THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



127 



NEW MEXICO BUREAU OF IMMIGRATION. 



The Legislature of New Mexico acted wisely when eight 

 years ago it created an official body, to be known as the 

 Bureau of Immigration, to consist of six members appointed 

 by the Governor bi-ennially, subject to ratification by the 

 Legislature, and with authority to employ a permanent secre- 

 tary, the mission of the Bureau being to gather and to dis- 

 seminate reliable information concerning the territory and to 

 advance its interests generally through proper channels of 

 publicity. 



Men of high standing in the territory have served upon 

 this Bureau and the high character of its work attests to 

 the interest displayed in this voluntary service of the Terri- 

 tory. 



The position of Secretary, the responsible official of the 

 Bureau, was held during the first four years of its existence 

 by the late Col. Max Frost of Santa Fe, whose recent death 

 served to remind the public of this man's genius, which 

 triumphed over the obstacles of total blindness and partial 



H. B. HENING, 

 Secretary New Mexico Bureau of Immigration. 



paralysis. When, four years ago the weight of infirmities 

 caused Col. Frost to resign his commission, the Bureau faced 

 the problem of finding a man measuring up to his intellectual 

 standard. H. B. Hening was finally decided upon and the 

 brilliant work performed by him since his appointment has 

 amply vindicated the choice of the Bureau. He possesses 

 in a rare degree the faculty of presenting facts and statistics 

 in a manner which makes them entertaining reading even to 

 the indifferent. 



Mr. Hening was born in Missouri, and secured his educa- 

 tion at the University of Syracuse, New York. After his 

 graduation some nine years ago, he removed to New Mexico, 

 where he became a range rider. Perhaps for lack of intel- 

 lectual stimulus he forsook this life and devoted himself to 

 newspaper work, from which field of activity he was chosen 

 to fill his present position. He was in direct charge of the 

 exhibit of his Territory at the recent Land and Irrigation 

 Exposition in Chicago, and was largely responsible for the 

 creditable display made. Mr. Hening made the following 



statement 19 a representative of the IRRIGATION AGE relative 

 to his Territory: 



"During the past three years New Mexico has attained 

 the record of growth in citizenship, 40,000 homestead 

 entries having been made during that time, upon 6,000,000 

 acres of public land. Our water resources for irrigation and 

 power are very largely unappropriated, and under the able 

 administration of Mr. V. L. Sullivan, Territorial Engineer, 

 investigation of these are being consistently pursued with the 

 co-operation of the United States Geological Survey. Within 

 two or three years the water resources of the State will have 

 been adequately charted. Reliable estimates place the amount 

 of water available for irrigation as sufficient for two million 

 acres, including the half million under completed works, or 

 those under construction. Applications for water sufficient 

 for one-half million acres more have been approved, includ- 

 ing one Carey Act project the Urton Lake project of 40,000 

 acres, the first Carey Act project in the Territory. In addi- 

 tion to this enormous total, applications sufficient for fully 

 1,500,000 acres are on file, but are not as yet approved. Mr. 

 Sullivan estimates that approximately 75,000 acres in the 

 vicinity of Deming, 25,000 acres in the Estancia Valley, 50,000 

 acres in the Pecos Valley, 50,000 acres about Portales, and 

 100,000 acres in the Rio Grande Valley are capable of reclama- 

 tion through pumping. Pumping projects to reclaim land 

 around Deming and to the extent of 6,000 acres near Portales 

 are now under construction. The figures quoted before, 

 relative to irrigation, include the Government's Rio Grande 

 and Carlsbad projects, both of these being storage proposi- 

 tions. 



Of interest is the announcement that a company of 

 Italians headed by the grandson of Garibaldi, have applied 

 for water sufficient to reclaim 50,000 acres of Mesa land east 

 of Albuquerque, with a storage dam at the mouth of Hain's 

 Canyon. 



"In eastern New Mexico, the boundaries of the Pecos 

 Valley Artesian belt are well defined by the sand dunes on 

 either side. The area embraces a total of 450,000 acres, of 

 which 160,000 are under irrigation from canals and artesian 

 wells, the proportion of each being about equal. This artesian 

 flow has been under continuous official observation for the 

 past four years, and where wells have been properly cased 

 no diminution in their flow has been observed. The use of 

 the water is under stringent regulations, and no waste of it 

 is permitted. All of the land in this area is under private 

 ownership, and is sold at reasonable figures. 



"The Government's Carlsbad project, of 20,000 acres, has 

 been in successful operation 16,000 acres having been culti- 

 vated this year. The balance comprises so called "excess 

 holdings," the raw lands of which are upon the market at 

 from $60 to $75 per acre. It is now proposed to increase the 

 capacity of the reservoir to serve an additional 10,000 acres. 



"In the Rio Grande Valley the entire 25,000 acres served 

 by the Leasburp dam were under cultivation, with excellent 

 results this year. 



"As to the land grants in New Mexico, all of those hav- 

 ing a recognized existence have been confirmed by Congress 

 under decision of the court of Private Land Claims, these 

 decisions sustaining the title of all known heirs from the 

 original grantees. An adjudication by the local courts to 

 sustain the rights of living heirs in making assignments is all 

 that is necessary now from a legal standpoint in securing a 

 title to any of these grants. This is a comparatively easy 

 matter and many of the heirs are disposing of their holdings 

 upon a reasonable basis. 



"Eastern investors are beginning to pick up these fine large 

 tracts of land which offer cohesive holdings, and which are 

 unique upon the land map of the United States. The title to 

 some of these grants includes available appropriations of 

 water. 



"Some of these purchases are being made for investment, 

 others for the purpose of immediate development. One of 

 the largest grants including 500,000 acres was sold in this 

 manner recently." 



MYERS' 1910 CALENDAR. 



Among: the many calendar posters sent to the office of 

 the Age during the past month, that issued by F. B. Myers 

 & Bro.. manufacturers of pumps, hay-tools, etc., at Ashland, 

 Ohio, deserves special mention. A representative of the com- 

 pany states that more than 30,000 of these have been mailed 

 to dealers handling- Myers' goods. The company has spared 

 no expense In designing and printing: the calendar and it 

 verifies the claim of the largest manufacturer of domestic 

 pumps and hay-tools In the United States. 



