IRRIGATION YIELD OF CORN LANDS. 



49 



tion of rain clouds and the precipitation of their moisture usually 

 begin on the coast near Vera Cruz, and the course of the rain 

 storms advances from east to west, inundating the tierra caliente 

 along the eastern coast fifteen or twenty days before the table lands 

 are moistened. There have been seasons in which it did not begin 

 to rain until a month or two after the usual period. In 1802 such 

 an event occurred ; and, again in 1826, the vapors did not begin to 

 form and descend until the end of July, in consequence of which 

 the corn was totally lost. If the rains are withheld beyond the 

 middle of June, all the cereal products are either destroyed or suffer 

 greatly from the drought. The power of the sun, by that time, 

 becomes so great that the ground is scorched and the air filled with 

 clouds of dust which seem to gather and concentrate the blazing 

 rays, until the falling particles surround or fall upon the traveller 

 over the plains as if he were passing through a shower of heated 

 cinders. The heat, and the masses of burning dust, are almost 

 overpowering not only to vegetable but almost to animal life. 



The agricultural prosperity of Mexico, accordingly, depends 

 either largely upon the relative duration of these two seasons, or 

 on the power of the landed proprietors to supply the loss of water 

 from the clouds, by irrigation derived from the rivers or slender 

 streams that meander through the interior of Mexico. Seldom, 

 indeed, is the Mexican planter or farmer obliged to complain of 

 too much moisture. Between the parallels of 24° and 30° the 

 rains are of shorter duration, and the intervals between the showers 

 greater. But, fortunately, beyond the 26th°, a copious supply of 

 snow, during the winter, compensates for the want of rain at the 

 regular season. Irrigation, therefore, is universally resorted to, 

 wherever there is an adequate supply of water, and large sums are 

 expended by the possessors of the principal estates, in the con- 

 struction of acequias, or canals ; presets, dams or reservoirs ; and 

 nomas, or water wheels, by which the refreshing element is forced 

 up and distributed over the thirsty fields. 



Such is a brief review and summary of the soil and seasons of 

 Mexico. The average annual yield of the corn lands throughout 

 Mexico is estimated at twenty-five bushels for one. In portions of 

 the country, during favorable years, and where the irrigation is 

 good, from sixty to eighty bushels for one have been produced. At 

 Cholula, near Puebla, the increase is stated at forty for one, while 

 at Zelaya, Salamanca, and Santiago, further north, from thirty-five 

 to forty are produced on an average of years. In the valley of 



G 



