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 M38M3 
 
BANCROFT 
 LIBRARY 
 
 4- 
 
 THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
of U/ater for 
 Irri^atiop. 
 
 SOME PAGIPS ABOUT 
 
 /T)axu;ell (Jrapt 
 ii> ffeu/ /T^exieo. 
 
W. E. PEDRICK, 
 
 AGENT MAXWELL LAND GRANT CO. 
 
 1700 LAWRENCE ST. DENVER, COLO. 
 
In riding from the Rockies east- 
 erly over the plains, what does the 
 landscape present? Out of Den- 
 ver, for instance, and in the month 
 of June; passing the suburbs and 
 beyond the canals, on every side 
 stretches the plain of gramma and 
 cactus, but well dotted with cattle. 
 Fifty miles distant one reaches the 
 divide where the waters head and 
 flow in opposite directions. On 
 to the Kansas and Nebraska line 
 the cactus becomes scarce, and 
 thin buffalo grass of a pale 
 green color takes the place of the 
 brown twisted nutritive gramma. 
 We are descending grade, and 
 
water is nearer the surface. Sick- 
 ly looking corn without irrigation 
 here and there appears, to be killed 
 by the burning sun, before it is 
 two feet high. On into central 
 Nebraska, where the rainfall is 
 sufficient, and the corn is rich and 
 luxuriant; where it grows so fast, 
 the planter says: "You can hear it 
 snap in the night." The grass is 
 higher and more rank but not 
 nutritious. Now the corn becomes 
 strong and justifies the planter. 
 But he is nervous. There is an if 
 ta his soliloquy. If there should 
 be a drouth, as in the southern 
 counties of Nebraska and Kansas 
 in 1887 and 1888, what will he do? 
 Further on towards the Missouri 
 
bottoms, if the floods do not cease, 
 if the Big Muddy does not cease to 
 overflow, his corn will be flooded, 
 ruined. And thus from year to 
 year he is beseeching divine provi- 
 dence for either more rain or for a 
 cessation of rain. 
 
 In New Mexico these questions 
 are unknown. Water is to the 
 farm what South Carolina phos- ^ 
 phate, nowground jn LibbyPrisony 
 is to the cotlorTplanter, only thai 
 the former never fails, while the 
 latter often does. The planter ex- 
 pends $2.50 in phosphate to every 
 acre of northern Alabama and 
 Mississippi cotton lands that he 
 expects a crop from ; and, in dry 
 
6 
 
 seasons, is often awarded less than 
 a quarter of a bale to the acre. 
 
 On the MAXWELL GRANT lands, 
 50 cents an acre, the cost of labor 
 in irrigating, is the Guaranty In- 
 surance Company that warrants a 
 full crop without fail. For thou- 
 sands of years much of this unde- 
 veloped soil has lain dormant, 
 with not a fibre of vegetable mat- 
 ter save gramma grass penetrating 
 it, to awake at last like a resur- 
 rection at contact with water and 
 yield all of earth's wonderful har- 
 vests commensurate with its lati- 
 tude. 
 
 IRRIGATION. 
 
 As the province of this circular 
 is among those more or less ac- 
 
quainted with the location and 
 value of lands under canals in the 
 west, and whose experience the 
 past year teaches the lessons of 
 insufficient water when it is sorely 
 needed, a glance at the maps of 
 the late Prof. Hayden's U. S. sur- 
 vey of this portion of Colorado 
 and New Mexico, will show the 
 many natural streams and their 
 abundant supply of water in their 
 southeasterly course. From these 
 streams the high line canals of the 
 MAXWELL .GRANT COMPANY are 
 short in length and of such capa- 
 city as will ever supply all laterals, 
 well covering the lands intended 
 to cover, with a large surplus be- 
 sides. This is considered one of 
 
8 
 
 the best features in the whole 
 proposition and one which expe- 
 rienced irrigators will readily ap- 
 preciate. 
 
 COMPARATIVE PRICES OF LANDS. 
 
