majority of the
large coffee, rubber and sugar plan
tations owned by our people in the
south.
The soil of this tropical country is
of q dark loan. 1t is exceedingly
rich, having been formed by ages of
washing of the soil from the mountain
sides; leaving a rich, black mould of
from three to fifteen feet deep, and
practically inexhaustible. 1t is i'm
possible for our people to comprehend,
without seeing it, the dense tropical
growth on these lands, the timber,
vines, palms and most beautiful flow
ers, all making a picture impossible
to imagine. Imagine if you can, q
country the soil of which is of the
greatest possible fertility, under the
influence of continuous summer sun,
with rainfall of from 80 to 10 inches
per annum. Everything planted in
the ground and cared for grows Wig
orously. .
The even climate makes it possible
to raise three crops on the same
ground in one year; or two regular
crops of corn and one crop of beans,
under proper cultivation, is no illus
ion, but an actual fact. TO parties
investigating lands in tropical Mexico
remember this statement, which is alb
solutely true; there is no frost, with
ample rainfall, and practically sum-
mer season all the year round; veg
citation grows continually, and all the
best laud is covered by a very heavy
growth of timber and vegetable under
growth. If you find any lands that
have not such an underground with
out having been cleared, you will find
land that is not productive. Even with
all our American landowners in Mex
leo but comparatively q small amount
of land is plowed. The underground
is so thick there is no sod formed,
and breaking the ground is unneces-
sary; but corn, rice, yucca, potatoes,
beans, sugar cane etc. are usually
planted by pushing hole in the
ground with sharp stick or spade
and pressing the earth down with the
foot to cover the grain. During the
year the weeds and grass are general
ly cut down with a machette two or
three times, and that is all the cult
walton the crops ever get. Under such
methods, from the reports we have
from Americans there, and Judging
from the thousands of acres of corn
fields we saw, the average is about
thirty bushels per acre. The reader
can imagine what it would produce If
cultivated as we cultivate corn in this
country.
T,DnDC