El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1917-05-26

There is hardly a stone or pebble in
The whole 1000 acres, and its fertility
IS such that it surpasses that OF the
alleys of the MesODotamia- the Nile
or the GanEes. The tract has been
cut up into small farms, and tens OF
thousands Of orange trees are grow
ing upon H. Between the rows. crous
OF various kinds have been planted
and an army Of negroes and whites Is
working the fields
Bread basket on the Gulf.
Ny visit TO this farm was to inves-
tigate the potential bread basket thar
Uncle sam has way down here at the
mouth Of the Mississippi. Our war
with the Germans and the high prices
Of grain and meat demand that the
food lands Of the United States be in
crea sed- Before the troubles in
Europe began we were already i'm
porting corn and beef from Argentina
and mutton from Australia Our popu-
lation mas been growing faster than
our food supply. and the great Ameri-
can stomach had already surpassed in
size the materials needed to fill it.
With the new immigration from Eu-
rope al the close of the war. the de-
mand VIII be larger than ever, and it
Is absolutely necessary that We in
crease our agricultural empire to the
fullest extent
We are doing something toward
this Dy retaining the dry lands Of
the west but their possibilities are
nothing in comparison with the po-
tential food wealth now lying in the
swamps of the south. and especially
IL the Mississippi delta.
Millions Of Acres Under Water.
According to the scientists of the
geological survey, there are in the
neighbOrhood Of S0.000,00e acres of
good land in the United States which
IS more or less covered with water
This. at the lowest calculation. rep
resents a country bigger than Great
Britain and Ireland II is equal 70
the three states OF Indiana Illinois
and Ohio, and il is 10 times as big
as that little garden patch which We
know as Holland. The soil of our
swanps IS also 10 times as rich as
that OF the Netherlands NeTerthe-
less, Holland is now feeding almost
ratio our swamps could feed sixty
millions, or ten millions more than
half of all the people in the country
today
A great part of these swamps lie in
the south, and vast drainage projects
are under way to reclaim them. 1
know Of one little tract in North
Carolina A few years ago il was
celebrated as the largest lake Of that
state Its name was Lake Malta
muskeet- It covered $4,000 acres. and
almost every part of it had water deep
enough 20 have drowned the Cardiff
giant IL stood upright within it. To-
DAY colony on that land has the title
OF New Holland. The tract has been
divided uD into farms. and one of the
biggest pumping stations Of the world
keeps il as dry as IL is needed for cot
ton. tobacco and corn The surplus
water is carried off into the Atlantic
ocean through Pamlico sound.
Other big drainage projects are 60
ing on in North Carolina, South Caro-
lima and Florida The lower part Of
Florida, which is 200 miles long, and
almost as big as Indiana Is made up
Of lOTlznds, covered with water
These are being drained by private
parties and by the state. The Ever
Elades. containing something like A.
600. 600 acres. are a drowned prairie
OF wonderful fertility. They are be-
ing drained by the state and they
win eventually be turned into a semi
tropical garden patch for feeding the
north.
In the Rich Mississippf Valley.
More important than all, however.
ere the swamp lands OF the AIissi-
eippi valley. which contain altogether
something like 20,000,O0 acres OF the
richest soil upon earth. L am told
there are nearly 10000 900 acres in
southern Louisiana alone. and that
vast tracts, easily reclaimable, lie in
Mississippi and states farther north