El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-07-06
Soils of the Mimbres Valley
BY R. BEDICHEK.

on this tract differs from the heavier in
I that it contains slightly more sand
/ There is on the surface of this soil also a
] SIN al amount OF gravel which has been
I viOus time. The texture of this type
( or soil IS somewhat variable, but is gen
! orally silly, sandy loan to a depth OF
Z from Is to 80 inches. Below this depth
! is generally a heavy sandy loan which
/ continues to a depth of more than five
! feet Occasionally, however. there is
/ less sand in this deeper subsou in which
I case II IS a IOam- IN lew instances,
there is a small amount of cOarser
( gravel in the deeper sub-SOil, but this
! occurs in such small quantities that 1t
IS not injurious In the small area of
this type IN the northwestern corner OF
section %, there is found at a depth
of IS inches, a granular, calcareOus,
material which continues from six TO Il
even more sandy, but less calcareOus
and at about five feet the material
appears similar to rotten or decOmpOsed
sandstone.
The differences between these two
types of soil are characterized by the
vegetation. On the sander soil appears
the mesquite and other shrubby brush
and very little grama grass is here
found. In the southeastern part of the
tract the sandy loan type does not
contain as much sand and consequently
there is more of the grama grass and
less of the brush.
30 lar as analyses snow Inere are
no harmful constituents in the soils to
cause injury TO cultivated crops. It is
not thought necessary to make a COM
plete chemical analysis of the soil be-
cause the vegetation is the best indi-
Gator of the fertility Of the soil Tests
were made, however. to determine the
percent of aIkali.
so far as we are able to determine,
the heavier soil Of the farm is of good
character for the growth of orchards,
particularly apples and pears. These
fruits generally prefer heavy soils in
preference to light sandy soils. The
trees are longer lived and the quality
of fruit is likely to be better.
"On the other hand, peach trees and
other stone fruits as well as vineyards
are better adapated to the lighter tex
somewhat more sandy material. These
fruits seem to require a lOOSer soil;
that IS 10 say, soil that is better
aeTiated and better drained. These
fruits are therefore better adapted to
the more sandy type of soil
THE soils of the tract are generally
adapted TO the growth of alfalfa and
wheat preference being given to the
heavier soil.
The relative amount OF plant foods
in the two soils is easily understood |
when II IS seen that the sand of the |
sandy loan type is made up more |
largely of quartz than is the heavier I
soil Quartz or silicon diOXide is not
an essential plant food and where il /
occurs in abundance it replaces the
plant foods On the other hand the
heavier soil is made up of a Target
number of materials which contain the |
plant foods in considerable quantities
1t is apparent from a study of the !
soils Of this tract that there is no 1
serious problem in this connection eX-
cept that of getting moisture into the /
soil and keeping it there. 1t is known |
that the cultivation of the soil in such !
q manner as to keep a loose mulch on |
the surface viii prevent the eyapOra-
ton of large amount of moisture from
the soil. This is more noticeable in The |
case Of heaVy-teXtured soils than in the 1
case of sandy soils for the sandy soil /
tends to mulch itself; that is to say,
when the surface dries out. the sandy |
material remains loose and prevents I
evaporation of the moisture that comes I
up from below. 1t will therefore be !
found advantageous after the applica- /
ton of water to the soil of this tract 1
to cultivate the surface as soon as pos |
sible after irrigation"
The tract which Mr.. Willard exam
med and reported upon above is typical |
IF the heavier soils of the valley
There is a large area of the Mimbres
valley. where the sandy, instead OF tho /
LAY loan, prevails