best mining college in the West and have succeeded so far that no better school of mines is to be found in the Rocky Mountain region. The main building is very substantially built of stone and is modern in every respect. One wing of a new building has been completed to be used as a metallurgical building. The college possesses modern machinery for testing ores and treating them, modern apparatus for assaying, ore furnaces and other equipments of an up-to-date school of mines. It is well endowed with public lands, the revenue from which, in addition to annual appropriations from the Territory, are used for the maintenance and permanent improvements of the college. The school strives to attract especially the promising young men of the Territory in order to make good chemists, assayers, mine superintendents and managers, and geologists out of them, for there is no more promising field than New Mexico for the trained expert in mining.

RAILROADS.

The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad cuts through the country from north to south, dividing it into two unequal halves. At Socorro a branch line 28 miles long extends to Magdalena. A line from Magdalena to the Black Range is projected and will open a fine mining and stock country to settlement. The projected Colorado and Gulf Railroad from Durango to Clifton, Ariz., or Deming, in Luna County, is to cut through the western part of Socorro County. The line as surveyed is described as follows as far as it crosses Socorro County:

After crossing the Sapello in Grant County, begin 35 miles of hard country, requiring good railroad engineering, the Gila River being crossed several times, but opening up the immensely rich Mogollon mineral district. This grade can be avoided by keeping well up the western slope of the Black Range, turning the Gila, and then resuming the surveyed grade. There are hills and canyons with plenty of timber, cattle, and also farins until one gets to the V. T. ranch. Then follows a stretch of 27 miles of nice, level country, well timbered and watered to the west end of the vast St. Augustine plains. Up these plains it is 20 miles to Patterson's ranch, a perfectly level country. From Patterson it is 40 miles to the Rio Camao, crossing a divide of 2.7 per cent grade, passing again through well timbered and watered country with large herds of cattle and sheep. After leaving Patterson's ranch about 8 miles, the head of the Tularosa River is struck, the valley extending west 20 miles, with extensive farms and ranches. From the Rio Camao it is 35 miles to the Salt Lake, which covers about a section of land. There is a large outflow of water, clear as crystal, from a crater-like formation. The water settles the salt from an apparently inexhaustible supply. The salt is of good quality and from a grain of wheat to a hazelnut in size. Thence the route continues north through the beautiful and rich American Valley, with good pasture and abundant water in three places. The line then crosses into Valencia County and on to Gallup, in McKinley County.

The building of the Black Range and of the Colorado and Gulf railroads would double the population of Socorro County in five years and would vastly increase its output of minerals, timber, live stock, and other products, as well as add materially to the value of its land and mining properties.

CLIMATE AND SCENIC ATTRACTIONS.

Like the rest of New Mexico, Socorro County has a peerless climate that is of special benefit to persons suffering from throat and lung trouble. Its summers are never oppressive and its winters are milder than those of the counties to the north, and therefore to be preferred.

for certain cases of pulmonary complaints. The scenery of the country is beautiful and offers many attractions to the tourist who believes in traveling off the beaten tourist routes. Ancient ruins, cliff dwellings, canyons, rock formations, forests, life among the cowboys and in typical Western mining camps are all had in Socorro County. The water found in the county is good, freer from alkali than in most other New Mexican counties. Some of the springs have health-giving properties, especially the warm springs at Cherryville, at the head of the falls of the Alamosa. They are on the eastern slope of the Black Range at an altitude of 6,540 feet. The temperature of the water is 130, as is that of a group of springs west of the Gila River, at an altitude of 5,545 feet. These springs are highly mineralized and are specifics for various chronic ailments.

INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS.

According to the census of 1900, Socorro County has 25 industrial establishments, with capital amounting to $193,730. Employment is given to 268 men, earning in wages annually $124,835 and producing products worth $517,594. With its big coal deposits and an unlimited supply of raw material, Socorro County should be a good field for industrial investment.

TOWNS AND CITIES.

