THE SOUTHWEST 



651 



40,000 acres of them were planted in 

 1908, with yield of over 20 tons to the 

 acre. A factory has been erected at 

 Glendale by a Colorado firm, which has a 

 million dollars invested in the industry. 

 The sugar averaged 16 per cent, and a 

 two-months' run of the factory yielded 

 6,000,000 pounds of sugar. 



Choice canteloupes are being raised in 

 increasing number, and in 1908 125 cars 

 were shipped East and West to a ready 

 market. Olives and dates are being pro- 

 duced, and of late the orange business 

 has begun to thrive rapidly, because the 

 fruit can be raised to reach the markets 

 in November and early in December, so 

 that it commands extra high prices. One 

 hundred carloads went East in 1907 at 

 $5 to $8.50 a box, which yielded a profit 

 of $500 to $800 an acre. All the garden 

 products are raised profitably. 



I know of one patch of strawberries 

 near Tucson which returned $1,000 an 

 acre net, and many yield $500 to the acre. 

 Sweet potatoes are raised with returns 

 of $300 per acre. Cotton has proven a 

 success in southern Arizona, and it is re- 

 markable in having fiber so long that spe- 

 cial gins have to be made for it. 



YUMA REGION 



Yuma, in southwestern Arizona, is 

 situated in the low-lying delta region of 

 the lower course of the Colorado River, 

 with its wide stretches of fertile soil and 

 warm climate. The yearly rainfall aver- 

 ages less than 3 inches, but the waters 

 of the great river are available for irri- 

 gation, and the operations of the Recla- 

 mation Service will furnish a water sup- 

 ply for 79,000 acres. The principal work 

 has been the great Laguna dam built 

 across the river, 4,780 feet long and 19 

 feet high, to create a reservoir of 10 

 square miles, with a capacity of 26,650 

 acre feet and an annual discharge of 

 11,000,000 acre feet. 



The agricultural capabilities of this 

 region are wonderful, for the soil is rich 

 and the climate warm. A great variety 

 of crops has been introduced, from dates 

 to cabbage, and the returns have been 

 phenomenal. 



There are many private irrigation 

 projects in various valleys of Arizona, 

 and the next few years will witness the 

 reclamation of a large acreage of land 

 ready for the settler. It is probable that 

 in time all this land will be under culti- 

 vation, and central and southern Arizona 

 will be a great producer of useful crops. 



NEW MEXICO AGRICULTURE 



Irrigation has been practised for many 

 years in New Mexico, but until lately the 

 product was not large and it was con- 

 sumed at home. In the past few years 

 operations have been extended greatly 

 in all parts of the country, and now the 

 value of the crops exceeds $25,000,000 

 a year. Alfalfa for feed is the largest 

 product, but there is a variety of other 

 crops from apples to cotton (see page 

 655), and in Messilla Valley 4,000 acres 

 of rich bottom lands are affording a 

 highly profitable yield of canteloupes. 



The principal water supply is in the 

 Rio Grande, the great floods in which go 

 to waste, but recently work has been be- 

 gun by the U. S. Reclamation Service 

 on a dam near Engle, to be 265 feet high,, 

 to hold the river and create a reservoir 

 45 miles long to store over 2,000,000 acre 

 feet of water. This water will be largely 

 used in the southern part of the territory,, 

 besides furnishing 60,000 acre feet in^ 

 Mexico. Two other smaller projects m 

 the Pecos Valley will supply water to 

 irrigate rich bottom lands. In 1908 per- 

 mits were issued for irrigation of 

 654,500 acres in New Mexico. 



In Chaves and Eddy Counties, in the 

 famous Pecos Valley, there is an artesian 

 area with about 700 vigorous wells, some 

 of which yield 200 gallons a minute. 

 The water is nearly all used for irriga- 

 tion, and some wells irrigate 200 acres 

 or more. The celery at Roswell, which 

 has become celebrated all over the 

 Southwest, is raised in this way. 



Dry farming has also oeen practised 

 to some extent in New Mexico with very 

 satisfactory results when the soil was 

 kept in proper condition, but unfortu- 

 nately most dry farming is simply taking 

 chances of having sufficient rain to raise 

 a poorly tilled crop. 



