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The San Juan times. (Farmington, N.M.) 1891-1900, December 27, 1895, Image 5

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01 it (.ill AND DISTRICT
ONE OF THE GARDEN SPOTS:
OF THE WORLD.
KerHi Soil AliiiiKtiint Water and
Oihtir Indaoeiueittn Offered
were brought to this place thtre is
uo Imtter piece of land for raising
Jeciduoua fruits. It is protected,
fertile mid beautiful.
THK LA PLATA VALLEY.
Home Seekers.
flora N M. Bureau of luimi ..ration Report.
I hih county is oue of the garden I
Unit- of the worid, uud lies un the
mtH'ii flope of the great eonti-l
bental divide, being part of the Fit j
e lie wa'er t-hed Aside from its great I
i.-eotirccs as au agricultural uud stock '
ci ucry ila scenery is very beautiful.
()u all sides great rocky masses, j
broken iuto picturesque formations,
hre to be seen across wide, tortile
vKliejs. The county is WHtered by
tiji-H kiro rivers, and from their J
.1 lis iL. -
.iicliou tifiow ariiiitigiuu tue view
i. gran. I and impressive.
FAUM LAND ON THE SAN JUAN.
Iti this valley, from a point aboul
t-M miles Hbove Largo, there is a
narrow strip of bottom land on each
Mile of the river. At, the towu of
Largo the river bottom widens out
iuto rolling mesas and bottom lands
Mr Inch are available for cultivation,
The mod. important of these tracts
tre known hb the Bloomtield audSol-
moo mesas, which, with the bottom
IhikIs under thorn, will aggregate
homewhat over "iO.UllO acne. They!
ai'eoiithe north side of the rivm'. i
From thence to the junction of the
A n unas. the mesa lands are broken
iutooetttched plateaus rather difficult
lo irrigate, l no Aiiuuas ami un
Plata '-tupty into the 8:111 Juan near
Farmitigton. On the two points of
land formed by the rivers are about
1:! ()( or 15.000 acres of line laud all
undr ditch. IWinning t hen at the
mouth of the La Plata, and lor twenty
miles down the San J uan, to where
it breaks through the Hogback, (a
line of low hills) thre is a continu
1 -us series of mesas with about, a mile
wide of bottom land A little over
15.000 here are now under ditch. To
lii north of this are a series of high
meadows, or vegas, estimated to con
tain 44,000 acres. Besides this, ami
to be properiy considered in the Sao
J nan basin, are the lands on either
tide of the Canon Largo, Canon
Clauco and Canon Gallego, These
will include the laud aloug the river
and down to th? sixth correction
line, ncrih; south of this line there
are tweuty four townships of laod,
the water facilities of which are only
shout the average of ihe arid region.
They aie covered by the headwaters
of the Rio Chaco or Chusco ami the
Amarillo. At present this laud is
levoted to cattle and sheep ra sing,
but the prospects of using a consid
erable area of this land for agriculture
are very favorable. At presot there
is no demand for it and mo-it of it is
public land.
It may be said, therefore, that in
the immediate San Juao valley there !
are about, 00.000 acres of land, about
50,000 actus of which are now under ;
ditch, A large area outside of this.!
on thi high mesas, is snscepvible of :
irrigation, and will ultimatdy be1
added to the irrigable area by means 1
of high line ditches.
THE ANIMAS VALLEY.
The Ar.imas riv- r enters thecounty 1
justo"stof the 108th meridian. It I
is formed by the junction of two im- j
liortiuit torrential streams, and will
irrigate, 'f properly handled, 40,000
acres of fruit, land. Of this amount
10.000 or 12,000 acres are already
under ditch, and it would not be wise
to advise largo settlement on any
new lands, unless some scheme were
devised by which the whole amount
of the walor could be handled by
ome comprehensive authority. This
river tit ws thirty miles within San
Juan county. The farming lands j
begin Bt Cox's crossing and take in a
trip varying from a quarter of a
mile to three miles in width and j
about twenty -five miles in length.!
The Animas has a minimum flow of
'2000 cubic feet per second. One of j
he peculiaiitier of this and tue San
Juan rivor is that, the bottoms aroj
aompossd of beds of small, round, 1
water-worn boulders of unknown;
depth. More water flows in this!
boulder bed than on Ihe surface.!
