The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1914-05-05

dian who grazeS his ~aIpacas and Ia
mas nearby. Everywhere on the sides
OF the valley are the remains of the
cultivation of the Incas. There are
terraces that run from the plateau for
thousands of feet up the mountain
These terraces were walled with stone
and where possible the water was
carried from level to level. In manv
places the terraced farms had no wa
ter and the crops grown depended up |
on the scanty rainfall.
And just here l want to give you
an idea of the farming that goes on
away up here on the roof of the world.
Inc average altitude of the region
refer to is 10000 or 1900 feet above
the sea, and it runs from that 10 more
than $4,000 feet. There are millions
Of acres Of such Ian in Peru; with a
climate in which white men can live.
Ihey a great part of the wide
valley that runs north and south
through the continent, and at this al
titude they support hundreds Of thou
sands Of Indians and tens of thou
sands of cattle and millions of alpacas.
llamas, and sheep. The highest Of the
plains are covered with native grasses,
which are short and close to the earth.
Scattered over them are the tufts Of
wire grass, the new sprouts of which
are eaten by the stock and the coarser
summed by all but the llamas. Here
n there near every Indian hut is a
small patch of potatoes or quinta or
HARLEY, and there is no doubt but that
the whole region might be plowed up
and greatly improved.
And this brings me to the move
ment for the Improvement of the high
plateaus of the Andes. which has been
lnaugurated by the Peruvian corpora
ton, a British company hat has
charge of the railroads for the gov
eminent. This institution has sent to
the United States for one Of its agri-
cultural experts, and he is now eX-
%perimenting here in deficient places to
find out the best grasses and best
grains to be grown upon the plateau
The man chosen was Mr.. Harry V
Harlan, the agrOnimiSt, in the barley
Investigations Of our Department o.
Agriculture He came here sever
months ago and is already making
good progress. l met Mr.. Harlin a
Juliaca, and went with him to SOM
OF the experiment stations. He ha:
one little farm of u or five acres
right near the railroad, and this ha.
been planted to cereals and graSse
Of various kinds. He showed me on,
plot Of barley consisting of perhap
fifty rows, each from seed gathered
from a different part of the world
Some Of the barley came from Smyr
ma, some from Servia and some from
, Russia and the western highlands Q
the United States. Other rows wer
; of seeds from Manchuria, the higl
/ plateaus Of India, and others wer
from the plateau of Tibet. All Q
, these barleys are growing we'll an
many of them far better than tina
from the native Peruvian grain. Their
q seems to be no doubt but that almos
any kind Of hardy barley will gro
: on the pampas and the experiment
: OF Mr.. Harlan may open UP a ne
future for the highlands Of Peru.
The soil of the plateau is almo:
: free from stones. its soil is rich, ths
: of this region being mostly anuvia
1t is composed of the shrunken basi
: of Lake Titicaca, and there are mil
= ions of acres of it which have nevt
e been touched by the pillow. Indee
"" it is doubtful whether any of it h;
: ever been thoroughly farmed. I'll
. Indians use plows made of wood tn:
. cut the ground to a depth of thr'
inches. They have bullOcks to drs
, them, n farm. the same way tn
grow fairly good crops, and with dee
Is blowing large crops of barley mig
= be produced.
talked with Mr.. Harlan about Il
grasses of the pampa. We went t
gether out on the plain. and he shO'
rs ed ME the sod. 1t is a compact tn
made of short native grasses mix
Il with the wild clover tina LES close
ae the ground.
re 1t seemed to me very poor. but N
eS Harlan says that the sheep and alp
at cas- and llamas live well on 1t,
s. though it is short for the cattle.
in Leaving this place we went to I
as graSSplots where experiments are t
ing made with hardy grasses frt
different parts of the world. There
o. saw American timothy and req cioN
IS. %sprouting through the brown SOIL.
saw patches of Russian grasses tf
were growing luxuriantly and q
id wheat grasses from our western pla
as we'll as n of the fa!nllles OF u
grass that thrive on tHe hlSn p
ed teau of the Rockies. So lar the
re m are not advanced enough
as. make decided predictions, Blu there
ks no doubt but that a great ihpro
a. x-no+ CON he nrodnPp6 by new SCI