HOMES IN THE LAND OF SUNSHINE. 



PLEASURE AND PROFIT IN CULTIVATING CANAIGRE IN THE VALLEY 



OF THE RIO PUERCO. 



DEEP down in the heart of every man is a spark 

 of the love of mother earth, which needs but to 

 be fanned to burst into a glowing flame. When 

 mere earth is supplemented with a fine climate and 

 the beautiful aspect of snow-capped mountains and 

 peaceful valleys, it becomes not only a profit but a 

 pleasure to be a " tiller of the soil," and master of 

 one's own domain. New Mexico has aptly been 

 termed the " Land of Sunshine" the land of massive 

 mountains and quiet valleys, of rushing rivers and 

 babbling streams. Among its many fine valleys may 

 be mentioned the valley ot the Rio Puerco. Here 

 is a valley containing four hundred thousand acres of 

 land, with soil of surpassing fertility and great depth, 

 watered by the " Muddy" river, the sediment of which 

 but increases the fertility of the soil when it is ap- 

 plied by irrigation. In this valley can be grown to 

 perfection, not only gram and vegetables, but nearly 

 all the deciduous fruits, and owing to the near- 

 ness to market, a large profit can be realized from 

 the sale of them. There is, however, one other 

 product which, needing but little cultivation, promises 

 to become a crop of great importance, leading to its 

 being planted upon thousands of acres, and leading 

 eventually to the establishment of extract factories, 

 thus giving employment to numbers of men and in- 

 creasing the general prosperity. 



The plant referred to is called canaigre. It is a 

 plant bearing quite a resemblance to some of the 

 more common docks, notably sour dock, and grows 

 from one to three feet high. 



The roots or tubers of the canaigre plant have the 

 general appearance of sweet potatoes.there being from 

 three to one dozen to each plant, varying from two to 

 eighteen ounces each in weight. The color is black 

 externally and yellow within, having somewhat the 

 appearance of a carrot. The taste is insipid, but 

 something of the same sensation is produced when 

 touched to the tongue that follows from alum, indi- 

 cating the presence of tannic acid. 



This plant has but recently attracted the attention 

 of the commercial world as a valuable source of 

 tannic acid. Numerous analyses have been made by 

 the government agricultural departments, both in 

 Europe and America, as well as by private scientists, 

 all of which tend to show its great value to the leath- 

 er industry. The result of these investigations has 

 been to create a great demand for it in the tanning 

 business of European countries, and more recently 

 in the leather-making industries of the United States. 



It is found that the tubers of one year old, when 

 dried, contain from 28 to 38 per cent, tannic acid, and 

 canaigre is already recognized by tanners as being 

 superior to oak or hemlock bark, in that it tans 

 quicker, is a better filler, and makes a more pliable 

 and better colored leather than any tanning agent 

 known. 



As to the tanning value of canaigre, Prof. W. 

 Eitner, of the Vienna Research Station for Leather 

 Industry, after thoroughly testing it, said : " I con- 

 sider this article especially adapted to tanning uppers, 

 fine saddlery and fancy goods." Canaigre will also 



doubtless enter largely into the arts and industries 

 other than leather making. In the manufacture of 

 dye stuffs and mordants it is said to be very valuable, 

 and we may confidently entertain high hopes of it as 

 an important article in American agriculture in the 

 immediate future. 



In describing the methods of its cultivation we can 

 do no better than quote from Prof. F. A. Gulley, of 

 the Arizona Experimental Station, who says: "The 

 roots make the best development in a rather loose, 

 sandy soil, and where they are near the surface. 

 Planting should be done early in the fall, not later 

 than November 1st, if possible, and occasional irriga- 

 tions given it until the latter part of April, or up to 

 the time the plant is in bloom. Irrigation may then 

 cease and the roots be allowed to mature. With com- 

 paratively clean soil very little labor is required. It 

 has furthermore been demonstrated by practical ex- 

 periments that cultivation adds very largely to the 

 quality and weight of the roots and the percentage of 

 tannic acid." 



I.t will be noticed from the above that planting is 

 done in the fall and the work upon it therefore per- 

 formed during the winter when other crops do not 

 need attention. The root matures about July 1st, 

 and is ready for digging. In some climates, notably 

 New Mexico, another crop can be raised on the same 

 land after the canaigre has been removed, making 

 two crops in one year. 



One ton of the root is required for seed to plant an 

 acre of ground. In New Mexico there are large 

 quantities growing wild on the hillsides and in the 

 depressions that can be had for the digging, and all 

 the expense attached to the securing of it is the cost 

 of digging and hauling it to the land where it is to 

 be planted. The supply of wild product, however, 

 is being rapidly exhausted on account of the great 

 quantities used for seed. When the wild root is used 

 up, that which is cultivated will have to be used, 

 which will cost about $6 per ton. 



Careful estimates show that an acre of canaigre 

 properly cultivated will yield from ten to twenty tons 

 of green roots and as high as thirty tons have been 

 raised on a single acre. 



Prices in Europe have been 60 to 80 per ton of 

 dried root, and in the United States about $30. Esti- 

 mating the cost of marketing, freight charges, etc., 

 to be $10 per ton (of the dried root), and figuring the 

 lowest yield and price it will be seen that an acre of 

 canaigre would bring about $100. 



The Western Homestead & Irrigation Company 

 own a tract of land in the Rio Puerco valley, contain- 

 ing 49,727 acres, known as the Bernabe M. Montano 

 Grant. About 30,000 acres of this land can be irri- 

 gated, and is platted in ten acre lots. This land, 

 with a complete system of irrigation and an abundant 

 supply of water guaranteed, is offered at the low rate 

 of $50 per acre on easy terms. 



For further particulars apply to 



WESTERN HOMESTEAD IRRIGATION Co. 

 612-613 Bort Bldg., 21 Quincy Street, Chicago. 



132 



ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT. 



