New Mlettied: and California. 383 
successful, the progress of agriculture in New Mexico would be 
rapi and even man dreaded a eam mi por be changed » 4 mn 
water into larger and smaller ditches (acéquias) surrounding and inter- 
secting the whole Sikivaned land. The inhabitants of towns and villa- 
ges, therefore, locate their lands toge er, an allot to each one a part 
ter at certain periods. ‘T" common fields are generally 
without fences, which are less heeded, as the granite stock is gua 
by herdsmen.—pp. 22, 23. 
A third, much neglected branch of industry in New Mexico is the 
mince Many mining places now deserted. prove that nn was 
pursue ith greater zeal in the old Spanish times than at_pre- 
sent. This ma y be accounted for in various ways,—by the present w 
of capital, want of knowledge in mining, but papacy the eat mat 
state of the country and the avarice of its arbitrary rulers e moun- 
tainous parts of New Mexico are very rich in gold, copper and iron, 
and afford some silver. Gold seems to be found to a large extent in all 
the mountains near Santa Fe, south of it to a distance of a ut ene 
hundred miles, as far as Gran Quivira, and north for about one hun- 
dred and twenty miles up to the river Sangre de Cristo. Throughout 
this whole region gold dust has been abundantly found byt the poorer 
classes of Mexicans, who occupy igen elves with the washing of this 
metal out of the penne stream t present the old and the new 
Placer, near Santa Fe,. have ee re attention, and not only 
gold washings, ba somé gold mines too, are worked there. As far as 
my knowledge extends, they are the only gold mines worked now 
in New Mexico. u as | have made an excursion from Santa Fe 
for the special purpose of examining these mines, | must refer the 
reader, in relation sg them, to that chapter of my narrative. As to 
the annual amount of gold produced i in New Mexico, I am unable to 
give even an estimate. Since nearly all the sald of the country is 
bought up by the traders, and smuggled out of the country to the 
United States, | believe that a closer a ote of the gold produced 
in New Mexico could be made in the different mints of the United 
States than in Mexico itself, In* Spanish times, several rich silver 
mines were worked at Avo, at Cerrillos, and in the Nambe mountains, 
but none at progents Copper is found in abundance throu hout the coun- 
ard of but one > copper mine nae at present south 
of the Bidssrs: Trot though also abundantly found 
looked. Coal has been discovered in different localities in the 
Raton mountains, near the village of Jemez, southw st of San 
ina place south of the Placers, ete. Gypsum, Soth omens and se- 
lenite, are found in large apaniitics in Mexions extensive layers of it, I 
understood, exist in the’ mountains near A godones, on the Rio del 
Norte, and in the neighborhood of <q celebrated * Sali nas.” It is 
used as common lime for whitewashing, a rystalline or selenite 
instead of window-glass. About four gh ° po (probably one 
red miles) south-southeast of Santa Fe, on the high table-land 