Along in the river valley proper !
there are about 18 000 acres of good
land, the most important area of!
which is from Aztec to below Flora
Vista.
FAKMINOTON OLAUE.
Besides the valley of the Animas 1
there is an important area of land
iucluded iu the Farmington Glade, j
ho iutrovale between the Animas aud
La Plata rivers. It, is a strip of 1
country two or three miles wide by j
eighteen miles long. It will aggre
gate 25,000 acres of good irrigable
land well adapted to fruit raising.'
In the glade, and beginning at about
the latitude of Aztec, is a line body
of public land, subject to desert
land entry, that would make homes
for a small colony. The ditch would
be comparatively inexpensive as a
natural opening in the hillside affords
eaty entrance to the glade. If water
LARGO.
This town may be considered the
center of population un the upper
San Juan. Taking in with it ihe
: little sotllai.ianr on Pinn rivor un,l at
The La Plata river flows iu a deep. I Bloomtield. the population is between
sandy bed, aud its waters generally I k00 and 1200 persons, the majority
disappear iu the last week iu Angus' of whom are of Spanish descent,
or the lirt week of September. On 1 The high culture of the fields, or
the upper part of this river after i1 j chards and vineyards speaks well f jr
enters Sim Juan county there ar ' he progress of the community,
about 8000 acres cultivated; and at' crops
Jackson, near its mid-Course, t here is I
a small Mormon colony who till, Thj first trees were planted iu this
about 1000 acres. The river has au county teu years ago, and as an ex
average fall of forty feet to the mile. I perimeut seemed very doubtful. The
is about thirty feet wide and has u tirst settlers were principally cattle
mean average flow of about 250 cubic j n,t)D who knew little about farmiug.
feet per second. The ultimate re-j They profited by their first mistake, j
ulamation of lands in the La Plata j however, and prospered, so that thei
valley will he large. ; reputation of these VHlleys is known :
ACTUAL WATER RESOUllCES.
It, will he seen from the toreguiug
all over the southwest. Thesouthern
towns of Colarado, outside the San
that there are available from these i VU1H ;va.iey. are almost wnouy H.ip
lhree rivers 6250 cubic feet of water ilu'tl from tue ba,D Juu orchards,
per second. At, the low estimate of ho remunerative has fruit cu.iure
IG0 acres to each cubic foot, this is Pfoved that in 180128 .000 trees were
sufficient to irrurate 1,000,000 acres j tl1ttU,ed- aU(l hlmIU 5aUUU
of land According to a county I lkw plautiug of 1M)3 is not yet ao
oa.ui.hlet iaMieo for circnUrion t : curately known, but. will show a ratio
ihe U'nrl.Tw fu,r H.nro urn 1 0(10 i 01 progress
acres available for irrigation. ' itl quorque Territorial fair the fruits of
Last year at ihe Albu-
addition to the value o: the water for iu,m c'unly ,0,0k .,UH sweepstakes
irrigation, it is a constant, source of lrize- lu,e Irenes in some mstai.ces
water power. The San Juan and
Animas are constant streams, uotj
art pc ted by t ue most endn ring drouth, i
The wasted power of their waters1
would furnish heal, light and elec
trical motive forre far in excess of
auj possible need of this county. At i
present (he only use made of all this ;
wealth of wa'er is to irrigate about
25,100 acres, the larger part of which j
is under ditches owned by small asso- j
cialtoos of farmer.
measured nine inches in circumfer
ence, apples thirteen to fourteen
inches aud weighed sixteen to nine
teen ounces. Single acres of fruit
land return from 5400 to $500; and
in one orchard near F.irmiiiKtou are
three trees, of whose yield an ac
curate account has beer, kept for four
years past that show an average re
turn of $53 per tree.
AZTEC.
The raid em civilization has fol
lowed the same bnes 1 settlement as ;
did the ancient. Aztec is the county
seat, situated 011 the southeast hank
of the Animas. It has a bank, several
large stores, hotel and bvery and,
stage stables. Thecotinij jail is a
.veil built, steel lined adobe structure. !
The surroundiug country is well'
cutivated, the farms extending upl
aud down the river for several miles.
