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THE IKRIGATION AGE. 



THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY 

 BY 



R. C. Brophy, M. D., D. D. S. Ch.cago. 



THE Delta of the Rio Grande river, in Texas, known as 

 the Lower Rio Grande valley, occupies a geographical po- 

 sition farthest south of any agricultural land in the United 

 States. It lies more than four hundred miles south of the 

 southern boundary of California, a line drawn through it, and 

 across the continent from east to west cutting through the 

 peninsula of lower California well toward its southern extrem- 

 ity, and just clipping off the tip of the peninsula of Florida. 

 It is in about the center of the southern boundary of the 

 United States, and therefore is more accessible to the markets 

 of the country generally than any other semi-tropical region, 

 or region of its character, in the United States, enjoying in 

 this particular a decided advantage over California and Florida, 

 its principal competitive regions. The valley extends about one 

 hundred miles up the Rio Grande river from the Gulf of 

 Mexico, and varies in width from, approximately, fifty miles 

 at its eastern extremity, or the gulf line, to a pointed termi- 

 nation at its western extremity, and it comprises approximately 

 500,000 acres, which must be considered a limited area when it 

 is known that the state in which it is located has 170,099,200 

 acres within its limits. 



TOPOGRAPHY. 



While the eastern or lower portion of the valley is devoid 

 of pronounced undulation, the larger part of the inland 

 boundary is marked by a series of well defined shelves, or 

 "lifts," and though the quality of the soil be not considered 

 at all, these natural terraces lying in well developed lines and 

 levels could scarcely fail to convince one that at some time in 

 the past this valley was the bed of a body of water. Further 

 proof that these shelves were at various ages shore lines is 

 found in the fact that the alluvial character of the soil ceases 

 above the upper lift. Study of the Lower Rio Grande valley 

 is an interesting one to topographers. 



Naturally one would know that since the valley lies along- 

 side of a rapidly flowing river there must be a corresponding 

 fall or depression in the topography of the land, and in this 

 case the decrease in altitude from west to east is abundant to 

 facilitate irrigation and insure perfect drainage, so necessary 

 in the cultivation of land through irrigation or otherwise. 



SOIL. 



As has been intimated, the soil of the Lower Rio Grande 

 valley is alluvium, and its richness is plainly apparent to the 

 most casual investigator. There is no rock in the valley, no 

 gravel, and except to a limited extent no sand. All rivers ac- 

 cumulate and carry along with them vegetable matter in a 

 greater or lesser state of decomposition and solution, and this 

 matter when deposited in solid form, done through evaporation 

 of the water, or its absorption into the ground, is known as 

 silt. It can be imagined that the Rio Grande river, after its 

 meandering flow of 1,800 miles, becomes heavily loaded with 

 this silt, and it is this matter, heavily charged with snail shells, 

 that makes up the soil of the valley. The depth of the soil 

 is rarely sounded. In the digging of wells silt composition has 

 been found at depths ranging down to seventy-five feet. That 

 the richness and fertility of the soil of the Lower Rio Grande 

 valley is sufficient to preclude the necessity of artificial fer- 

 tilization for very many years to come is not only a foregone 

 conclusion from a scientific standpoint, but it is, also, a prac- 

 tically demonstrated fact shown through the historical experi- 

 ence of the promoters of the older plantations of the valley, 

 some of which have grown sugar cane a crop which yields 

 from thirty-five to sixty tons to the acre-^-consecutively for 

 thirty years without a thought of spreading fertilizer upon 

 the land, other than that carried to it through the water with 

 which it is irrigated. 



In its natural state the land of the valley is thickly covered 

 by mesquite, ebony and some other varieties of trees, and 

 prickly pear. Clearing is done at a cost of from six to ten 

 dollars per acre, and when the land is cleared it is very easily 

 placed under a perfect state of cultivation, owing to the fact 

 that it is generally unsodded and is left by the stirring plow 

 in a friable condition. 



CLIMATE. 



The far southerly location of the Lower Rio Grande val- 

 ley would quite naturally lead to the belief that while the win- 

 ters would be mild the summers would be extremely warm 

 and oppressive, but while the former is true, the latter is 



erroneous. As a matter of fact the climatic conditions in the 

 valley present a degree of uniformity, for the year, which is 

 surprising, and in the writer's opinion is not to be found in 

 any other section of the United States. 



