Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1920-12-14
AGE OF IRRIGATION


No doubt YOU have noticed II too
popular magazines carrying stories of
western reclamation. illustrated with
before and after" cuts showing sage
and mesquite deserts transformed into
waving fields Of alfalfa The country
Is Incoming more and more impressed
with the fact that new farms Of first
quality must be carved out of the dcS-
ert The nations law makers and the
nations land hungry are impressed
with the Importance Of financing and
colonizlng new projects. Those whose
ambition IL H. Ia farm are devouring all
the Information they can get on the
subject OF farming by irrigation.
Fortunately get-rich-quick schemes
are not ~ allurng as formerly owing
"a the dissemination of Information re-
gardmg irrigation and 10 the educa
tionnl value Of sad experiences The
public now recognizes that there is no
magic about reclamation. and that
water cannot be- produced by the sim
pie process which Moses used when the
children of Israel were tamiShing in
the wilderness, that is from rock.
Neither is II possible 10 grow potatoes
On a rock. which fact indicates the I'M
Torrance of soil especially in the arid
lands where much of the soil Is rocky,
devoid OF humus and charged with ac-
Cumulated salts All western lands are
not suitable for irrigation because of
the absence Of one or the other Of the
two principal factors in reclamation.
The Mimhrps Valley his the two re
uuisiteS mentioned and in addition II
has Il climate most favorable for the
growth Of the flora of the temperate
zone. All the ordinary crops thrive
here. However the changing geolOgi
cal features have made the production |
Of water here problem somewhat diff !
fcrent from the production of water in |
true river valley-that is one in !
which a perennial stream exists TN the |
,urface Almost all successful prof |
Gets are located In valleys where en-
gins.ers could place dam and impound
The water. In the Mimhres Valley the
river has Slipped away into the sand
aud surface storage is not possible IN
the accepted sense. Water production
las been and Is now a matter Of indi-
,idunl effort, pumping from an under
ground stream. Many successful water
plants have been instealled hut lack
Of engineering knowledge and uniform
~ efficient equipment have caused de-
plOrable losses In certain instances.
This tan be overcome and u movement
is now on foot among the farmers To
standardize their pumping machinery.
Enough data il now available to dem
unstrnte thar pumping for irrigation in
the Mimbres VALLEY Is success.
The Mimhrcs Valley, and other sec
lions relying on ground waters for ir
rlgation. have not received the ntten-
tion from the government which they
really merit There isn't much that I
the government can do to further irri- I
CATION 10y pumping except to indicate q
where sufficient ground water exists
for the purpose. The geological survey /
has thorough mapped the shallow 4
waters OF the Mimbres Valley, gauged n
It's flow and approved the quadrangle
rs subject To- reclamation 10y pumping.
There Is no guess work about the mat 1
Ter. This form Of irrigation does not .
appeal 10 the Imagination as the gigan. .
tic task of impounding surface waters
los hence the Mimbres Valley posi-
Iilities have not been presented To the :
public in an alluring light. Its merits, "A
however, are being recognized by many r.
The era Of speculation in land in the !,
Valley has passed. II left the h
valley strewn with empty homestead o
RS shanties and the WRECKS of wildcat |
projects. some Of which re- :
main as monuments to ignorance aud s.
lyerice. They serve to remind the
community that land values are based o
ipon what can be and is being grown /
upon the land rather than on the Osti- n
mates of Spectators who indulge their I
Iptimism To the fullest when they tell .
4 the leisure and great riches to be Il
aimed from farming operations in the %
,limbres Valley. Good business judg h
nent and hard work are just rs neces "
airy to success in this valley as IN nj