ARBORICULTURE 



a monthly magazine. 



Published in the Interest of the 

 International Society of Arboriculture. 



Subscription, $1.00 per annum. 



John P. Brown, Editor, Con nersville, Indiana 



Volume II. 



Indianapolis, August, 1903. 



Number 7. 



r% v/ 



Under Mexican Skies. 



For two hundred miles north of El 

 Paso, in New Mexico and Texas, and the 

 same distance south of the Eio Grande, 

 in Mexico, the desert is in evidence most 

 of the way. Mesquit, yucca, cacti in va- 

 riety, with herbs and shrubs of arid 

 growths, are everywhere present. Roll- 

 ing hills, sloping plains, with glimpses of 

 distant mountains, make up the desert 

 picture. 



Southward are the tablelands, with an 

 elevation of from 5,000 to 8,000 feet. 

 There are numerous valleys of remark- 

 able fertility, producing corn, wheat, al- 

 falfa, sugar cane, cotton, with vegetables 

 and fruits in profusion. 



THE SKIES OF MEXICO. 



Are something wonderful ; the blue is in- 

 tense, while the light, scattering clouds 

 float slowly about the horizon, but as 

 they come in contact with the higher 

 mountain peaks they cling to the moun- 

 tains and accumulate in dense masses, 

 until relieved by a brisk precipitation 

 amidst discharges of lightning. 

 agriculture, 



With the richest kind of soil, kindly 

 in its nature, easily worked, baving a 

 fairly abundant rainfall, agricultural pro- 

 ductions should be vastly greater than 

 they are. 



The plow in use, which we illustrate, is 

 responsible for the small production of 

 farm crops. By the use of 



IMPROVED AMERICAN PLOW^S. 



Loosening the soil to an increased depth, 

 pulverizing it and giving a greater body 

 of mellow earth, it will absorb and retain 



GARDEN 



the moisture from every rainfall, and 

 thus aid growing plants in obtaining 

 nourishment. The same power exerted 

 by the ox teams, with good plows, would 

 double the agricultural area of the Ee- 

 public simply by increasing the soil 

 depth. 



ECONOMY OF WATER. 



Water evaporates rapidly in summer 

 weather, and under the present system of 

 plowing and cultivating there is little ab- 

 sorbed by the shallow soil. Frequent 

 cultivation with a harrow or fine toothed 

 cultivator, which keeps the surface pul- 

 verized, will break up the capillary at- 

 traction and thus check evaporation. 



Manufacturers of farm implements 

 will do Avell to study the needs of the 

 Mexican farmers. Oxen are the sole 

 draft animals of the country for farm 

 work. The men have for many genera- 

 tions driven the cattle as they now do. 

 The ox bow is attached to the head and 

 horns of the animals. Energy is trans- 

 ferred from the driver to the team 

 through the medium of the needle-point- 

 ed "pica," or prod. One hand is required 

 to handle this instrument of energy, 

 while with the other the plow is manipu- 

 lated. Of wlint use, therefore, are two 

 handles to a plow? An American cannot 

 handle an improved plow with one hand. 

 How, then, can a Mexican? 



To sell plows in the Republic of Mex- 

 ico one must be devised which is suited 

 to the slow motion of the ox and the 

 man. Tt must be balanced so that with 

 one hand it mav easily be manipulated. 



