THE LANCASTER FARMER. 



57 



IRRIGATION IN THE VALLEY OF THE 

 RIO GRANDE. 



The irrigation of tin; soil by artificial means 

 is not a niodeni invention, nor a cu.stoni of 

 recent date. The soil of certain c()nntries has 

 always, at certain seasons, retjuired other 

 means than those supplied liy the iircvailinj; 

 iiatm-al laws, to insmc satisfactory returns t<i 

 the husbandman ; nor did it require more than 

 ordinary jiowers of observation to perceive 

 that if a deficiency of moisture was Iiurtful to 

 growini^ vegetation, the needed supiily of tliat 

 essential must prove beneficial. We may 

 safely assume, therefore, that the practice ol' 

 irrigation is coeval witli that of agriculture 

 itself. 



AVe find, consequently, that in those early 

 times when Africa and Asia boasted of tlie 

 great monarchies of the world, this method of 

 assisting the i)arclied soil to yield its treasuics 

 was almost universally i)racticed. IIow the 

 annual overfiowings of the Xile make green 

 and fruitful the valh^y rendered famous by 

 that classic sti'cam, is known to all ; l)ut it is 

 not so generally known that on the temples, 

 jiillars and other remains tliat still strew the 

 banks of that mighty river, are pictured a 

 numlier of devices whereby the turbid waters 

 were dra^\ii from their channel and distiibutcd 

 over the sandy stiil at times when the low 

 waters of the Nile refused to (juit their muddy 

 bed. 



A complete net-work of irrigating canals 

 covered the greater part of Assyria and Baby- 

 lonia, abimdant relics of which still greet the 

 eyes of the traveler. These, however, were 

 also employed for inirposcs of navigation, and 

 were found useful for a double jiurpose. Even 

 to-day the waters of the Euphrates and the 

 Tigris are drawn from their channels l)y the 

 same methods emphned 4,000 years ago. In 

 Spain, France and Italy, as, indeed, in all the 

 otlier countries bordering on the Mediterra- 

 nean, irrigation enters largely into the neces- 

 sities of the husbandman ; and without it his 

 lalKirs in many places would meet with iinor 

 returns. It was also tried in England in the 

 sixteenth century ; but as the rain-fall in that 

 country is generally sullicient, and too often 

 in excess of the farmer's needs, it soon fell 

 into disuse. It is still a common practice to 

 turn the water of adjacent streams into 

 meadows, when the .summers prove unusually 

 dry. 



After this somewhat lengthy introduction, 

 we turn now to the method of irrigation as 

 practiced on this continent, and we purpose 

 to describe it with sufiicient minuteness to 

 render it intelligible to every reader. Our 

 observations, extending through a i>criod of 

 . many years, relate more particularly to the 

 valk-y of the Kio Grande, although "all over 

 Mexico, excepting only the valleys of the 

 Sierra Madre range and the narrow" belt bor- 

 dering on the .sea-coasts, the same geneial 

 system prevails. Even here the artificial 

 watering of land has jirevailed from immemo- 

 rial years. Cortes and Ids com])anions found 

 the practice in general vogue among the 

 Aztecs; and as the (ilan followed here ditfers 

 from that pursued on the Eastern continent, 

 it is a fair jiresumption that tlie concpierors 

 adopted the method observed by the natives. 

 Tliere are two primary facts connected with 

 this subject which must be borne in mind : 

 first, that irrigation is necessjiry only where 

 there is a deficient rain-fall ; and, second, that 

 it is practicable only in the valleys and coun- 

 try lying adjacent to streams of water. Where 

 the latter ar? wanting there can of course be 

 no artificial irrigation. It follows, therefore, 

 that in a regi(ui wheie there mv few rivers or 

 streams of considerable si/e Hint may lie made 

 available, there are often innnense tracts of 

 land which are, and must forever remain, 

 comparatively valueless for agriculluial pur- 

 poses. Gen. W. B. Ilazen has quite recently 

 called attention, in an article in the North 

 American Iievi(u\ to the immen.se region of 

 country lying immediately eastward of the 

 Eoeky Mountains, which,' from insufficient 

 rains and the limited number of streams, will 

 to all intents and purposes bid defiance to the 



efibrls of the pioneer to make it available for 

 his siqiport. The vast plains of Colorado, 

 parts of Mebraska and Western Kansas, por- 

 tions of New Mexico and Arizona, and the 

 Llano Estaciulo of Texas, are all included in 

 this category, as well as nuich of the table 

 lands of Mexico. 



