El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-12-16

/ years nave harvested dUulludnA NAoEl1
have been forced, against their WILL
! perhaps, to agree with a statement re-
/ Gently made by the Review Of Reviews
J that shrewd, hard-headed farmers are
turning their attention to western
/ farms. Naturally they want to improve
water as well as land conditions. IN
/ other words, they want to be IleA
! own rain makers. In order. to DO Jhlss
/ they must come to the states where
I irrigation is practiced.
Government projects and the recla-
nation service appeal very naturally 10
I people and it is not my purpose 10 as
! suade any one thus inclined from max.
/ ing full and exhaustive examination
/ into any and all projects now IL opera
/ ton or hereafter to be promulgated Dy
/ cur generous Uncle Sam
Money Necessary.
/ 1t is well, however, that all people
should know that it takes money and
/ lots of it for one to succeed on any
! reclamation project where the Initial
! cost runs into millions. Men with mon
ey. brains and energy viii succeed on
these projects, even though the cost OF
! obtaining title to the land ranges from
S45 to so per acre, with perpetual
tax for maintenance Of community
bitches added.
irrigation idea as the only reliable get
rich quick scheme without a penalty
attached. With the back to the soil
movement there comes a fland hunger
and water thirst that can be supplied
who have never Travelled the length and
breadth of this mighty southern empire /
can scarcely realize that we have 4,OOV,-
600 acres of land under our beautltul
turquois sky with an available water
supply, as specified by surveyors, and
for which applications to the terrific
rial engineer have been made with but
$50 900 acres now irrigated, according |
! to engineer Miner's report. The esti-
mate includes the largest irrigation /
project in the world, now being con- !
structed st Elephant Butte, down to
the smallest valley consisting of only /
few thousand acres
People Are Alive.
The people of this grand domain, |
where health, opportunity ana Opu-
lence await the man who says: I will" /
is going forward with rapid, irresisu- !
bic strides and the true American spirit !
The best civilization of our country is /
joining the forces of nature in building /
a commonwealth that viii be the peer !
Of any in the union, and with climatic /
conditions surprising them all
New Mexico has successfully prac- /
ticed irrigation since the latter part OF I
the sixteenth century, so that we claim 4
nothing new except improved methods. /
Aside from the area that has been !
and can be reclaimed by Harvesting /
our rivers and streams, we have nearly (
100000 acres of the richest soil in i
by underground waters pumped from 4
shallow depths, 50 TO 100 feet. OF this !
vast area, not oyer five percent has /
been put under cultivation, but that |
five percent has fully demonstrated to (
the world the absolute guarantee Of i
wealth TOuchsafed to the man who pins /
his faith upon the magic of the pump, /
has the cash or credit to buy the pump 4
and applied himself with energy and |
Intelligence. In every county Of the |
new state there are areas that are be- !
ing or may be reclaimed at enormous |
profit by the now proved system Of I
pumping for irrigation.
The PeeOs Valley.
At Roswell, in the great PecOs valley, |
hundreds Of artesian wells tap the IN I
dergrOund waters, and many pumps /
this year over 5000 carloads of the /
finest orchard and field products in 4
the world, worth not less than $4,000
600, to say nothing Of tralnlOadS OF live |
stock, wool and cotton. This is rela |
lively true of the whole of the great /
PecOs valley whose 1911 alfalfa pro- /
duct alone is worth almost sI,00G000.
single pumping proposition near /
Roswell includes $4,000 acres, with 28 I
miles of electric transmission lines /
connecting the motor driven pumps .
that apple orchards in this vicinity are ]
cheaper now at $1,000 an acre than they |
viii ever be again.
The Portales region can boast the 1
largest central irrigation power plant I
in the United States, where farmers \
are pumping on the cooperative basis,
the original cost being $50 per acre, but i
the cost of maintenance has thus far /
been but $3.50 per acre. The longest /
transmission line does not exceed IS /
miles and the acreage that win even ]
tually be reclaimed will exceed 10000. !
Everything except citrus fruits is grown /
in great abundance and fine sugar /
beet. factory viii soon add value to the I
area Ii might be added right here that I
New MeXicO's sugar beets, like her |
fair women, are the sweetest in the i
world.
Estaneia Valley.
The Estancia valley is doing wonders /
around Willard and Estancia, through /
the magic of the Dump, where the cost /
of an acre foot Of water is Sis. their /
products this year show 1900 pounds Of 1
beans per acre, 200 bushels of potatoes,
with other crops in proportion; and /
truck farming producing $500 per acre /
or better, which latter fact applies to \
all our valleys
At AlamOgordo. the pump is also /
becoming a great factor in profitable I
farm development.
The Albuquerque region. and in fact 1
the whole Rio Grande valley, is taking /
on an air of prosperity through the /
fundamentally OF life-giving water, /
pumped from the earth, to give neces- l
sary moisture for plant growth. There !
are a number of small irrigation wells !
in the vicinity Of Fort Bayard, the /
largest army sanatOrium in the United /
States II not in the world Speaking OF \
sanatOriums, il may be truthfuly stat I
ed that New Mexico is one great sana-
tOrium, where health makes wealth /
easier and where nature has been most !
lavish in her gifts to men.
The Mimbres Valley.
Assuming that the -sIOuquerqUe Jour ,
nal spoke intelligently when it said, j
THE Mimbres valley is showing the I
world when it comes TO pumping for 4
irrigation the attention of the con- I
gress is directed TO what is actually be- /
ing done in this most forward region. /
The Mimbres valley is located in the 4
southwestern part of the state and lies 4
largely in Luna county. 1t is surround (
ed on every side by mountain ranges /
which effectualy protect it from Sc
we're storms, an approach to cyclone 4
never having been known. It's level /
area is well described in a recently pub !
lished report of Hon. Chas. D. Miller, !
territorial engineer, which says:
Estimates Of the possibilities of this 4
valley place the figures of irrigable area \
from wells producing from 500 to 1900 /
and even 1900 gallons of water per min
ute at 100, 600 acres To this area it is
conservatively estimated that there
may be added 200, 900 acres irrigated 1
from wells producing 500 gallons down
to possibly 200 gallons of water per