The winters, or rather the winter months, show no par- 

 ticular change in vegetation, or verdure in the valley ; trees 

 hold their leaves unchanged, flowers keep right on blooming, 

 land is planted and crops harvested without interruption. In 

 the summer months, while in the open in the forenoon of the 

 day, the sun is "hot," one can step into the shade and be cool. 

 The heat is never oppressive, sunstroke or heat prostrations 

 are unknown. IRRIGATION. 



The Lower Rio Grande valley is semi-arid territory. It 

 enjoys a natural rainfall of twenty to thirty inches annually, 

 but this quantity of rain is insufficient, owing to the absorb- 

 ing quality of the soil, for vegetation, and hence irrigation is 

 depended upon in agriculture. 



For the amount of territory in the valley, there probably 

 is not a section of the United States that has so extensive 

 irrigation development and facilities. Ramifying up through 

 the valley from the river, there are at present over forty great 

 irrigation canals, equipped with the most modern pumping ma- 

 chinery and in active service. The amount of money invested 

 in irrigation development is immense, and of itself furnishes 

 assurance that a great amount of confidence is reposed in 

 its future. LABOR. 



The question of labor has become a decidedly important 

 one in agriculture, and in this particular the farmer of the 

 Lower Rio Grande valley enjoys a great advantage. Closeness 

 of proximity to Mexico, and the fact that the valley has a 

 large Mexican population, makes this class of labor plentiful. 

 Able-bodied men may be hired for 65 to 75 cents per day, and 

 they board themselves. One must wonder how a man of fam- 

 ily gets along upon this income, but they seem to do it. 



PRODUCTS. 



The Lower Rio Grande valley possesses qualifications in 

 the production of fruits and nuts equal to those of California 

 or Florida. All varieties of citrus fruits, figs, grapes, dates, 

 pineapples, papallas, bananas, guavas, and pecans, English wal- 

 nuts and almonds are grown with success. . 



The valley is a wonderful Indian corn region, two crops 

 being produced each year from the same land, each of which 

 yield enormously. White corn is the staple food of the Mexi- 

 can laborer. 



Cotton grows to perfection in the valley, as does alfalfa. 

 The latter crop is cut from six to ten times a year, and aver- 

 ages more than a ton to the acre per cutting. Broom corn is 

 grown with success and is a profitable crop. 



Cabbage, cauliflower, Bermuda onions, cantaloupe, water- 

 melon and every variety of vegetables are indigenous to this 

 valley and are extensively produced. Loaded in heated cars, 

 they are shipped to northern points in the dead of winter, and 

 reach the markets when prices are highest, netting the pro- 

 ducers enormous profits. Sugar cane is the leading crop pro- 

 duced in the valley and it is the capacity of the soil to produce 

 this crop more prolifically and of better quality than is done 

 elsewhere, either in our own country or abroad, that adds 

 most to the fame of the valley. It surprises northern farmers 

 to find that sugar cane comes up from the stubble after cutting, 

 one planting only being required for a period of from five to 

 eight years. There are now thousands of acres of sugar cane 

 in cultivation in the valley and some of the finest sugar mills 

 in the country are in operation in season, or in process of con- 

 struction. SPORTS AND RECREATION. 



It might be well for me to call attention to the oppor- 

 tunities offered in the Lower Rio Grande valley to those who 

 have sporting proclivities, or are bent upon recreation. In the 

 first place those who so desire may take baths in the surf, 

 with but few exceptions, every day in the year. Off the coast, 

 in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the rivers and aroyos connected 

 with it, the gamiest of fish are plentiful, while both feathered 

 and animal game, including geese, duck, quail, pigeons and wild 

 turkey, and deer, bear, wild hogs, coyotes and jack rabbits also 

 are plentiful in their haunts. As for automobiling, it would 

 be difficult to find a region where the roads are more perfectly 

 adapted to this sport. The old military road, established by 

 the government away back about the time that Santa Ana 

 met his "Waterloo" at San Jacinto, and the Lone Star state 

 took its big place amongst the states of the Union, extends 

 from Brownsville to El Paso, a distance of something like 

 eight hundred miles, and passes alongside the Rio Grande 

 through the valley. This road is a veritable boulevard and is 

 ideal for auto touring. 