At, this point the valley is about two
miles wide. Fruit, alfalfa, grain,
potatoes and all the root crops give
abundant harvests. Apples and to- I
matoes seem peculiarly adapted lo
ihe soil. The population of ihe town
md surrounding . ouutry is between
550 and 000 persons.
FLORA VISTA.
This little village ami vicinity lias
a poptJation of abort 250 souls. It
is situated at about the widest part
of the Animas valley, seveu miles
from Aztec, raises the same crops
and its orchards are spreading; al- '
falfa fields have a particularly good :
appearance.
FARMINGTON.
Farmington and Junction Oityf are
situated at the month of the Animas.
The population is about the same as
at Aztec. The location is very beau
tiful. At this point. Ihe full scenic
bauty of the valley reveats itself
From a little hill overlooking the
town a soli I plantation of three rr
foursquare miles, including orchards,
alfalfa fieids, grain and meadow is
seen. Here is at pre-eut, the densest
population of the county and the
widest, spread of cultivation. The
three valleys here c mverge into the
maiu valley of the San Juan. There
are several good stores, puolicstabies,
good schools aud general facilities.
Near this town are located several
brick kilns, a saw mill and a roller
Cereals of all kinds are grown here,
wheat yielding 20 to 40 bushels per
acre; oats, 30 to 80 bushels; barley, 30
to 00 bushels; rye, 15 to 80 bushels;
corn, 25 to 50 bushels. A ready sale
is found Ht good prices. Current
prices for 1803 were follows:
b per cwt.. $1.40; oats, $150;
barlei $1.40; corn, $150; bran, p-r
ton, $18 Vegetables of every variety
fiourieb, from the hardier varieties,
such as Irish potatoes, turnips and
beets, to the more tender melons, egg
plants, tomafoes, etc
ALFALFA
I Is, however, the staple crop in this
county; drouth is not to lie feared
aud neither frost nor cold endanger
i it. Owing to trio advantageous situ
j ation of the county the farmers have
lakeu 10 fattening beef cat i In For
i this purpose th( sales of alfalfa art'
' 'urge, freq leutly amounting to from
; 500 to 1000 tons to a single buyer.
From 1891 to 1892 the increase in
, alfVifa production amounted 7000
I tous. The averave yield per aere in
! from 4 to 10 101 s.
MINEhAL WEALTH.
This whole county is underlaid
with coal. The beds liavi rot been
prospected to uny extent. They are
l;nown, however, to contain almost
unlimited quantities of coal. On the
.lan Juan river, opposite Frnitlaud.
is truly notable exposure of this val
I It stum's above the river
md is over 300 feet long, aud
ic : into the bluff on a very
I u, ii is supposed for miles, as
is an immense n "sa stretcliieg
QueotioiiK Aiutwerrd.
Irrigation is the best meaus of fer
tilizing land.
Every kind of deciduous fruit caD
be raised here.
As a fruit raising couutry the San
Juan has uo equal,
Water can be put on arid land at a
cost 1 f from ?2 to 15 per acre.
New Mexico took first prize for
wheat at the World's fair, and second
for oats.
The last census giveB thirty acres
as the awrage size of an irrigated
farm iu New Mexico.
As a health resort for persons with
weak lungs San Juan county has
few peers and no snppriors.
Rough lumber here is worth $25
per thousand, brick per ihoiiRaud.
and lime 40 cents per bushel
Fire clay is found in large quanti
ties on Ihe lower San Jnau.and a line
quality of fire brick can be ruatmfac
1 tired at a nominal cost.
Experts pronounce the San Juan
coal as a Bteam producing coal far
above the average, if not the very
best quality in the world.
Any information relative to tin
county not giveu iu the columns of
The Times will be cheerfully fur
nished upon application to the pub
hsher.
W ater rights in company ditches
cost fi m $2 to $15 per acre, with nn
additional cost of from $1 to $2 an -uually
per acre to pay for repairs. In
most cases this annual assessment
can be worked out.
Sheep do well iu this county. Scab
and other sheep diseases are unknown
here. Thousands of acres of gov
eminent land are contiguous to the
streams and watering places on which
they can graze nearly every mouth in
the year. Large I unches of the
weiherscan be fattened on alfalfa
hay during the winter, ai d the main
llocks earned over at a small
cost, thus mak nf! raising a
profitable indnstrt dive sheep
make a most exe ss 10 breed
the mutton prodlit ' sot east
ern ubeep to.
