Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1914-11-13

milking conditions are thereby sasil,
and cheaply secured. The margin o.
profit to the dairyman would accord.
ingly be increased due to the dimin.
ishing cost Of forage production.
II is doubtful whether any one car
be more enthusiastic over the MIN.
bres valley than the writer, but boost
rs we may, we must frankly admit
that only where water conditions are
ideal for pumping can farming be
carried on with profit. Only certain
sections permit Of alfalfa growing
and general irrigation farming with
any certainty Of returns. Therefore
vast aceage must admittedly re-
main open range producing only
scant grass for forage, and remain
indefinitely in that condition. unin-
habitable because it is Of no real val
ne as agricultural land Yet hardly
an acre Of this on-irri6able land but
what can raise green feed (cactus)
and become Of equal value, through
accumulated tonnage, with the most
highly cultivated tract Of irrigated
land. There are but few homesteajs
that could not have ten or twenty
acres Of cactus. This acreage in ad-
dition to the open range would in.
sure dependable feed conditions for
u half dozen to dozen cows the
year round.
However, the cactus should be
planted on plowed ground and il pos
sible, cultivated for the more mois-
ture retained in the soil the faster
the growth and the heavier the tom
mage. Where sDot Of ground can
be found that floods somewhat dur
ing the rains the growth will be still
more rapid for the rule applies that
the more moisture applied the great
err the growth. The geatest growth
of cactus in the world is on the great
plateau Of Mexico where thirty inch
es Of rain falls annually, yet these
plants will live, but not thrive. on
two or three inches Of precipitation
At the end Of five or six years
from the time of planting, where the
rows are placed eight or ten feet
apart and the same distance along
in the row, with ten inches Of rain
fall year, the cactus plants should
occupy all surface space and be
climbing higher each year. An ac-
cumulated tonnage, depending upon
the amount Of moisture and how
much had been fed from the acre
age, should reach at the end Of five
or six years between fifty and 100
tons per acre. Feeding value per ton
is around $40. This gives from $500
to $1,000 worth Of feed per acre that
is permanent and inexhaustable to
the small dairyman AS from fifteen
to twenty tons per acre increase is
the rule where the plants have reach
ed a considerable size. The cost to
the owner up to this point has been
purely a labor outlay and only a
limited amount of that. as cactus can
be gthered from the foothills and
plains generally and transplanted to
titled soil with comparative ease.
Getting rid of the thorns SO that
stock will eat the plant is the only
problem. As these will burn almost
like so much gasoline, the problem
is a simple one. It is very fortunate
that this armor Of piercing thorns
exists on the plant. The meat Of the
cactus is so palatable and greedily
eaten by stock and rabbits generally,
that only by mems Of this armor can
it survive. to propagate itself. But
this plant can so easily be rendered
thornless by burning the spines
away that the problem is Of no mo-
ment whatever.
To sum up briefly: A desert conn
try to be inhabitable to any consid-
cradle number Of people, must fur
nish stock feed, especially cattle feed
in appreciable quantity at low cost
of production, for desert conditions
preclude cheap production Of grains,
grasses and forage. A staple forage
that demands more expense in its
care than a fair. expenditure Of labor