The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1872-07-20
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENTS.
GREELEY, Colorado, June Goth, 1879.

~
Inthis new, and to Eastern eyes, mar
velous country, there is so much of inter
est that the difficulty is to choose what
would be most interesting to narrate in the
short space of a newspaper article. Every
thing, it would seem, has been written up and
published bearing any relation to this colorg
but much is interesting still that has hen
overlooked by the cleaners. The colo'y OF
which Greeley is the principal ana only
town, is called Union Colony, sitiated on
the delta formed by the Cacheia-poudre
and Platte rivers, on the Deiver Pacific
Railroad, midway between Denver, Colo
RADIO, and Cheyenne, W'omlng, IN full
view of, and 50 miles fra, the foot of the
snowy mountains whose white tops are
always in sight when p,t obscured by clouds.
On the 25th day Of April, 1870, the first
sod for the town II Greeley was turned,
on the wild praide, now the town num-
bers about or inhabitants, with several
handsome brck business houses and other
large establishments of the same kind
going up A large brick public school
building is in pr ogress of erection. There
are thee churches, Methodist, Baptist and
Presbyterian. The town is handsomely
lad out with a park and two artificial
axes filled from the irrigating ditch, in the
centre. The streets are planted with
young Cottonwood trees, which are
growing rapidly and in few years will
add much to the appearance of the town.
The society is composed of an educated
and industrious class of people mostly
from New York and other Eastern States,
who cordially welcome strangers who
bear a good character and come among
them to find home. Everybody is push
ing and industrious and the marvellous
fruits of that industry is shown in COM
Portable town as large as Elkton, where
you may find every necessary and many of
the luxuries of life. This necessarily
brief sketch Of Greeley will serve for the
other colonies and towns of the territory
which are formed on similar plans. Evans,
four miles from Greeley, is the representa-
tive town of THE ST. LOUIS WESTERN
COLONY. Longmont is the town of CHICAGO
COLORADO colony. There are also other
colonies in the territory, composing settle
ments in some measure on the cooperative
system, on account of the necessity of
making irrigating bitches for this dry
county, there being rarely rain enough
in the Spring and Summer to nourish grain
and vegetable crops. Irrigation is very
easily accomplished in large part of this
country. The land slopes gradually from
the Rocky Mountains with an undulating
or rolling surface. The clear mountain
streams which flow through the prairies
run in shallow beds with fall of 90 feet
or less to the milea From these streams
bitches are traced which wind along the
swells, the course being staked out by
engineers allowing sufficient fall to carry
the water in a gentle current through the
irrigating canal, which has no locks or
gates, other than fumes or outlets at points
necessary for radiating bitches by which
the land is watered. This colony has at
present two main irrigating bitches, one of
them 10 miles long which waters the town.
The other ditch, No. 2, as it is called, is
81 miles long. The present season there
are under cultivation 5000 acres irrigated
by these bitches, which, we believe, have
capacity to supply with water much larg
err area of land. The soil of Colorado,
apparently dry and semi-barren, when the
magic touch of water is applied sends forth
the most luxurious growth of grain and
vegetables. 1t is claimed that 81 bushels
of wheat have been raised on one acre of
land on the South Platte within 40 miles of
Greeley.
At the Denver Fair in 1871, among tur-
nips on exhibition one was found which
measured forty-two inches in circumfer-
ence, and cabbages which weighed fifty
pounds were common.
But leaving out these exceptional yields,
the average crops are stated at 80 bushels
of wheat, IS of oats: 80 of corn, $50 of
potatoes, 300 of onions, .ruta bagas and
beets so tons each to the acre. The soil is
of a dark gravelly loan, easily broken up,
and when brought under the pillow is "as
as mellow as an ash heap" very rich in
crop constituents, and moisture being sup
piled for the growth of the crops by arti-
fetal means no failure from drought can
effect the prospects Of the farmer. Large
crops are sure thing in Colorado, and
failure scarcely within the bounds of prob
ability except by insects. The grasshopper
visits this region sometimes and devours
every green thing in its way. Salt Lake
has been scourged severely by this Egyp-
tan plague, but we have not heard that
Colorado has ever suffered from their visits
The potato bug, however, is very trouble
some, and if not checked will in a few
days destroy the crop they attack. The
settlers have discovered poison remedy
which destroys the insects, and by busting
the tops of the potatoes with this poison
their depredations are soon checked.
The demand by the mining regions of
the Rocky Mountains takes all the produce
in grain vegetables and fruit which can be
raised in Colorado at remunerative prices;
and this will ever supply convenient mar
ket for all that can be raised in the terri
tory. Larger tracts of country are situ-
ated too high for irrigation and will re-
main the pasture fields of the plains, which
with their dried grasses afford the richest
food for stock the year round. The wheat
ofthis territory is particularlyfine and makes
the choicest flour in the United States
In 1871, $50, 900 bushels of this grain was
produced in the territory; 100000 of corn;
100000 of barley; and 500, 900 of vegeta-
bles and potatoes, while the hay and dairy
produce was estimated at four millions
dollar. From my observation of the short
grass and sweet heritage of this region in
connection with the dry mountain atmos-
phe-e, l consider that it will make one of
~, IL