The town of El Paso, in Mexico, is built on 

 the right bank of the Rio Grande river, and 

 contains, proViably, 4,r)t)0 inhabitants. Thesis 

 are scattered along the river for a distance of 

 six or seven miles ; and although the valley is 

 in some ])laces three miles wiiie, all or nearly 

 all the cultivated land lies within a mile of 

 the river bank, the rest being unoccupied. 

 About two miles above the town the river has 

 cut through a range of mountains, and, as is 

 usual in such placi'S, there is ('(insiderabli' fall, 

 and, what is eciually desirable, a rocky forma- 

 tion, thnuigh which a stable and permanent 

 mouth has l)een hewn for the irrigating ditch 

 or canal. Such canals are called ureqidaa, and 

 the main or principal one, the araiuia inndrc, 

 or mother canal. To furnish enough water to 

 suiiply the above poi)ulation, nine-tenths of 

 which are farmers on a larj^er or smaller scale, 

 requires a canal of considerable dimensions. 

 Indeed, the El Paso acequia is the largest we 

 have ever .seen, being at its origin about 

 twelve feet wide and five feet deep, and in 

 A\n\\ and May, when the spring rise has 

 swollen the river, generally bank full. 



In digging an ace(iuia it is desirable to have 

 as much, and, if possible, all the water that 

 (lows through it, abucc the level of the fields to 

 be watered, because in that way the entire 

 quantity can be poured out over them, while 

 if part Hows lower than the surrounding 

 ground, it is not available, and conse(|uently 

 lost. It is very desirable also that the mouth 

 of the acequia — the mouth is that end where 

 the water first cjiters it, and not, as in a river, 

 where it discharges — should be quite or nearly 

 on a level with the bed of the river from which 

 it draws its supplies, because then, however 

 low the water in the stream might become in 

 a dry season, it would still continue to (low 

 into the aceciuia; whereas, if the mouth of the 

 latter was above the bed of the source of su])- 

 jily, either temporary or permanent dams 

 would be required to divert the How into the 

 irrigating ditch. And just here we may call 

 attention to the advantages this mod(" of sup- 

 plying the water has over that jiractised in 

 oriental countries ; here the canals are filled 

 by the direct flow of the water into them from 

 the rivers, while there it is jiumped or raised 

 up by machinery more or less rude, the motive 

 power lieing furnished by either men or cattle. 

 The former method has the advantage, both 

 on the score of simplicity as well as that of 

 economy. 



The digging, cleaning and keeping in repair 

 of the acequias is a matter of h^gislative en- 

 actment, and in every townshi]) is under numi 

 cipal control. There is a mayordomo or gen- 

 eral sujiervisor, who app(jints the necessary 

 number of subordinates, called alathh^ de 

 aijua, or water magistrates, through whom all 

 complaints, reiiuests for the u.se of water, and 

 other like business must be made. Every resi- 

 dent, either pei-sonally or by |)roxy, is re- 

 quired to do a certain number of days work, 

 annually, on the acequias ; this amount of 

 work is governed by the wealth of the indi- 

 vidual, if he be a merchant or a professional 

 man, but if a farmer, then by the amount of 

 grain lu^ plants. The measure whereby this 

 service is regulated is the (ilniwhi^ equal to 

 .about one-fifth of our bu.shcl ; beyond a cer- 

 tain number of almuilas, however, a new regu- 

 lation conns in, and then the service exacted 

 includes carts and oxen to haul brush, stones 

 and dirt, when necessary. Any one can com- 

 pound by paying money instead of rendering 

 physical labor. Besides the regularly assessed 

 duty, in times of emergency, when a svulden 

 or unforseen tlood destroys or threatens to tear 

 away the banks of the acequia, or other dan- 

 ger impends, the Prij'ecin or Mayor of the dis- 

 trict ('aTi, and often docs, seize every man or 

 boy his police can get theirhands on, and sends 

 them to the point where the impending dan- 



ger is. To keep in order tlie acequia madre 

 from its mouth to the point where the lateral 

 and smaller aceiiuies branch ofi', is the duty 

 of the entire county, but the citizens of each 

 precinct (of which there are seven) are obliged 

 to attend to the branches tliat llow through 

 their several districts. 



