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

cultivation. Although there are al
| most 10000, 900 acres in forest service;
$4,000, 600 acres Of state lands, huge
! areas in private land grants and Indian
I reservations, there remain subject to
I entry under the public land laws OF
| tho United States 100000 acres, an
/ area exceeding that OF the state Of
/ New York.
! Much of this land is subject to the
! 32O-acres homestead act and will come
/ under the proposed 64O-acre homestead
! act which assures the homesteader
/ living even in the newest Of dry farm
( ing sections by giving him sufficient
! pasture for dairy and poultry pur-
/ poses.
Five Federal Land Offices.
There are five federal land offices
/ in the state at which entries may be
/ made and having jurisdiction over
/ definite portion of the state.
/ In the Las Cruces district almost H.,
( 100000 acres are still subject to en-
4 try; in the Santa Fe land district al
most 5000 600 ares; in the Roswell
] district 100000 acres; Fort Sumner
! district 100000 acres, and the Clay
/ ton district 100000.
State Lands Available.
The state lands cover almost Is, 000,-
1 900 acres. are open to lease and in part
! to purchase at competitive public sales.
! There exist colonization projects un-
der which irrigated lands may be pur-
/ chased on longtime payments.
Under the L. s. reclamation projects.
I n long time is granted to pay off the
J cost of water rights. Ender cOmmuni-
( ty systems, the landholder pays his
{ prOrata either in money or in labor
I for maintaining the headgates and
bitches. Under irrigation. the farmer
! regulates his showers to suit his
( crops; the sunshine which is so con-
slant in New Mexico, helps him to pro-
/ duce the maximum that the land can
be made to WELD. makes certain the
garnering of the crops in their season.
to a large extent eliminating the ele-
ments of uncertainty. 1t is the ideal
method of farming. It makes possible
Z the community life. for under irriga-
ton the small farm unit is the most
profitable.
livestock Important Industry.
Next to farming, the raising Of live
stock is the principal industry of the
sunshine State. For several decades
past. New Mexico has been one of the
leading wool producers of tho union.
Conditions are very favorable Tor
sheep raising and the number Of sheep
IL the state has been as high as $780,
200, though at present less than 1880
600 as the grading of flocks has a ten
dency to decrease them numerically
Wool Worth SS,OOO,OeO Annually.
Inc wool shipments exceed 10000, 600
pounds annually, yielding a return of
SO. 600, 900 The vast extent OF the pub
lie range, the comparatively open win
ters, the protection of the range and
it's equitable apportionment by the for
est service, all conduce 10 make the
business a profitable one
TO II will be added sooner or later,
the feeding Of livestock for market 1t
is along this line that capital and
enterprise would find profitable open
lnSs Immediately, for New Mexico has
not only the public range and large
areas of state lands which can be
leased for a few cents an acre, but also
raises the fodder and has the farms on
which the fattening Of mutton and
beeves should be exceedingly profit
able.
Ranges Have $4,000 Cattle.
With $500 cattle on its ranges,
New Mexico is among the heaviest cat
tie growing states. Here the typical
cowboy of western song and story is
still swinging his lariat. To the large
cattle outfits have been added smaller
concerns and more than one cowboy.
beginning with an investment in a few
head of stock. has prospered and is
Has 100000 Goats.
More than half a million goats
browse on the underbrush OF New Mex
leo foothills, delectable range for the
sure-footed and hardy animals. In
sierra and Grant counties especially.
the raising of goats has been very
successful, but in all OF the other
mountainous sections Of the state par
ticularly in Sandovai SocOrro, Santa
Fe' Lincoln, Mckinley. Mora, Otero.
Rio Arriba and even in Chaves and
Eddy counties. tens of thousands of
goats are to be found on the ranges.
Of horses, New Mexico has a quarter
million and the state is apt to become
heavy producer of hOrseflesh for
army and commercial purposes. OF
hogs there are more than $4,000. \and
hog raising on a large scale has
proved quite profitable
Mules number more than 10000, and
the burro has been a transportation
standby for centuries. Dairying and
poultry raising are growing to be i'm
pOrtant specialized occupations and
Will add materially to the income OF
farm and range.
Marvellous Growth.
In 1890, New Mexico had Ass farms
of more than three acres each; ten
years later it had 1884 such farms:
in 1910 it had S5,G1S farms, according
to the census bureau. or an increase
Of $50 per cent in % years.
In 1890 the value of farm property /
was $S3,545,141; in 1900 it was $53,
73I824, and in 1910 it had climbed to I
S159.447,900.
Domestic animals were valued at .
S25,11L202 in 1890, at $S1,727,4OO in /
1900, and S43,494,679 in 1910, while to- /
day the value exceeds S5O.00O,OO0.
The value of farm buildings increased |
from $3.j65,1O in 1900 to $13,O24,- /
SOP in 1910; farm implements and ma (
chinery from $291,14O in 1890, to I
s1,172.0OO worth of gold in 1914 and /
and to exceed 1000, 900 in 1914 I
Farm Area 15.OOO,00O Acres.
The area included in farms was 1872 /
$50 acres in 1890. in 1900 it was 5,13O,- /
S78 acres; in 1910 it had Increased to !
11,27O,021 acres, while in 1914 it was /
100000 acres.
Public land entries have fluctuated |
between 1900 and 10000 annually the /
past decade and a half
Is an Old Gold Producer.
Gold was mined in New Mexico long |