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Show 130 lands exist in the San Juan Mountains, Uncompahgre Mountains, in the main range, extending from Trinidad to Santa F< 5, and in the great mountain regions between Abiquiu, Jemez, and Nacimiento; also, but to a less extent, in the Flacer Mountains and about Mount Taylor. The most prominent agricultural lands are the bottoms of the Arkansas, Rio Grande, and Pecos. Good, fertile lands of smaller extent occur along the Trinchera, Culebra, Costillo, Chama, Ojo Caliente, Santa Clara, Jemez, and Puerco Rivers, all tributaries of the Rio Grande; also, farther along, on the Huerfano, the Muddy, the Saint Charles, and the Animas streams, tributaries of the Arkansas, and on the Mora, Vermijo, and Ocate", tributaries of the Canadian, and along some portions of the San Juan River and its tributaries. THE BOTTOM OF THE ARKANSAS. This river is flanked by belts of excellent land covered with a splendid vegetation as far as the river spreads its moisture through the soil, forming a most pleasing contrast with the barren, sandy plain above the valley proper. This valley has a width of a half to two miles, and is traversed by the Denver and Rio Grande Narrow- Gauge Railway from Pueblo to Canon City, a distance of about forty miles. It is covered with a number of prosperous farms, valued, unimproved, at from*$ 20 to $ 30 an acre. The town of Pueblo has constructed, at an immense cost, an irriga ting- ditch twelve miles long, in order to render the barren plain, 30 to 40 feet above the river- level at South Pueblo, available to agriculture, and to enhance the value of the adjoining lands for farm purposes. A great number of trees also havo been planted along little irrigatiug- ditches issuing from the largo ditch. In excursions up the valley of the Arkansas, I stopped for a few days at " Carlisle,* a prosperous farm twenty miles above Pueblo. The fields, as a whole, were in splendid condition, as were the crops also, especially beans and corn. Potatoes,* I was informed, would not grow here. It is true, the vine reaches a splendid development, but the bulbs remain small or do not develop at all. A similar statement was made more than once in New Mexico the year previous, but was discredited at the time, on my being informed that the true cause of the difficult}' was the careless treatment of the crop by the Mexicans. Careful inquiry, however, has convinced me of the trnth of the statement. It is impossible to raise potatoes except in the higher altitudes, from 7,000 to 3,000 feet, as, for instance, in the Huerfano Park, where they grow very well. The reason appears to be that the evaporation from the leaves of the plant is increased by the dry air of these countries to such an extent that the sap is drawn chiefly to the upper and peripheral parts, thus developing a vigorous foliage with long stem aud branches, while the bulbs cannot be developed even with irrigation. But why, it may be asked, do the roots of other edible vegetables, as the turnip, have an enormous development? A sufficient reason for this apparent contradiction to the above hypothesis may be found in the different organization aud other proportions between the leaves and the body of the plant. The proprietor of the farm at Carlisle also called my attention to what he termed " alkaline spots," referring to certain spots in his beau- field on which nothing would grow to any extent, the plants showing a poor development, and forming a remarkable contrast with the surrounding portions of the field. These so- called " alkaliue spots " existed, also, in the corn- field, although in the proprietor's experience corn was not as largely affected by the peculiarities of such spots as the bean. Taking a lump of the earth and showing me the little white spots to which he referred, he remarked, " These are the obnoxious alkali." On examination, however, I found that they were nothing more than particles of gypsum, and explained to him the different mechanical conditions of the soil, which in patches is exceedingly clayey and baking, while generally it is of a normal porous character. The existence of these patches can easily be explained. The field was formerly- but how long since is not known- the bottom of the river- bed, and of course the current of the stream more or less effected a separation of the finer clayey particles and the coarser ones, as can easily be observed in any river ; the finer particles will be deposited where the water is shallowest and the current slowest. At the same time, however, soil subjected to irriga-gation will always bake comparatively more easily than that not thus treated. Specimens of the productive and unproductive spots were collected and subjected to a mechanical analysis by elutriation, the result being as follows : Productive Unproductive soil, spots. Clay 11.2 40.7 Silt 25.7 30.3 Sand 63.1 29.0 * The potato here referred to is the Chilian, often, though erroneously, called the Irish potato. Chili being the country of its discovery, it should be called the Chilian potato. |
