[26]. 56 
the relative dryness of the atmosphere, my asia for the dew-point 
will give e some information 
“The productions of. the cultivated soil in the State of Chihuahua are 
maize, wheat, beans, peas, red pepper, apples, peaches, onions; and in the 
less elevated regions, figs, granates, ‘melons, grapes, &c. ‘Co tton, too, 
has been tried with success in the southern part of the State. Generally 
taken, the country seems to be more fit for raising stock than for agriculture, 
as.a great portion of it is either too mountainous, or too ‘scantily supplied 
with water, to become very productive. But notwithstanding, the State 
has sufficient arable land in the valleys and at along the water courses 
to produce all the crops that are wanted for a much denser population aon 
the present. In the mountains of the Sierra “M adre there is an abundance 
of pines, which grow the finest and tallest, at an elevation of from eight to 
_ nine thousand feet above the sea; while in an elevation of five and six 
thousand more, oak and cedar are found, and in the plains mezquite 
and shrubbery furnish the necessary fuel. In the city of Chihuahua oak 
is used, carried there on pack mules from the mountains. 
‘annual produce of agriculture in the State is esumated at the value 
of $880,062. The following is a list of the items: 
. Maize - - - - 246 ,399 fanegas. 
‘Barley - . < - do. 
- Wheat - - - - 62,660 do. 
Beans - - - - 30,713 do. 
’ ee _— . - - 730 do. 
; pepper - => = 5,694 do. 
é Ba - - - - 12, 957 pe 
. - - 23 652 fras 
Whiskey : - - 28, 900 do. 
_-More important than agriculture is the raising of stock in the State. 
Horses and mules, cattle and sheep, thrive and increase very rapidly, and 
the wealth of the proprietors of large “‘haciendas”’ consists mostly in their 
ble stock, which is never kept in the stables, but during the whole 
; and whenever it was necessary for them to realize some mo: 
ney, 
they would send. droves to the south, even as far as the city of Mexico; and 
they often cleared as much as $100 00,000 i in one such trip. But since the 
last 20 years, the wild Indians have become so hostile, and committed so 
many depredations, that the stock is diminishing every year. An official 
ry 
POPs aes aaa account. valued the stock of the State, in 1633, at 
_ Another most important branch of industry in the State of Chihuahua is 
mining. Its many and rich silver mines have been celebrated for several 
a 
throughout the the length of the Sierra Madre, and in a: mean: brea 
leagues.» oe The silver ores occur generally as. sulphurets, with iron or lead, 
sometimes as native silver and muriate of silver, and are found either en-_ 
, yv pe ocksr See Obie: eat AK ocks, (limestone,) ‘passing in » 
5 inde ta ance aan They are worked either by amalgama- ~ 
oe 
- - 
eens i 
furnaces. For process they need gen. 
erally an sieemiees, — (iaeiee, or ae of flea) Bb erdiech iteine, there- 
PON 
\ 
‘found in the western part of Be State, 
dth of 30 ° 