THE SAN JUAN COUNTY BANK
Aztec, N. M.
Capital Stoc
$30,000 OO
Does a general banking business. In
terest paid on tun tiypoeits.
,
Robert (J. Priswitt,
Charles V. Safkord, Cas-hier.
Assistant Cashier.
, $1800.00
I OIVEN AWAV TOJNVENTORS.
$1 50.00 f very month given away to .my one who ap
plies through in fir the most metittrioui patent duh.-.g
I tlic month pieceding.
Vfti secure tlio ber l intents IbronreltanM,
I and the nhjea of this olr is to CilCOimgQ invent , rs to
! keep truck of their bright ideas Al the same tunc c
' vritn to ioipreu upon the publii fact thai
' IT S THE SIMPLE, TRIVIAL INVENTIONS
THAT YIELD FORTUNES.
uch as tt-s "cur-window" hLh can be easily slid up
uud down without breaking ihe poitenger'i back.
' saucc-pan." " oltar-blltton," "nnt-lock," "bottle.
i "loppe ," and a thousand other little things that mo t
j u i) 01 0 can find a way Of imp:, v.ng ; and these simple
invention are the. ones that briuu hirgeil returns 10 the
j author. Try lo think of swiicihi it' tu invent.
j 1. IS NOT SO HARD AS IT SEEMS.
I Patcnta lakjut euttrlroughns receive i?e nlnoticein
I the'' National Recorder, pub! . lied at Washington,
I U. L ,-. hich 15 the nest new. p.oier published in America
I in the interests of invent, is. We furnish n "ear's tub.
' senpiinn la :. i journal, free of coat, to tile reliant-,
j We also a Jvertise, free of cost, ihe invention e.th nionili
( which wins our $150 rrize, and hundred of thousands
of copies of the "National Recorder," containing a
sketch of ttie winner, and A oVsoiphon of his invention,
' will be s :attcieil thrm vul the United States among
' capitalist! and manttUOuica, llms bringiiij; to their
attention the merits of the inv nl v. '
! All -omrnui'icauoiis regaidcd i.acity confidenlial.
Addresi
JOHN WEDDCRHURN & CO.,
Solicitors of American and I orelgn Patents,
618 F Street, N.W.,
Box .185. Washington, D. C.
pr- Reference ttli!or of thit pafi r- IVriteJorour
SO-fitge fun-flilet. lit EE.
I1HII
34 fi
Xti
siirb:
1 here
in that direction. Imu -diately across
on Ihe north aide of ihe river other
1 11. ft beds appear, and thpue then
-lr tch up the La Vlata for nearly
tifiy tmles. This coal is a hard, free
bnrrJntf quality. An experienced
Corn wail miner, who is working one
of these veins on the La Plata, says
lie never saw mines ho easily opt-ued
process flour mill. It is a very pretty, , ,ir that so quickly yielded good mer
.1. .. J - i . t... : 1 : ...... r . . 1 1 . . . t . . '. . .
go-aneau place, un niiiHunitia iuu
of euergy and public spirit.
LA PLATA.
Cliantaoie coal. All mat aeems to ne
necfasary is to strip the outer layi-r.
which has been exp sed to the
iv:it lu.i f,.r arroa unit the fine. I'lll -
T lis place can hardly be called at .uaterial 'is found, free from
town. It is a compact farming com- j slate ..)0Dt. mi rei,)s (or Use.
