The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1913-06-03

"ootu TIC Win The nm
oerstanding that We were to have /.
grant Of lee,ees acres provided IRE
oouid strike water sufhcien; for IN.
of that Land. This rrac,
would then be divided I'D and sofa
ana Terrazas would expect 10 make
"ts pFent out of the increased value
VI the territory"
IN an or these projects the money
received by the government for the
sales Of land goes back 10 the rac,.-
nation fund. This fund will racidly
grow and in time We expect i, Ia
result In the adding greatly to our ir-
rigated territory"
irrigation in the Imperial Valley.
/, L mere referred to the Imperial val
res OF california;. and asked senior
would be done witt
that part of it which extends down
INTO Mexico. He replied:
our part Of the Imperial valley is
quite as valuable as that which lies
IN the United States. 1t will ne irrt-
gated by the Colorado river. which.
as you know. makes a great bend
across the Mexican boundary. and
,hSh returns TO the United States. We
h"|e mao surveys made there in con
hectton with the United States govern
fnent, and have made such q water
oSteefheht with You that we can re-
Claim an equal territory with vour-
serves. | should say there is AT 1aas,
4oo,ooa acres of hat land upon which
we can put water. and this will he
worth IN the neighborhood OF $500 an
~ ~heh the water is turned in.
mere IS no soil on the face Of the
globe richie than that OF the Imre-
rial valley, and a. the main system
o1 irrigation q already been com
p1eted 1t will take but a small amount
u money Tor us to throw our part
u II open to investment and cononi-
Zation.'
MexicO's Cotton Lands.
no" ABOUT your cotton plantation ,
IAN tnese not be increased by irri-
CATION"
Yes. we have plans to hat effect
We have immense zones that are
suitable Tor cotton, and we have ono
concern which is making final ar
ranSementS to cultivate about q quar-
ter OF a million acres. This will give
us all the raw cotton we need. and
now. our plantations are turning out
ieaVe something for EXPORT. As It is
an annual yield of about 75.0oe GOO
pounds. nearly all OF which is used
IN our factories"
How much cotton can YOU raise
per acre."
We have tracts which O
300 pounds. or almost a bale and one.
third to the acre. and we have other
plantations which do not yield more
IMAM zoO or 200 pounds per acre. Our
pest cotton region is the Laguna dis.
tr1ct. lying in the central states no
far from TOrreOn. h soil there is
exceedingly rich. but it must have ir.
rigation. There are schemes for dams
in that vicinity which will increase
the irrigated area. Then we are
growing cotton along the coasts O.
the states Of Guerrero and Oaxaca
and near the coasts in Vera Cruz and
Tamaulipas. The climate of the Pa
cifc coast is especially favorable 70,
cotton n the cultivation will in
crease there as the transportation IA.
clities are developed. Indeed, the
construction of the railroads. already
projected, will greatly enlarge our
cotton belt, and we shall soon figure
the worlds cotton markets."
Mexican Beef for the United States
How about your stock ranches?
Will you be able to supply the United
States with beef in the %future?"
Il do not see but that we may be
able to dc So" said the Mexican sec
rotary Of agriculture. You people
are growing SO fast that you will soon
be unable to feed yourselves. and we
are SO situated geographically hat nc
other country can compete with US in
supplying your 1ecuS. we nave some
thing like 12O, 900. 900 acres of pasture
lands. and 5000, 900 OF 5000, 900 head
of cattle grazing upon them. We have
several million sheep. and we are now
exporting something like 200, 0O0 head
Of cattle a year,
"The stock industry is one which
we could greatly increase with addi-
tional capital and better farming. Our
cattle are not improved animals. and
1t is a question whether we can main
tain fine breeds of stock without bet
tering our pastures. AS it is now. the
beasts must be hardy to feed on the
sparse grasses Of the dry season and
60 travel the long distances that are
necessary to reach water. Some of
our big haclendaS are importing
shorthorns, Herefords and other
breeds. but we all know that we must
improve our pastures. increase ME
number Of drinking places and build
the necessary sheds and barns before
we can radically improve our stock"
Ihc Government and the Farmer.
What IS the government doing to