The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-07-08

s aA Az wa EGe&A - cut f
TO 80 per acre according TO their char
acter and Improvements In caSe one
wfsfes To engage IN stock raising he I
needs Il considerable tract. The pas
tuTaEe on the hig hta i thin. aud
the range must he much more extern;
s,vc than in our country At aresn,
the cattle are poorly fed and they
are usually small. i IS estimated
that il costs less than Ss N coid 10
Iatten a steer | am Told That there
Is money in sheep and goat raising.
and that swine do scrs we'll and never
have cholera.
New Farp Methods ceded
As TO grain farming. there Is plenty
OF room for scientific agriculture.
Corn grows everywhere, but the aver
Z IL less than fifteen bushels per
acre. whereas II might be as much as
In the best. parts Of the states. There
IS a Dig local demand for cora. The
present methods are rude. and the
corn is sheiied out by hand. Still it is
the staple food Of tw0-thirds Of the
people, and the price for a nunber
OF years past has been double thai
OF the United States. IL is the same
with wheat. Mexico not raisin. near
enough Of either grain - feed her
own people.
The methods Of wheat growing are
exceedingly crude. On the smaller
farms the grain is cut by hand, and in
some places smashed out by driving
oxen over it. In the state Of Sonora
every locality has it's thrashing pits.
These are about thirty or forty feet
III diameter, and one or two feet
deep The bottoms OF such pits are
pounded smooth and treated SO that
they are as hard as il covered with
concrete. The wheat is thrown into
the pit and the grain trodden out by
tbs feet or horses Or donxets. The
wheat IS then cleaned by THROWN. it
against the wind. which blows away
the chat the wheat falling on a sheet
or blanket. On the larger hsciendas
modern machinery is used, and there
are some which have steam thrachers
and steam ploHs.
Tropical Agriculture.
The tropics OF Mexico seem TO be
especially attractive. to Americans
There are extensive tracts on the
eastern and western sides Of the
country, rising from the eacoas to
the mountains. which have every eli
mate known to man. The lowland,
will grow all sorts Of tropical fruits
and higher III arec Office and cacao
Experiments have shown that tea car
be produced, and also ginger, nut
megs and spices. There are som
profitable cacao plantations, this frui
having been raised since the times 0
Aztecs. AS to coffee. the trees thris,
!, almost anywhere at an elevation @
from 2.5eG to 1900 feet, and from
500 to 1000 trees car be grown O.
one acre. The production of coffe
last year was about &C, 900, 600 pound.
THE coffee costs about I cents a poun
| to raise, pick, clean and sack, wherea
I the selling price at the plantations 70
: it, is about IA cents a pound. A
i acre should produce from go TO so
: pounds.
Rubber-Gayule.
You have heard a great deal in ia
United States about Mexican rubbeI
8 The best lands for this crop are in tn
S southern part Of h country. Rubbe
Q is very capricious, and it is most pro
o ductive where there is plenty OF wate
in the soil, and where, nevertheless
e the dry season is long. Rubber tres
growwell in Chiapas and Tabasco. tw
states which will be opened up by tt
Fan-American railroad.
l. A most interesting form Of the rul
n Der now being exported from Mexit
n is that known as guayule. This COM
a, from q plant which grows wild on tt
a highlands and which is bringing
n millions OF dollars a year. Guayu
q has long been known to contain ru'
, Der, but the rubber in its was thoug1
Re to be Of little value. 1t is now Know
re to be excellent. The supply. hOweye
is limited. Only a little comes fro
re each plant. and $4,000 tons is e
n timated TO be the total possible GU
put.
le The best regions are now yieldil
a "ut a quarter OF a ton per acre, al
although the territory where the pla
!. grows is large. the area where it G;
90 be probably exploited is not as gre
as that OF South Carolina. II is foul
as far north AZ Texas and as far sou
81 as Pachucae in Mexico. having a n
r tive habitat as large as Californf
ct But it is found only here and the1
e growing at varying attitudes and L
y ually On stony ground. The rubber
the merchantablo plants ranges fro
to 40 per CEN Of the weight. a
OF SO far the most OF the product b
been from the wild plants. Mr.. s.
vAdor Madero. Of Monterey. who
ar largely interested in the Industry. te
me the crop by irrigation have be
on failures. The plants thrive. but TIA
yield no rubber to speak OF. l undo
stand that $50. ve8, 900 is now invest
ey in the industry.
~ H-.l- - r.