This compulsoiy labor on the irrigating 

 canals is a very serious tax on the farmer: 

 more time than would be supjiosed is tlui.s, in 

 a measure, hi.st to him, and is an unceasing 

 cause of complaint. The water of the Hio 

 Grande dining the spring ri.se holds in solu- 

 tion mineral and vegetable matter equal to as 

 much as one-lilt h of its bulk. This being pre- 

 cijiitated soon (ills up the canals, and necessi- 

 tates fre(|uent cleanings: from one to two feet 

 of dirt are dug, or rather hoed from the bot- 

 tom, for th(! lioe is to the Mexican what the 

 shovel or spade is to the Iri.shman : the dirt 

 thus thrown out heightens and strengtheua 

 the banks of the canal. 



It is found necess;iry to irrigate the planted 

 lands every eight or ten days during the sum- 

 uut: should considerable rains intervene, then, 

 of course, such frequent waterings are not re- 

 quired. No one can obtain the use of the 

 water without application to the Alcades do 

 Agiia, and not always then, for the sui)ply is 

 nearly constantly short, except during the 

 spring lloods. This often leads to taking the 

 water by stealth at night, partiiailarly at dis- 

 tant fields where the lialiilily to detection is 

 not great. Such misdemeanors are severely 

 jiunisbed when di.scovereil. Most farmers pre- 

 fer to irrigate at night, not only to avoid the 

 heat of the sun, but also ljccau.se they believe 

 the application of the water to be more etKca- 

 tious then than during the day. 



A field to be irrigated is laid off into small 

 beds or divisions, each from ten to twenty 

 yards square: this is rendered necessary from 

 the fact that no considerable piece of ground 

 is found sudiciently level to allow of its being 

 evenly Hooded at one time; some porti<ms 

 would get too much water, and other parts 

 none: the ubiquitous hoe is therefore brought 

 into requisition, and a border from six to twelve 

 inches high is thrown up around a small Ix'd 

 of the size mentioned aliove. The water from 

 the acequia is turned into this small patch un- 

 til the soil will absorb no more, when the same 

 process is cimtiimed with the ne.\t division, 

 and so on until the whole field is gone over. 



This is a tedious proceeding, and when the 

 water .supply is short, three or four acres are 

 all one man can go over in a day. When we 

 consider, too, that the wheat planting sea.sou 

 is in .lanuary, when sometimes spells of cold 

 Weather occur,and that thelaborer isobliged to 

 staijd and work in mud and water up to his 

 knees, it becomes apparent that the work is 

 anything liut agreealilc. And taking the mira- 

 berof (lays a farmer spends in irrigating his 

 crops, and then adding the time he is annually 

 compelled to devote to cleansing and repair- 

 ing the canals, it will at once be seen that the 

 .system entails no lit tlee.^penseuiiont he iilanter. 

 All this labor enhances the cost of his crops. 

 It must be very evident also, that, other things 

 being equal, agricultural products raised by 

 irrigation cannot compete with those grown 

 in iiiaces where copious rains render such a 

 coui-se uniK'cessary. Besides, no amount of 

 artificial watering of land can render the pro- 

 duct e(|ual, either in (juantity or quality, to 

 that grown when the moisture is precipitated 

 from rain clouds. AVIien, in addition to the 

 usual amount of irrigation, there are also sea- 

 sonable rains, the inerea.se in the crops pro- 

 duced is from thirty-three tofiftyiicr cent. A 

 hot sun, falling day after day, upon a soil that 

 has been flooded, bakes it dry and hard, and, 

 thecrnst that is formed, becomes full of cracks 

 and fissures, all of which are hmtful to vege- 

 tation. 



Lateral acequias of all dimensions branch 

 off from the main stem and cover the valley 

 lik(^ a net work. The water for household 

 purj)oses, as well as for watering stock, is 

 taken from them. Ilorsesare washed in them 

 every day during the summer season, an<l they 

 are also {he common resort of men and women 



