76 ROUTE NEAR THE THIRTY-FIFTH PARALLEL. 
tivable land is complete, excepting in the river-bottoms, which are more or less fertile, but 
not the great body of the land. Not far south of the route good soil extends westward to the 
termination of the Witchita mountains. Some portions of the upper valley of the Canadian, 
the upper valley of the Pecos, the valleys of the Rio Grande, Zuni, Colorado Chiquito, San 
Francisco, Colorado of the West, and its tributaries, possess a fertile soil, requiring, generally, 
irrigation to make it productive. That portion of the southwest corner of the Great Basin 
traversed by this route, and over which the explorations of Lieutenant Williamson extended, 
is well constituted for fertility, its barrenness resulting from the absence of rain. Generally 
the uncultivable plains have an abundance of nutritious grass, though there are extensive 
tracts where little or none is found—the two greatest being from the Antelope Hills to Tecum- 
cari creek on the Canadian, 250 or 260 miles, and from the lower part of Santa Maria river to 
the Mohave river, 200 miles. 
The country north of the Colorado Chiquito and west of the Sierra Madre as far as the eastern 
slope of the San Francisco mountain, is represented to be a remarkably fine grazing country ; 
from that point westward to about the meridian of 113$° (sixty or seventy miles east of the 
Colorado,) it is well wooded, the whole presenting an attractive appearance to the traveller, who 
would, no doubt, from its strong contrast to other portions, describe it as a highly fertile 
region, though, with the exception of the valleys of the streams, it would prove upon trial to be 
uncultivable. 
The land now cultivated in New Mexico is estimated at 200 square miles, and the land 
cultivable now vacant, exclusive of the vast region occupied by the Navajoes, Moquis, Tanians, 
and wilder tribes of Indians, at about 490 square miles, giving a total of about 700 square miles. 
Only one-fifth of the bottom land of the Rio Grande capable of irrigation and cultivation, is 
now under culture. ; 
The valley of the Colorado between its mouth and the 35th parallel, contains 1,600 square 
miles of fertile soil capable of irrigation. 
BUILDING MATERIALS, TIES, LUMBER, &C. 
The geologist, Mr. Marcou, describes the Trias and Jurassic formations, extending from 
Delaware mountain on the Canadian, to the Rocky mountains, 600 miles, as generally soft 
and friable; but as Lieutenant Whipple, and Mr. Campbell, the assistant railroad engineer, 
report the existence in these formations of good sandstones, suitable for the bridge-building 
required, this portion of the route may be considered well supplied with good building-stone. 
Over other portions of the route it would be found at intervals not too great for economical 
transportation, 
TIES, LUMBER, &C. 
Timber of size suitable for ties, and lumber generally for railroad uses in large quantities, 
is found in the following localities: Continuously on the route east of longitude 97°; in or 
near the Pecos valley; in the Rocky mountains and Sierra Madre; in the Mogoyon mount- 
ains, (south of the route) in which the Colorado Chiquito and some of its tributaries rise ; on 
the slopes of the San Francisco mountain, and continuously with short intervals for more 
than 120 miles, and on the Sierra Nevada. The distances apart of these points of supply are, 
respectively, 540 miles, 100 miles, 150 miles; from the Sierra Madre to San Francisco mount- 
ain, 250 miles; then for a space of about 120 miles the supply may be considered continuous; 
thence to the Sierra Nevada, 420 miles. The road being built from the two termini, the 
greatest spaces over which ties, lumber, &c., must be brought by it, are 400 and 500 miles. | 
The route, therefore, in comparison with others, is favorably circumstanced in this respect. 
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