El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1912-05-01

- r. Z. X CONNAWAN who has
farmed near Deming for the past
two years. writes concerning the
advantages of this region, as follows
The Mimbres valley is favored spot
Its location is semi tropical. being
1emDered. however, by its altitude.
Protected on the west. north and east
by spurs from the great mountain
ranges, its climate is eQuable. even ana
mild. Billiards, extremes or sudden
changes Of temperature are unhLOMA T.
Rarely below zero IN winter or ABOVE
100 in summer, no hurrlcans. tomatoes
or cyclones Being in the arid Deltr
almost constant suushlny days are
predominant feature
The soil is deep and fertile. beng
film or an accumulation of vegetable
matter decOrnposed granite and phOs-
pilates. due 10 ages Of erOslons ana
Washings from the surrounding noun
talnS The surface is practically smooth
and has a natural fall to the south and
east of about eight feet TO the mile
rendering IL ideal for irrigation. ana
is of such eVenness that there IS naru-
y a single foot OF waste land EFODd-
bly, about so percent Of the surface IS
covered with sage brush and scrubby
mesquite. The average cost Of clear
ing ana grubbiuE is about 81 an acre
however. the value Of the wood taken
from the land is quite considerable
The soil varies from red, sandy SIT
loan to adobe, also the admiXture OF
all these in varying degrees No rock
and but few gravel
valley Water supply.
The water supply OF the valley Is
from a series of underground currents
one below another at intervals OF 10
to so feet to an unknown depJn. me
source Of this great underflOW IS as YET
unknown, yet TO the north and north
west there lies great watershed haV-
ing an area of perhaps loOV So m4eS
which drains into the upper valley; TINS
10 doubt Influences and may supply
the upper strata of water, but the
great untouched volume OF the depths
below are from. as yet, unknown sour
Ces The supply. utilized Tor irrigation
purposes. is from wells from 80 10 lou
feet in depth. which supplies q SuL-l-
Cienl volume for the purpose me va
ter is a absolutely pure and soft, and IS
ideal not only for irrigation. but also
as an essential to perfect health.
The expense of developing vel and
installing plant for irrigation pur-
poses varies according 20 the metnods
employed and the type of plant desired
As pumping proposition the valley IS
quite in its infancy and mere IS as YET
no standard method of water deVelo-
meur. However. there has been com
paratively lutte difficulty in the de-
Telopment of an abundance OF water
The average cost of an 500 TO LOO
gallon per minute plant has been from /
$4,000 TO $500. or about SIG TO $50 per
acre. As electric power IS now aNal-
able the installation cost can be les
sened about 90 percent The expense
of maintenance of plant during the
pumping season varies from s. 10 80
an acre depending on the type OF
plant and the variety Of crop. Ihls eN-
Dcuse. however. is nominal when the
cerJainty OF an abundant crop Is con
sidered.
Plant Growth.
In the way Of plant growth and crop
production. the varieties which thrive
in this valley are limited only by the
botanic catalog, and the abundance OF
tho harvest by the strength OF the
plant All farm cereals every known
garden vegetable and all varieties OF
fruits lbarrinE the citrusJ not only
grow well, but yield most aounoaIl-s
and of the best quality In inc line
of farm products. corn Yields from 90
10 so bushels and the price is never less 3
than S15O busLel- Wheat yields from I
80 To - bushels OF very hgh QuaIlt., /
and sells above the market price oars I
WELD from so to 80 bushels. often /
weighing from 20 to 40 pounds, and +
find a ready sale at 20 TO 90 cents I
busheL Rye. barley and an forage /
crOus such as sorghum. EaTLlr corn &
etc crow TO perfection and produce &
heavy crops Milo maize viii yield 20 I
TO so bushels and sell about the same .
price as corn. If planted early viii I
make a splendid second or late forage I
Alfalfa produces from - to eight 1
tons during the season and brings from
S14 10 SIS a ton. California pink beans
Weld from 1000 10 l400 pounds, and
are not only profitable at - cents,
but is one of the best preparation crops
for alfalfa seeding They are planted
an July after the grain crops are ma
rured. thus dffording two crops sea
son on the same land
Vegetables Prolific.
OF the field and garden vegetables,
POTATOES have produced 300 bushels to
the acre and have rarely been less than
90 cents a bushel. Onions are largely
grown as a commercial proposition,
and yield from $4,000 to $4,000 pounds
10 tie acre. and like al other vegeta-
bles i'm this climate. may be stored
without risk Of decay til the market is
-----..-- -Tr-rar foes never fail n