 In relation to the Pacific coast, 
 we come with equally fertile land, 
 equally well watered, at less than 
 one-tenth the price. Our cousins 
 over there engaged in fruit culture 
 quote us quite often from $250 to 
 $400 an acre for fruit lands, with 
 not a tree upon them; but under 
 ditches. Their fruit has to pass 
 our doors to reach its market. 
 There, long experience has taught 
 them the value of lands under 
 canals, while in Colorado it is new 
 
9 
 
 to many, and the lavish and ex- 
 travagant waste of water is ob- 
 served by the experienced irri- 
 gator of California. The claim 
 can be positively established that 
 the lands of the MAXWELL GRANT 
 in New Mexico, and under canals 
 with perpetual water right, at 
 $15.00 per acre, will pay as large 
 gross returns as those of California 
 which cost $400 an acre. 
 
 It matters but little what line 
 of agriculture or horticulture is 
 entered into. Everything raised 
 between New York State and Geor- 
 gia is raised here. If nothing but 
 alfalfa is sown, what is the result? 
 Around the granger's homestead 
 until the middle of November 
 
10 
 
 (and he will be mowing alfalfa 
 until then) will appear a village 
 of alfalfa stacks that would cause 
 a Chester or Lancaster County, 
 Pennsylvania, farmer to exclaim : 
 " Its good land around here ! " or 
 a Shenandoah Valley farmer of 
 Virginia to say: "they have big 
 crops around here." The result 
 is, a village of alfalfa stacks, that 
 appear in the distance like an old 
 time homestead of the eastern 
 states, with its barns, stables, gran- 
 aries, corn cribs, pig pens, tool- 
 house, ash house, dried-apple 
 house, milk and cheese house, all 
 nestled togeth er like a small pueblo. 
 What can you do with it ? Where 
 can you ship it? Ship it North, 
 
11 
 
 South, East or West, if you desire, 
 at a nice profit too, with your five 
 tons yield to the acre; but you 
 will not so desire, because the 
 owner of a couple thousand head 
 of cattle will be after you to know 
 what you will feed his herd for 
 for three months, that he may 
 have early beef steers for market, 
 and the consequence will be your 
 profit will be either in cash or beef 
 steers. 
 
 Hundreds of such spots will be 
 hereafter the winter feeding ground 
 for the millions of cattle on summer 
 ranges, of which this is a center. 
 
 HORTICULTURE. 
 
 Quick growing Grapes, for in- 
 stance. Have we not a market? 
 
12 
 
 In Denver, who has not noticed, 
 during the months of October, No- 
 vember and December, the car 
 loads of Catawba and Concord 
 grapes at the commission houses 
 of Holladay street to be distributed 
 at every mining camp? And at 
 the retail grocers for Denver con- 
 sumption? Where did they come 
 from? Many of them from land 
 planted to grapes by the writer of 
 this; from the shores of Lake 
 Erie, on the border of Ohio, Penn- 
 sylvania and New York state, 1500 
 miles distant, and who, that has 
 ever planted vineyards in those lo- 
 calities, does not know the years 
 for sweetest grapes, for richest sac- 
 arine matter, are the exception, a 
 
13 
 
 rule that is exactly reversed on 
 the Ponil, the Vermejo or Red 
 River valleys. The same may be 
 said of all the fruits grown here. 
 Willing hands, properly directed, 
 are all that are needed to demon- 
 strate these facts. There are more 
 vineyards now in New Mexico, ten 
 ten times the number there were 
 on the islands or shores of Lake 
 Erie, within the experience of the 
 writer, but, nevertheless, there is 
 not one-tenth the supply needed 
 for the territory tributary. 
 
 In comparison with California, 
 we are, many of us, a thousand 
 miles nearer the homes of our boy- 
 hood, to which six trunk lines of 
 railroads offer, on an average four 
 
14 
 
 times a year, very low excursion 
 rates: For instance the Chicago 
 convention, for 30 days we were 
 given tickets from Springer to 
 Chicago and return for $27.50 ; 
 November, 1888, Trinidad to Mis- 
 souri river and return, 15 days, 
 for $10, with corresponding rates 
 frequently from the east. These 
 are some of the facts pertaining 
 to the desirability of locating where 
 there is neither extremes of heat 
 or cold ; where pulmonary and 
 asthmatic diseases never originate ; 
 where cures are common and fail- 
 ures the exception.