é 279 
NEW MEXICO. 
1. Our returns from the Territory of New Mexico embrace the counties of 
Mora and Valencia. Mora county reports 25 per cent. advance in the price of 
farm land since 1860. In Valencia there appears to be no settled price. If a 
person wants to purchase, he is asked an exorbitant price, and whoever wants 
to sell must sell for almost nothing. 
2. The wild lands in Mora are of no value except where timber is plenty; 
they are chiefly mountain and prairie, good for hay and pasture only. 
In Valencia lands held by private parties fluctuate in accordance with the 
necessities of the holder or the wants of the purchaser. There are large tracts 
of land, however, subject to entry under the homestead laws, or purchase at 
government prices. ‘They are at some distance from settlements, and are vis- 
ited by hostile Indians. The country is very mountainous, but has rich valleys 
in which almost anything will grow to advantage, when water can be procured 
for irrigation. 
3. Gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, cinnabar, gypsum, quicksilver, and coal, 
abound in the districts reporting. The Moreno mines (gold) are in the north- 
ern part of Mora county, about 50 miles from the town of Mora, <A company 
has been organized with a capital of $100,000 to work these mines. Coal is 
found in great quantities in Valencia county, in addition to gold, silver, iron, 
lead, copper, and quicksilver, all of which may be worked to advantage as soon 
as the government gives reliable and permanent protection against the Indians. 
The mountains are rich in timber, mostly pine and ash, with some oak, and in 
the valley of the Rio Grande a great deal of cottonwood is encountered. 
4. The special crops in Valencia are corn and wheat ; and in Mora corn, 
wheat, oats, beans, and peas, the profits in the latter county being about 50 per 
cent., with very little labor. The farming implements used are for the most 
part a century behind the age. The plough in general use consists of a 
wooden pole, with a sharp iron point, and with a wooden handle to it. The 
threshing of wheat is done by horses, mules, sheep or goats, kept running over 
it until the wheat is threshed out, by which process the straw gets chopped up 
and is left to decay. 
5. Spring wheat is chiefly grown in New Mexico, because they have no 
fences to protect winter wheat, and the winters being very soft, the snow is very 
light, and remains on the ground but a short time. There are two kinds of 
wheat reported; one is called the New Mexico wheat, which is a dark, small 
grain; and the other of lighter color called the Sonora wheat. Some prefer 
the former as heavier and more substantial, while others prefer the Sonora, 
because it ripens earlier and yields a whiter flour. The sowing is mostly done 
in Valencia in March, and the harvesting in July and August; and in Mora 
county it is sown from 15th of March to 1st of May, and harvested from 25th of 
August to 10th of November: None drilled. ; 
6. The grasses in the Rio Grande valley are not of so much account as upon 
the hills and elevated plains, where there are four kinds of very rich gramma 
grass. here are also different kinds of herbs upon which sheep thrive well 
during the different seasons of the year. On the pasture lands off from the set- 
tlements stock can feed and remain fat all the year round, without shelter. 
The cost is only the wages of the herdsmen, who receive from $10 to $20 per 
month and rations. Indians often kill the herders, however, and drive off the stock. 
7. Fruits have not received much attention in Mora county, but apples, 
peaches, plums, and apricots are best adapted to the climate. Our Valencia 
reporter Says: 
The capabilities of this country for fruit are undoubtedly very great, if we may judge by 
the orchards of the Puebla Indians, eight miles north of this point, (Los Lunas.) They 
grow elegant peaches and splendid grapes, and fair apples, plums, and apricots. The mid- 
dling quality of the fruits last named is not to be attributed to a deficiency in soil or climate, 
but rather to the fact that grafting is not practiced. 