Socorro, the county seat, is also the largest town in the county. The census gives it 1,512 inhabitants, but in years gone by, when the large smelter was in operation, it had three times to four times that number of inhabitants, and indications are that the day is approaching when it will again be one of the leading cities of the Territory. The country round about is rich in mineral and other resources. The water of the Rio Grande, which flows by near the city, is ample to irrigate a large area, the waters of the Puerco and the Salado augmenting its volume considerably 20 to 30 miles north of Socorro. The Carthage coal fields are so near to Socorro that they may be called tributary to the city, and the mining camps of Kelly, Magdalena, and Water Canyon, and after the construction of the Black Range Railroad the Black Range mining districts, are also tributary, making Socorro a favorable smelter site. Socorro has large brickyards and three flour mills. The city is beautifully situated on a table-land at the foot of the Socorro Mountain. The Rio Grande is about 2 miles from the city. The city owns and controls its own waterworks, the supply being derived from warm springs of exceptionally pure water, flowing from the base of Socorro Mountain. Socorro has two banking institutions, two weekly newspapers, two substantial school buildings, churches, and good business houses. The New Mexico School of Mines is located at Socorro. The elevation of the city is 4,567 feet. Good sport can be had in the country round about, as the rivers, lakes, and ponds abound with wild geese and ducks, while quail and grouse are plentiful, and in the mountains larger game is found.

San Marcial-San Marcial is a prosperous railroad town and the second largest town in the county. There is an old town and a new town, the latter having 600 inhabitants and the old town 425 inhabitants. San Marcial is one of the garden spots in the Rio Grande

Valley. Its avenues are lined on either side with rows of large cottonwood trees. A beautiful park, in which a fountain and a band stand are located, is one of the features of the town. Railroad repair shops and a roundhouse are located here and give employment to quite a number of men at good wages. The town is the headquarters for supplies of a large area of country, including the mining camp of Rosedale. A modern flouring mill is kept in operation day and night by the grain raised in the Rio Grande Valley. A good weekly newspaper is published at San Marcial. Beautiful orchards surround the city, which is the center of a rich agricultural, horticultural, live stock, and mining region.

San Antonio.-San Antonio is the third town in population in Socorro County, the census giving it 642 inhabitants. It is the center of a farming and stock country. It is situated on the Santa Fe Railroad and is quite a trading center. Eight miles east of the town. are the Carthage coal fields.

Kelly and Magdalena.-Kelly is the largest mining camp in Socorro County and has. 616 inhabitants. It is the center of a rich mining region and has a smelter. Magdalena, another mining and smelting point, is 4 miles north of Kelly and is the terminus of the Magdalena Branch of the Santa Fe Railroad. It is also a shipping point for cattle, sheep, and wool. Its population is 300. The surrounding country is rich in coal, gold, copper, silver, lead, timber, building stone, salt, and onyx.

SIERRA COUNTY.

Sierra County is one of the smallest in New Mexico, only four counties having a less area, yet it covers 1,973,000 acres, or 3,129 square miles, three times the area of the State of Rhode Island and more than one and a half times the area of the State of Delaware. Of this, 1,791,000 acres are subject to entry under the Federal land laws, of which 274,379 acres are unsurveyed. Only 107,115 acres have been appropriated, and 74,875 acres are reserved. The county is in the Las Cruces land district, with land office at Las Cruces.

The population of the county was 3,158 in the census year 1900, the least of any county in the Territory. The population was larger ten and more years ago, but the decline in silver mining gave the county a setback, from which it is, however, recovering, as its gold and other mines are being developed, its stock industry is growing, and the value of its agricultural resources is being recognized.

The assessed valuation of the county in 1902 is $1,476,827.80, an increase of $153,065.68 over that of 1901, or more per capita than that of any other county in New Mexico excepting one. The census of 1900 gives the value of farms and live stock in the county as $1,829,000. The same census also credits the county with five manufacturing establishments, with $12,938 capital invested and annual production worth $14,766. There are in the county 100,000 cattle, 75,000 sheep, and 30,000 goats.

The population in 1900 by precincts was: Hillsboro, 557: Monticello, 391; Derry, 350; Kingston, 284; Fairview, 232; Las Palomas, 225; Faulkner, 219; Lake Valley, 215; Cuchillo, 200; San Jose, 172; Engle, 142; Tierra Blanca, 105; Hermosa, 66.

IRRIGATION AND AGRICULTURE.

Sierra County is rough and broken, and the water supply is scant, the precipitation ranging from 4 to 6 inches during the summer, while the total per annum is probably in the neighborhood of 10 inches.

Irrigation is generally confined to the valleys of the few small streams flowing eastward toward the Rio Grande. None of these, however, discharge water into the Rio Grande excepting during seasons of excessive snowfall or heavy summer rains.

Although the water supply is small, it is constant, and probably on this account a higher duty of water is reached in this district than in any other portion of the Territory.

On the Rio Alamosa 1,200 acres are irrigated in the vicinity of Canada de Alamosa, Monticello, and above.

