El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1915-02-06

: san Juan in the northwestern part oil
| the state. Smaller, only by comparison
are the valleys of the Arkansas drain
\ age area. Of the Mimbres, ella and
lesser streams.
I The lower PecOs valley alone shipped
I b,OYO carloads of animals, 1000 car.
! loads Of apples; 400 carloads of canta-
/ loupes; 100 cars of tomatoes: so cars
( or canned tomatoes; 20 cars of cotton:
y ears of onions; is cars of honey:
/ Of wool this year
Artesia Belt Wonder.
Artesian and pumping wells supple
! ment the water supply from running
} streams. The artesian belt in the low
/ ef Pecos valley is a wonder and A de-
/ lisht 10 every visitor and it has trans
formed a portion Of the forbidding
/ Staked Plains into a paradise of YER
: dure Here alfalfa is king. and or
! chards make fortunes. A let profit of
: 7Ic'OVO q year from tWenty-acre an
pie orchard, has been recorded and the
/ weld from small parcels Of land, in
tensely cultivated, seems almost in
Wells reclaim Thousands Of Acres.
Pumping wells have reclaimed thou
sands Of acres in the PortaIes and MIN
pres valleys and indicate possibilities
mat mad been only surmised ten years
ago. o''-
The net profit on an acre Of csn+s-
loupes in the Portales valley in 1914
averaged $5I5S. There sweet potatoes
yield 200 to 300 bushels per acre
carrying is proving a money-making
proposluon and 1900 acres in alfalfa
irrigated from wells attest 10 Dossi-
DiLtles in raising forage crops.
iFrlGattOn the FaFmers' Mafnstay.
but the malnstay of the irrigation
lainerS IS the irrigation project, big
OF snaIl. Jhat lmpounds the waters of
n1u CT TO- -
are needed by the crops The largest
irrigation system in the state is the
Elephant Butte project which supplies
the Rio Grande and Mesiua valleys
with water. 1t is a federal recIama-
ton project on which 10000 600 is
being expended and which supplies
water TO as many acres as were irri-
gated IN the entire state in the year
1900.
Next in size is the Carlsbad reclama-
ZION project in the lower Pecos valley,
also IN the hands of the government.
Both OF these valleys, being the lowest
IN altitude in New Mexico and also
the most southern, are marvelouslv
productive, for the soil is deep and fer
NE and the water supply permanent
and assured.
Private Irrigation Systems.
Private enterprise has built large
irrigation systems in Colfax county,
and so-called community systems sun
ply the irrigationists in other counties
CareIuI stream measurements indicate
that New Mexico has aufficient rum
ming water to irrigate 2,350.OOO acres
Less than one-third Of that amount is
under cultivation at present, thus dem
onstrating that here is a promising
field for further development
The land is there, the water can be
stored, the soil is fertile and the eli
mate favorable All that is needed is
capital and enterprise to triple the
area or irrigation ferns and the agri-
cultural production.
Under Individual and partnership
Irrigation enterprises 100000 acres are
under cultivation; under commercial
enterprises, 10000 acres; under coop
eratiYe enterprises, 500, 600 acres: un-
der the U. $. Reclamation service.
$50, 200 acres
Nearly 1000 Artesian Wells.
There are almost thousand artesian
wells supplying 80, 600 acres, 500 pump
ing wells supplying nearly 10000 acres.
a thousand storage reservoirs and
10000 miles of canals and bitches pour
their waters upon the fertile lands
during the growing season
The United States Census bureau
gives the average cost Of construction
in New Mexico Of irrigation enterpris-
es at Slab per acre and the cost Of
maintenance at $L36 per acre per year.
The census bureau also has found
that irrigation increases the yield Of
corn 139 per cent. Ove- non-irrigated
areas; oats, "a per cent; wheat, 1853 per
cent; barley 80 per cent; dry edible
beans, 191 per cent; dry peas 50 per
cent; timothy, A per cent; alfalfa, 16S