TWO CROPS RAISED PER ANNUM. 145 
the others along the divide which limits the Gila basin— 
; carry down to the low lands along the coast an abundant 
supply of water, enough in fact, to irrigate all the low- 
lying districts situated between them, and representing not 
less than 2,500 square miles. It is this section of country, 
together with the special produce it is capable of yielding, 
which makes the agricultural resources of Sonora, in my 
opinion, of very great importance. 
On all lands susceptible of irrigation two crops of cereals 
can, without difficulty, be raised in the year : a crop of wheat 
and one of maize, or wheat and beans, or even wheat and 
barley. The wheat is sown from November to January, and 
reaped in April—never later than May. The land is then 
given two months’ rest. Maize is sown at the commencement 
of the rainy season—that is, about the Ist of J auly—and 
is harvested in November. The bean-crop may be sown even 
later than the maize, and the barley about the same time. 
The Australian wheat has been introduced with great success, 
for it ripens a month in advance of the ordinary kinds, and 
is not only out of danger before the season for smutting 
comes on (just before the summer rains), but a considerable 
time is thus ensured for the ground to lie fallow before 
- sowing the second crop—a very necessary requirement. 
| 
ii 15 Ge, wee i ea 
Were Sonora, however, to become a populous country, and 
to be traversed by railroads, cereals only would be raised 
sufficient to supply the necessities of the miners and inland 
population; for cotton, sugar, and tobacco are far more 
remunerative, and thrive well all through the State. 
Until the introduction of the Egyptian seed, cotton was 
cultivated with but little success in Sonora, for crops from 
the Mississippi seed, and other varieties, were very liable to 
coma Now the Egyptian gs properly “leat being 
VOL. II. 