mnnity, however, of about seventy , S( me dlfftreDCe ()f 0nuon exists as
well cultivated homesteads at t ' ' to the quality of thia coal, but the
head of the La PJata valley. O.i the bnrean of iminitjration cau state on
w.'stem side the laud rises in three tbe antij0rity 0f its ant that it is
teri'HCMs, one over the other, every of a d 0Ji,g ctmracter. Some of
one or which is highly cultivated. U ,n 0ia presence .was covered with
Tb sight woud remind one more of HHI)d Kn(, 0J ,UH ur,111(j ,m Q
a FreDch landsc ipe thnr. a western : H or Hlflfi waH r0) Hted jnto H fine
coinmiiiiity as et removed from Ljjy 00k wjt.j, n ring )iko metal,
railroads, am! ten years age ,'iven ; The coni in tb;B poimty is U8Hlly
over to ihe Indians s i. hunting foUDd in a thick strata between slate
ground Alfalfa and fruit nr.. the aU(, Han(lt)t m0 uf VHry lillM grH)l),
principal productions. Ihispartot It jH said tha Moid and metallic
the county is a very picture iu its jrou cal, e (oan(j, Hlll tufi 1ipk(
pioturerque fertility. Ihe Aztecs, lnllI tnPi ,otl, HHn,istoi.e and
also tuonght, wed of it. and many of Kranit0 H1(,nnd Xbe h-st mining
their monuments in the slmpe of e8n,p8 of Colorado -ud aplendid min
rudely pictured aud sculptured rocks j ora be,tH jn New M.n , . ,. ,r,tig
Bbouno. inous. When railroads p.-netrate
THK loweii san jcas. j this county (he neighborhood of Olio
Olio. Fruitlanii and Jewett ar sir- ' "'l aiior.i spn-ndin oppon... oies tu.
SI RAIGHT CAR LOAD of these
Raines just in, Prices lower than ever be
fore. Call and examine.
Jackson Hdw & Mfg Co., Durano, Colo.
4 MlllcllAmullilllllllllllHllllllllllllnlUllllllUlilllllllllluulnnnllll)upli
uated on the San Mian below its
junction with the La Plata The
population of the three is about (iOJ
persons. Tbe grenier prt of the
land is under a fine modem canal
and in a high state of cultivation. At
Km 1 1 huiil iu in 1 , hiiimII orcliknl 1 f
weven acres from which the annual t bnd at from $15 to $50 per acre. Be
lief return has been over $2,500 per sides this there are thousands of
annum for the nast five vears. This ! acres of government, land that can be
is the DroDertv of the resident Mor- had for the cost of filing on it
large smelters
Swob Hi fnri;iin wb publilic i b th Ii
rouu of immigrauon tli H'mrmill win iloiiiniyod
bt tire, but will bo rolniilt. tbU lummur,
tJiinotinn City in jiml aoriiSB OiM r.iniHH froir
Knrmina Ion, bill iIi-iiuuiIh un FiirnuuBiun mer
oliHiitH for tmpiilis.
Patented land with water can be
mon bishop and is cultivated accord
ing to the theory of his people that a
small place well cared for is more
valuable than broad acreage poorly
farmed. It is one of the best instances
of intensive culture in the territory
Among the many enterprises which
would flourish in this county may be
mentioned a wool scouring plant and
woolen mills. Water aud coal are
abundant and free. The only ex
pense will be in developing.
Which
Shall It Be ?
Yorjn or.DF.ns for Hih Grade Gowlng Machinrn, Bicycles. Vehicles, Baby
Carriages, etc., placed with local and retail dealers vith three to six middle
men's profits, or with the old reliable CASH BUYERS' UNION, with cr.ly
one- small profit, above cctual factory cost. If you , re a money saver tl. tre
OtlU be no doubt as to your decision. Write to day for one of o::r Illustrated
catalogues and note tha unapproachable jjMgatfl fw are offi i n r 30 differ
ent, style Si-whirr Machines, ranffina in price fro: 68.00 to C:i0.()0 Bicycles,
nil styles and prices, from 810.75 to 875.00. Tin sa ; tho 1 Mer price being
equal to . fieeis sold by agents a.ifl dealers al 5 125.00. We bIiow lSOdesigni
l;; Baby Carriages tho latest! the handsomest all new patterns, many
direct import:. i ions. We handle everything under the sua in tho
VEHICLE ANO HARNESS LINF "SUGGICS, CARRIAGE'-, PHAE
TONS, ROAD WAGONS, CAR S, HARNESS, SADDLES. ETC.,
at prices out of reach of competition.
IN PIANOS AND ORO NQ we show an
endless variety, at only 10 pi-r cent, above
actual cost, to build. In v.riiing for cata
logues, State which tO Send, aswel.aveuspn
OVU cataloguo for eat h line. Address in full
CASH BUYERS' UNION,
B848. 159.16s '.V. Va:i Euren St., CKiCAliO, ILL.
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