Deming graphic., 1910-12-02
VALUABLE FACTS
FROM AUTHORITY
Engineer Fuller of the United
States Department of
Agriculture
SAYS MIC E THING S
Mimbres Valley will become
Agricultural and Horti-
cultural Centre.

| enclose you herewith con-
densed statement covering my re-
marks at your commercial club
meeting at Deming recently.
In the valley of the Mimbres riv-
er, locality Of Deming, N. NJ, are to
be- found several hundred thousand
acres Of as fine agricultural land as
exists in the West, made so because
of the sandy loam nature of the sur
face soil and the adobe subsoil which
everywhere exists. No more ideal
condition could be found in this
respect.
The climatic conditions are such
as to make possible the raising Of
fruits of many varieties, and ! can
conscienciously say that the Bart
lett pears produced in this section
of New Mexico excel in size, flavor
and grain, any have seen in more
noted fruit raising sections. The
same may be said of the peaches,
nectarines. plums and grapes. not
overlooking the apples; n variety of
which was adjudgcd to be the larg-
est exhibited at Chicago some time
ago; and at the Irrigation Congress
held at Albuquerque last year.
Magnificent specimens of potatoes
were shown to me while in Deming
and am confident that with irriga-
ton the valley would rapidly forge
to the front as an agricultural and
horticultural center.
The present lack of development
is due to a transition of industry,
the country having been the scene,
until recently, of large cattle indus
try. but the overstocking of the
range has divested il Of forage, and
today, for the most part the land is
given to the growth of mesquite and
sage.
The passing of the cattle indus
try has offered field for farming On.
terprise, but this has been discour-
aged by the uncertain and often
meagre precipitation during the
summer months.
was surprised to note an inclin'
alton upon the part Of some of the
merchants to discourage irrigation
enterprise upon the ground tina,
the range country might again re-
cover its vegetation and stimulate 1
return of cattle grazing. Again
il was stated that those who occu
pied land could not afford to en-
cumber their land with the expens'
necessary to obtain irrigation, not
understanding without irrigation th'
crop yield is exceedingly low. Th'
short-sightcdness of such reasoning
is obvious
The land in the valley, will, in m!
opinion, if planted to alfalfa, b'
worth at the least estimate $3.50 pc
acre, and if planted to orchards sev
eral times this amount.
The entire valley possesses an un
derflow equal to any section in tn
West, and apparently exceeding tn
underhow of the Salt River Valley
Ariz., where thousands of acres ar
now reclaimed by pumping from I'm
derflow, and the irrigation of
much larger area contemplated.
The water sheds in the heading q
the Mimbres River contribute to tn
underilow, and these sheds includ
many hundreds Of miles of run-oil
The periods of greatest precipitation
cause an overflowing of the river
flooding the lowlands south 10
many miles.
A very large part Of the streaT
flow sinks through into the under
ground bed as in many other par'
of New Mexico. The undergroun
formation is divided into four dl'
tnct strata, each separated by ella
layers, each successive strata beln
composed of finer sand and grave
until the fourth Is composed larHeI
Of fine sand.
In drilling of wells, the pene'r
ton of each succeeding stratum T