Arizona republican., 1914-03-27

under which gambling with weather conditions is eliminated and the farmer may, with the certainty of mathematics sit down and calculate his crops before he plants the seed.
 This is true. only of course, when the means of irrigation is both ade- quate and stable-as it will be in the case of the Elephant Buttes project. But when these factors are assured, and when the soil is fertile as it is in this section, the farmer may go his way in peace whether the rains fall in their season or not He literally makes his own weather for his crops. A twist of the wrist the widening of a ditch by lifting shovelful of earth, and he has water ed his crop as effectually as though Jupiter Pluvius in person had come by with his sprinkling can and his most Watery mood. The watering Of his crops is under his absolute con- trol. Only his own negligence can defeat the fecundity of his fields.
 And this has been proved, over and over and over again, right here in
 this locality for untold centuries; only never before has man approach ed his task so scientifically and with such double assurance of success.
 One of the principal crops grown in this favored section is that won derful plant, alfalfa. This yields
 from four to five cuttings per year. of from 34 of ton to IA tons to the cutting and sells when baled at from $500 to. s16.50 per ton accord = ing to the season. This crop is par ticularly adapted to the newcomer. as
 very little skill or practical knowl- edge of agriculture is required to grow it successfully.
 Wheat in this section yields from 9 to 50 bushels per acre, one special variety developed recently at the
 New Mexico agricultural experiment station making a yield of 40.7 bush els on the average. Corn is rapidly | gaining in importance as crop in i this section, although it requires
 much more work and longer sea son. Oats. barley, rye, Kaffir corn and coWpeas all make excellent crops. | Onions, sugar beets, beans and other vegetables flourish. Prize apples peaches, apricots, and grapes abound and Bartlett pears reach luscious 1 development here that is scarcely to
 be matched in any other part of the | world-not even excepting California | Bees. poultry and live stock thrive i in the Rio Grande valley. The mild - ! ness of the climate is particularly i conducive to stock raising and the practically limitless range afforded | by the adjacent hills reduces the
 feeding to a minimum.
 | In order to obtain the right to use the water provided by the big dam | however, the landholder must apply | to the Elephant Butte Water Users | association. This is a voluntary or sanization through which it is de- signed by the government to pass the 1 benefits of the great reclamation pro- 1 ject, and eventually fee simple in the big dam itself, to the people residing | in the reservoir district. It is gov erned by. a council of thirty and a DOdiu oI tcii ull tOtoiS ne DOotl t
 IS vested with the details of the
 management of the vast enterprise
 and holds monthly meetings for that purpose in the offices of the associa- .
 tion in Las Cruces. New Mexico | This association has capital stock of s4,400,000. This is divided into
 shares of the par value of $40 each
 each share representing the cost of
 construction assessed against one
 acre of the land benefited by the biz dam.
 l In order to become a member ot 1 the association, the individual must te landholder within the limits oi
 the reservoir district, and must exc l cute a contract with the association by which he subscribes for as many
 shares of it's stock as he has acre: which he desires to irrigate. Thi.
 stock is paid for on the installmen plan and entities the holder to re. ceive water on the land represented iby it as soon as the dam is com
 pleted.
 As soon as the major portion o
 the funds expended by the govern
 ment in building the dam and tn
 canals by which the water is mad
 available. the whole prQpertX will h