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THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY 



Sotol on the Hacienda de Santa Inez. Photo by F. E. Lloyd. 



the others cold ; some feed a small rivulet, across which one might step 

 with ease, that passes through a series of reservoirs and is used in irri- 

 gating the gardens, some supply the baths, and others the troughs where 

 the cattle come to drink. 



But this wealth of water, for wealth it is in such a country, is not 

 general. One would go far to find so splendid a supply as feeds the 

 industries of this place. Here and there wells are sunk in the valleys 

 and water is found at a depth of forty feet more or less, but often 

 drilling goes much deeper without finding any. 



The sites of these springs are here, as everywhere else in deserts, 

 oases of fertility, visible sometimes a day's journey across the broad 

 valleys, and marked in the broad expanse of desert landscape by dark 

 tops of huge cottonwoods, and the light reflected from the white- 

 washed walls of adobe houses. The number and quality of the springs 

 determine the size of the hamlet and sometimes the nature of its 

 operations. Upon arrival we may find also ash and pepper trees, 

 pecans, avocadoes, figs, pomegranates, apples and grapes, rows of 

 magueys and hedges of tuna-bearing nopals. Onions, garlics and 



