Then there must be considerable rain fall in this timbered country? Yes; there are thousands of inhabitants living in the district who never pretend to irrigate their lands, and they raise good crops, generally.
Do they never fail of crops? Yes, sometimes; they reckon an average of every seven years for drouth.
Would it not be safer to get land where there is water for irrigation, in case it should be needed? Yes; I would not buy land at any price in Mexico unless there was a reasonable amount of water belonging to the land.
Then you do not like to depend upon the rains entirely? No; and for good reason. We have found, by experience here in Utah, that irrigation is handy and profitable. A great variety of products can be raised, as we can apply the water when needed. When we depend upon rain, many times the seasons are so divided that we have the extremes of wet and dry. This is common in the district of Mexico that I recommend for settling.
When is the rainy season in that country? June, July and August are the rainy months; during the winter season there is considerable rain and some snow.
Oh, I thought it was an awful hot country. How is it you have snow when it is so far south? Mr. Jones, you must be mistaken. I have been down in Arizona; it is very hot there—too hot for me—and this Mexican country is a long ways further south, and you say you have snow there. My friend, you must study the geography of Mexico a little. If you will look upon the map of Mexico and find the State of Chihuahua you will observe a district of country showing where several streams head and run off in different directions, some running for hundreds of miles north; so you see, on entering the State of Chihuahua on the north one travels up-hill for several days. The facts are that some of the finest and most fertile mountain valleys of that country are, as shown by measurement, two thousand feet higher than Salt Lake valley. So, if Zion is to be built up in the tops of the mountains, we lack two thousand feet of being there yet.
Then you mean to say the climate is temperate? Yes; the altitude preserves us from the heat. While being so far south, the winters are moderate; all who have ever lived in the district admit that it has a fine climate.
What are the products? Corn, beans, potatoes, melons, cabbage, onions and anything common to a temperate climate, and good, mellow soil is or can be raised.
How about fruits—is there much raised there? While it is one of the best fruit countries possible, judging from what I have seen, there is but little progress yet by the natives, as fruit raisers.
Why is this? Simply this like in most everything else—the people are a long way behind. They know nothing about grafting or budding fruits; they plant the seeds and let them grow often in clusters, and take what comes. I have seen some of the finest seedling apples that were ever produced, picked from trees grown in a thick clump, without any cultivation whatever. Also pears, apricots, plums and such hardy fruits common to a temperate climate.