Jeiiiea — Albuquerque, N. Mex. — Regan. 109 
Phosphoric acid 029 
Oxide of Iron) _ ^^ 
Ahiminuni . . \ 
Insokible particles of rhyolite 92. 150 
In the valleys the soil is, without exception, the best in the 
world. It surpasses even the soil of the Nile valley. An an- 
alysis of the Rio g-rande mud gives the following constit- 
uents •}^ 
Potassa 1 . 784 
Soda * 795 
Lime 1-751 
Carbonate of Hme 5 . 190 
Magnesia 181 
Oxide of Iron ... ) 14.890 
Akiminia \ 
SiHcic acid 70.010 
Sulphate of lime trace 
Phosphoric acid 092 
Water and trace of organic matter 5 -012 
Mr. Leow after giving the above analysis of the Rio Grande 
mud, remarks : 
"Irrigation with these mud carrying waters furnishes the 
lands with a layer of the best virgin soil in a finely pulverized 
condition, and the belief of the farmer that the Rio Grande 
water is an efficacious fertilizing agent is fully warranted by 
the facts revealed by the chemical analysis. Indeed the inhab- 
itant of the Rio Grande will never require any other fertilizer 
than the waters of the Rio Grande Del Notre. "^^ 
Irrigation. — All crops in this region and in fact throughout 
New Mexico depend upon irrigation for their growth. With- 
out irrigation this region must be abandoned to the miners and 
stockmen. 
There is no general system of irrigation along any of the 
water courses ; but each village or community has its own re- 
spective ditch or ditches as the case may be ; and in getting the 
water high enough to irrigate the desired lands in so short a 
distance, the rate of flow is reduced almost to the minimum. 
As a result a great part of the water is evaporated before it 
Teaches the lands desired to be irrigated. Another drawback 
to the present system is that the water which is not used in the 
upper country is left in the streams ; and on reaching the low 
lands, it seeps into the sand. A general system of irrigation 
on the Rio Grande was once undertaken. A large canal was 
