THE WISCONSIN FARMER.

      J. W. HOYT,.                                                 EDITOR.

VOL. XV.                     MADISON, FEBRUARY 1, 1863.                 
        No. 2.

    Interesting Letter from New  Kexico.   in the month of April, May or
June, and the
  I reached this place on the 27th of Septem- people are not very particular
about the time,
ber last, after a journey of thirty-nine days all the weeds and vegetables
on the land are
from Lawrence, Kansas. Though we received burned up, and the water is let
out of the ditch
two heavy showers on the plains, one of which upon the piece of land to be
cultivated, and is
reached from Pawnee Fork to the mountains, made to run over every part of
it    Without
yet the plains have been uncommonly dry the this the land is too hard for
plowing.  The
past summer, and the grass was short. These seed, if n heat, oats, barley
or peas, is then



vast prairies of hundreds of miles in every di- i sown over the land, and
plowed in, generally
rection are such, because they are without a with a Mexican plow, never more
than three
swell to catch the currents of air which pass inches deep; after which a
log is drawn side-
over them from the Gulf of Mexico, to deposit wise over the land and the
small ditches cut
their waters far off to the north.           for future waterings, and the
work is done till
   In New Mexico all cultivation is carried on watering time arrives.  Corn
is planted 'n the
by irrigation, and consequently is confined to same manner, except the seed
is placed in the
the valleys and plains near the streams. These bottom of the furrow at proper
distances apart,
of course must be the best lands, formed as and is covered by the next furrow.
 Crops re-
they are from the washings from the mountains, quire about two waterings
to perfect them.
of which the old volcanic ashes, and decom- Theyield exceedsbelief. Wheat,
which excels
posed felspathic rocks make a large ingredient. all other crops, not unfrequently
gives fifty
The long droughts and hot sunshine of sum- times the amount sown, and is
of a superior
imer draw the salts from these, as well as from  quality. A hundred to one
has been known.
the salt-bearing rocks on which they are de- The other grains yield about
the same as in
posited, to such au extent, that almost every the States
foot of land shows the white incrustations of  After the crop is taken off,
the land is tramp-
the singular salts which here abound, and led over and fed by the cattle
until the next
which in many places, where there is more plowing time, when, without having
received
than common moisture, lies like a heavy hoar any manure, or even water, it
is again replant-
frost over the whole surface. Such places pro- ed as before.  But that is
not all. There is
duce only those plants that would thrive on the never sufficient frost here
to penetrate to the
sea-shore, and are the resort of cattle for their depth of eight inches,
and seldom lasting more
supply of salt.                             than ten days at one time. From
January to
                                             April there is scarcely a day
in which the wind
  The lands which are cultivated are product- does not blow with such force
as to remove ev-
ive to a degree perfectly astounding to a strang- ery particle of dust from
the face of the earth
er, when the mode of cultivation they have as if it were snow.  In many places
all the
undergone, and exposure suffered for all past earth which has been stirred
by the plow dur-
time, are taken into the account. Sometime ing summer, is carried off during
winter, no



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