Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1909-11-19
MILES Of ALFALFA INSURE
PROSPERITY FOR ARTES|A
Surprising Development Taking Place Around Pecos Valley
Town; Thousands of Acres Of Vigorous Young Orchards
Rapidly Coming Into Bearing; Husky Young Town Wants a
New Railroad and Is Willing to Pay for It.
(Staf Correspondence.)

Artesia, N. NJ, Nov. 1S.-Given an
unlimited acreage of the richest kind
of land and an unlimited supply of
water with which to irrigate it and
the combination spells results, ready
money, prosperity. New Mexico has
a good many millions of acres OF the
richest kind of land. The only part
Of TN combination lacking over the
greater part Of the area is the I'M
limited water. Here in Artesia and
the surrounding district occurs that
priceless combination of conditions
and as a result Artesia is one of the
most prosperous towns of its popula-
ton in the world. 1t is not any par
ucular credit to Artesia hat the town
Is prosperous. 1t simply couldn't
help being prosperous II it should try
and although a wide awake business
community rs doing its full share to
build a town here and build it quick.
the town would build itself, without
any other assistance thar that given
by the water u which is TO be
tapped at any point within a radius
OF twenty miles and which when
tapped, lifts itself to the surface
without a dollar of expense to the
land owner, other han the first cost
of sinking and properly casing his
well. 1t is probable hat there is
no more ideal irrigated district in the
world than the n surrounding this
prosperous town. There are no ditch
es save those within the confines OF
each mans land. Therefore there are
no contests over water rights; no ex-
pense of keeping up bitches, no fuss
and worry about distribution of water.
Every man who has an artesian well
OWNS his own water right and plenty
OF it. and that is all there is to il.
When he desires to irrigate his land
he doesn't have to ask anybody about
1t. He merely steps out and turns the
spindle on his artesian well, let's it
flow until the supply of water is suf-
%ficient, then turns it off. One of the
wisest acts of the New Mexico legis-
lature in recent years is the one which
requires careful stoppage of the ar
tesian flow when it is not in use.
There is a well inspector for each dis,
trict of the Pecos valley, Chaves
county and Eddy county. His bust
ness is to see that there is no waste
Of water. For while thu artesian sup
ply Is apparently unlimited. the land
owners of this section are wise enough
not to be wasteful. The result is a
careful conservation Of water which
insures that this s1plly never will be
exhausted.
A while back-two or three years
ago-everal big gushing artesian
wells stopped flowing-went dry. The
people were scared stiff. They thought
that the flow was being exhausted.
The scare lasted until a wise well
driller pointed out that the wells had
been properly cased. To prove it
he put down a well right beside one
of those that had gone dry and he
got n of the biggest wells in the
whole district. Wells do not fail now
a-days because they are carefully and
properly cased. The water supply
here is as sure as that which flows
the Rio Grande or the Pecos.
and in dry years, ii is if anything
more reliable. Just where the artesian
water comes from is an engineering
problem which has not yet been en-
solved. 1t is here and that is
about all the enterprising farmer,
who is coming into this district in
constantly increasing numbers, desires
to know.
About six years ago when the first
well was brought in what is
known as the Artesian district, this
vide stretch of country could have
been bought for a song; a SOM at
least as compared with its present
value. The men who did buy land
are rich men now; for the land
has jumped from five to ten dollars
acre to from 500 to $500 an acre
and ii is going higher. because it Is
worth the money.
Your correspondent was whisked
through this district in an automobile
few days ago by a real estate man
Who had sold forty thousand dollars
worth of farm property during the
past four days. 1t was not such a
very big acreage either. The real es-
man didn't talk much. He let
he country do the talking; n it
old a story that was as convincing l
Is the best "spieler" could have ]
'eeled off: perhaps a little more con- c
lncing. 1T is no trouble to sell real