The Cuchillo Negro serves 1,500 acres at and above Cuchillo. There are irrigated from springs and the Rio Palomas, 540 acres: from springs and the Rio Las Animas, 500 acres; from springs and the Rio Percha, 100 acres; from springs and the Cienega Apache, 120 acres; and from springs and the Berenda Creek, 160 acres. This acreage consumes all the water at several points, with the exception of the flood flow. Altogether there are not 5,000 acres under cultivation, but with the available water supply probably 50,000 acres could be cultivated if storage reservoirs were built. Grain, vegetables, fruit, and dairy products are in good demand and bring high prices. Anything that will grow in southern Kansas and Oklahoma will grow in Sierra County. Crops are certain, for by irrigation the farmer escapes the vicissitudes of floods and droughts. Fruit does exceedingly well in the river valleys, and there are a number of fine, bearing orchards in the county.

Natural reservoir sites are numerous. At comparatively small expense these advantages can be utilized for the storage of flood waters. Near Eagle artesian water has been struck, and there are indications that artesian wells are possibilities of the near future in other parts.

STOCK RAISING.

Sierra County has a fine range. It is one of the best stock counties in the Territory. There is a good underground water supply that can be developed by wells. Sheep men and goat raisers are beginning to realize that on account of the mild winters and the good range Sierra County is a sheep and goat raising region par excellence. The county takes the lead in New Mexico in the goat industry; in fact, its fame in that direction is becoming national. Some of the highest grade prize Angora does and bucks are to be found on its famous goat ranches, and the names of the leading goat raisers are known in every one of the important goat markets of the United States. The goat industry is proving very profitable. The mountainous character of this county, its mild winters, cool summers, and good range adapt it especially well to the raising of goats.

There are great possibilities for the farmer in Angora goats. If used alone for clearing brush they are a good investment. Acres of valueless land can be transformed into pasture by a herd of Angoras in two or three years. The fleece will pay the interest on the money invested in them and enough to pay for keeping them. If properly

managed the flock will double itself yearly, enabling the farmer to sell his goats and come out with his land cleared and money in his pocket. A browser, instead of a grazer, the Angora prefers weeds and brush to grass, and will kill the brush every time by eating off the leaves and bark. Once dead, the stems soon rot away and fall, removing the last hindrance to the growth of grass.

Aside from its value in clearing land, the Angora is a money maker. It produces a fine quality of mohair, used in the manufacture of plush and fine dress goods, which can be sold readily, at a price ranging from 30 to 40 cents a pound. The pelts undressed bring from $1.50 to $3.50 each, according to the length and fineness of the hair. Angora pelts make a soft and beautiful robe that can be dyed any color. Angora meat is seen occasionally on the market as "well-dressed mutton" without a trace of that woolly flavor which at times makes mutton objectionable. The foliage upon which the goat feeds gives to the flesh a taste which most resembles the venison of the deer, an animal that in its habit is very much like the Angora.

The capital required to begin raising goats is small. The goats require very little attention. A herd of 50 high-grade does, a good starter for an inexperienced man, can be purchased at a price any where from $4.50 to $6 a head. A good pure-bred buck costing $50 should be obtained at the same time, and by breeding up, eliminating and disposing of the lower-grade progeny, and retaining for feeding purposes those which approach the standard of the buck, a large herd of pure-bred goats will be evolved in a few years. On scrubby, brushinfested land, which is the ideal location for the goats, the animals will provide for themselves during the summer; and corn fodder, straw, or coarse hay, with a little grain in March and April to strengthen them for the kidding season, is all that is required in the winter. Their long hair protects them from the dry cold, and the only shelter required is a shed open at the south and rain-tight to protect them from snow or wet, which freezes on their heavy coat of hair and chills them.

Breeders all over the country give the most valuable evidence of the genuine and lasting service rendered by the Angoras. From these reliable sources of information come the encouraging proofs of the grand service rendered to every section where these animals are reared and put to their especially legitimate work. The following are some of the facts: Land cleared by the Angoras, formerly almost worthless, now generously feeds and fattens one steer to every acre. The Angora clears, enriches, and cultivates the land by scattering concentrated manure and tramping in the manure with its sharp hoofs in almost perpetual motion, leaving the soil loose and rich, inviting the growth of nutritious grasses. While the tendency of sheep is to bite the grass so close to the ground that the roots are killed during long, dry seasons, the Angora leaves the grass to retain the moisture, thus keeping pastures perpetually fresh and growing, while injurious weeds, briars, and brush are prevented from taking the soil food from the grasses, because of the Angora having destroyed these by turning them into meat and in the mohair on its body.

Leaves, buds, bark, and briers are rich in food elements, which goats only can turn into richer land and larger bank accounts. The Angora kills pernicious brush and rends root and branch. Plants can not live without lungs any more than animals, and 200 Angoras will