Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-13

and came down here for the climate ano
an easier time. All of them brought
money with them. There are lew IoI
eigners and no poor. The lack or me
chanics. laborers and housenoia Sel 10
working for himself. There are no Jalls,
noorhouses. saloons, gambling houses OF
other disreputable resorts: The nve!les'
designations are furnished by MOVING pr
ture shows and concerts given by prass
bands. which seem TO nave o'ooSoSu
out in every community. Oh.
The most conspicuous feature or ths
country is the large, comfortable anu
artistic homes both on the farms hsa Lna an ~
together. Some towns have two banks.
and before another year there Will De AZ
least one in every town Ihere are seN
eral cotton oil mills. sugar mills. ice Iac-
tories. canning factories, and other enter
prises for utilizing the local products are
being talked about.
All Land Irrigated.
All the farms are irrigated either by
wells or by eighteen different canal conf
panies. representing a total investment
of s34.OOO,OOO. mostly st. Louis, Chicago
Cincinnati. Columbus. st. Paul, Minne-
apolis and Denver capital. March l last
65. 600 acres were under water. and mat
area is being extended as fast as the land
can be cleared All of the irrigation sys-
TENS take their water from the Rio
Grande Their combined capacity will lr-
rieate 20 600 acres-the farthest Land be-
ing fifteen miles from the river. North
of that limit the irrigation depends upon
artesian wells, which seem to rurnlsh an
inexhaustible supply. The artesian basin
extends from Houston almost 10 the
banks Of the Rio Grande.
The largest and most profitable crop Is
sugar cane, which is ground at three
local mills situated at convenient places.
The second crop in volume and value is
cotton. The third is winter vegetables
During the winter Of 191O-1l about 900
cars of garden truck were shipped by ex-
press to the northern markets. and 1,:24
cars by freight and that was the third
winter that shipments have been made.
The cotton crop for 1910 was 1880
bales, and about 100000 pounds of su-
gar were produced along the line OF the
road. There is practically no limit to the
production of either cotton or sugar. and
both are being planted as rapidly as land
can be cleared
All of the land belonged to the five
ranchmen l named in the earlier part of
this letter. and was sold by them either
to syndicates or to the farmers who now
occupy and cultivate 1t at prices ranging
from 81 to $50 an acre before the irrigat-
ing system canals were built, and from
SIS TO $50 an acre with water rights The
average farm is forty acres.
Land Companies Active.
The largest operator is the American
Rio Grande Land and Irrigation Com
pany of ST. Louis, which bought 125. 600
acres of land and built twenty-seven
miles of main canals and five miles Of
laterals to every one mile Of main canal
II has expended nearly 100000 for a
thorough and permanent plant. All Of
the buildings are Of reinforced concrete.
the pumps are operated by electricity and
everything is up to date. This company
now has about 5000 acres in sugar cane,
cotton. alfalfa and all kinds of truck and
forage crops.
The next largest company Is the San
Bentto Land and Water Company. which
I will tell you about in future letter.
The Mission Land and Water Company,
a Minneapolis organization, has more
than q million dollars invested, and will
tell you of 1t later
The largest individual owners are the
Pharr Brothers of New Orlenas. sugar
planters, who have built private canals
10 irrigate about 5000 acres, which they
will plant to cane and grind In their own
mills Mcdowell & Smart Of Pittsburg
have private canals to irrigate 1900 acres.
which will be planted 10 sugar cane. They
are now building mill.
The inspiration and the soul Of this
great movement is b. F. Yoakum of San