OCR Text |
Show 118 Hence, to supply the town demand, forage is packed in on the backs of " burros." The supply for the military post ( amounting to several hundred tons a year) is hauled from a considerable distance. Much of it comes from Galisteo. Quite a considerable portion of this ( for the town) is supplied by a remarkable- looking grass,( Stipa pennaUi, L., var.,) which we afterward found growing abundantly on the mesas toward Fort Wingate, at about the same altitude as Santa Fe\ Besides this there is another peculiar- looking grass, ( Aristida,) which furnishes a scant forage. The primitive methods of irrigation are wasteful in the extreme, and actually limit the productions to below the real capacity of the region. There does not appear to be much attempt made in the way of fertilizing the soil. Under these circumstances, it is fair to infer that better habits of agriculture will produce larger results in and about Santa Fe\ There are two model- gardens within the city limits, and their abundant returns of vegetables and fruits show something of the real capacity of the soil. To make one statement: I should say that, from Santa Fe\ south, apples, peaches, plums, apricots, and probably pears, would do well in the Rio Grande Valley. Taos, near the Colorado line, has long been known as a wheat- producing region. Though rather out of place, I would remark that in certain portions of Colorado and New Mexico a plant has for years been known to exist which is quite destructive to cattle eating it. From the symptoms, it was conjectured that this plant was aconite. It has been rendered pretty certain that the offender is a plant known to botanists as Oxytropis Lamberti. It is quite common on the plains and the lower mountains, growing somewhat less than a foot high, with flowers at first purplish blue, then fading to yellow. The cup holding the Sower is covered with a silky down ; the flower- stalk is leafless, and abont 8 inches high; the leaves, divided like those of the locust, though smaller, are clustered around the base of the flower- stem. It has recently been discovered by Dr. Vasey that two related plants ( Astragalus Hornii and A. lentiginoses, var. Fremontii) have a similarly bad reputation in California. Leaving Santa Fe* behind us, there were here and there, along the road to Pinos Ranch, a few very small fields under cultivation. They were sparingly supplied with water from a little and rather uncertain stream. Quite a number of herds were seen grazing on the adjacent hills. At Piuos Ranch (& t the time of our visit) the supply of water was limited to one little spring. It probably, with some other water- holes in the vicinity, was sufficient for the inhabitants and their cattle, but left all idea of irrigation out of the question. There was an abundance of good grass scattered over the neighboring country to support many cattle. The prevailing character of the country, however, was that of a sage- brush plain, dreary and uninviting. From this point to the Rio Grande at San Felipe there was no improvement; water was wanting. Reaching the river, farming again became possible. The Pueblo Indians were busily engaged ( as we passed) in their fields, and their crops looked quite well. From these Indians a large portion of the wheat and corn used in Santa F6 comes. In addition to the fruits already alluded to in connection with Santa F6, the vine pat in appearance at San Felipe, and from this, as far south Is we went down the Rio Grande Valley, ( to Fort Craig,) it was everywhere one of the leading objects of culture. The wine is of good quality. It is currently reported that immense quantities of the grape- juice are each year lost for want of better knowledge in its preparation. It is fair to say that the wine of the Rio Grande will now compare favorably with that of California. In the one instance, as in the other, a greater age is needed. From Algodones to Albuquerque the valley is covered with alluvial soil and with drift, probably from the Zandia Mountains, which are on the eastern side of the river. This fertile flat has a varying width, at some points being over two miles wide. Rocks of the upper marl series are occasionally noticed tit situ. West of the river, and almost to its edge sometimes, are portions of the great overflow of basaltic lava which poured forth from the San Mateo Mountains, some fifty miles farther to the west. At Albuquerque the alluvial flat is quite wide. A crowded population has utilized every ]> ortion of it, and the innumerable irrigating- ditches show how close is the economy of soil there. Just previous to our reaching the town an unusual rise had taken place in the river, owing to a rapid melting of snow in the mountains at the river- heads. The entire flat above Albuquerque was submerged, causing great destruction of property, and even threatening the safety of the town. The freshet was a most unusual one. It may, however, have brought to the soil enough of fresh material to compensate for the damage. There was frequent occasion to observe the protective influence of the vegetation. At the point where the " arroyos" from the hills opened but into a sort of funnel on the flats, the " chico" clumps had retained the soil about their roots until the shrub remained standing ou a mound 2 feet high, from around which the whole surrounding surface had been washed away. Crossing the Rio Grande at Albuquerque, our course lay westward to the Rio Puerco- about fifteen miles. We were obliged to cross a considerable divide in going from one |