El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-03-26
PRODUCT TIVE
VALLEY Of
RIO GRANDE
Capt. j. p. Casey Says High
Priced California Land Is
Inferior to Valley.
Ell PASO AS A
MARKET PLACE

What can be done with the intelligent
applicati ton of common sense. plus thrift
and economy, in the valleys CO rne Rio
Grande is shown by the results Capt.
]. p. Casey realized on a ranch in the
Mesiila valley. Taking possession of
the 1I2 and fraction acres included in
the ranch in 1887, with nothing on it
but a wilderness of mesquite and tor
milo, Capt Casey cleared the land and
incidentally $4,000 each year during the
time he was in the ranching business,
in addition to supporting his family
and educating his sons.
Border irrigation.
Reservoir, or intensified border irri-
cation, proper cutting of the alfalfa
crops and the utilization OF the after
math are the four strong points in
Capt Casey's story Of his success in the
upper valley. The discovery Of the
first point was purely accidental he
says; as he knew little or nothing OF
practical ranching when he took charge
of the ranch, which was located on the
Dona Ana road above Las Cruces.
In constructing his bitches one and
one eighth acre of ground was cut off
from the rest between two bitches.
When cutting time came ii was found
that this acre and a fraction had pro-
duced three and three eighths tons Of
hay This interested the amateur
rancher and he discovered that the
bitches surrounding the small piece Of
land had wet the ground more thor
oughly than the remainder Of the Gull
tivated portion of the ranch. This set
him to thinking and the result was, a
10 acre tract was put in cultivation the
following fall with high borders. This
was the beginning OF the system of
economic irrigation which Capt. Casey
called reservoir irriga ton for the want
OF a better rame- The borders were
made much higher than was the custom
and the neighboring ranchers referred
to the ranch owner, he says, as the
crazy man who made such high Dor
ders."
All of the ranch but about IL acres
was later put into cultivation under the
same system of high borders and as an
illustration Of the success attained Capt
Casey says he got 100 tons of hay off of
the 100 acres and caused the native cut
tiers TO reform their acre charge for
cutting the crops as his hay could not
be profitably cut at the old charge of
as cents per acre.
Alfalfa Cutting.
Another important fact was discov-
cred by Capt. Casey while he was in
active charge of the ranch The proper
time for cutting alfalfa has always been
more or less mooted among hay grow
ers- Some say after IT blooms, some
say TO cut while IL is in full bloom and
others advocate intermediate times.
Capt Casey. from the experience he
had gained. decided that the best time
to cut the hay crop was just before 1t
got in bloom His theory is based on
years of practice. He claims that 1T is
best to cut the crop before 1T mas
bloomed, for when IL blooms the
growth is stunted. When the crop is
cut just before it blooms but after it
has reached its maturity, Capt. Casey
says. 1t Immediately starts up fresh nc
make a second crop and the result is
from four TO five cuttings each season
with good aftermath
This aftermath was utilized by the
rancher to provide feed for a number of
calves which he collected in different
parts of the valley and pastured on =
alfalfa land until the aftermath had
been eaten, then he disposed of them
to the El Paso and valley butchers at
q good profit.
Gives Land a Rest
That vegetation. like animals, requires
rest during the winter months is an
other interesting fact Capt Casey
learned as a. result of his experience
with the Mesilla valley ranch. From
November TO February, at the time
when his neighbors across the fence
were soaking their alfalfa fields, Mr.
Casey allowed his alfalfa plants 10 rest
not irTigating for three months The
latter part of February he would irri-
gate his ground, crop would come
out Of the ground overnight almost
and the yield was heavier and the
quality of the hay much higher as
result of the vacation the wealth pro-
ducing forage plants had been given
With an experience in practical
ranching which extended over Il years
and a working knowledge OF the con-
dftions and soil formations extending
over another IS years, Capt Casey says
he feels qualified to judge the fertility
Of the Rio Grande. valley soil as COM