Delta chief., 1883-05-30
Delta, and the Denver & Rio Grande railwa,

Delta, anu the Denver " llo Grande rallNaN
company, stockholders Of the company.
THE COUNTY.
The boundary lines Of Delta county are a.
follows: Beginning at q point two miles
south of the third correction line extended
west to a point Of intersection with the
iU7' 80 west longitude: thence du" north
along sa!d degree of longitude to the divide
between the headwatrr- of the Grand and
North Fork Of the Gunnison rivers; thence
along said divide in a Southwcsicry direction
to point on the extreme southwestern cN-
Of the Grand Mesa; tbencc ia southwest
erly direction to the mouth of the Rio
Dominique; thence due south To point
two miles south Of an extension Of the
third correction line theuec due east par
allcl with said extension of the third cor
rectiou line to The place Of beginning. The
county seat is Delta
TUE VALLEYS.
\ recent writer has said of the soil of the
VALLEYS that il Shows at least four distinct
characteristics The first. running in mar
row belt along the bank of the river, j.
dark. rich, sandy loan, largely covered with
cpt:nuwo"ds. willows and undcrbrish. The
.sagr-brlf,h land, come next in order in ap-
pcaraacc resembling the fertile lands Of Utah
and California, carryiu; but Il small quantity
Of sand, are also very productive and desir-
able. The grcascwpOd lands. being the most
extensive Of the valley lands do not appear
to contain particle Of sand. They are light
and dusty when dry, and sticky and slippery
when wet"
The valleys propgr-of both the Gunnison
and Tncompahrrc - arc from two 10 Ave
miles wide, back of which rises the first mesa
to u height Of from thirty to fay feet. This
mesa j. an extensive bench of good land
which will in time be irrigated and covered
with farms This mesa exists on both sides
Of the rivers and extends back to the foot Of
the platcaus, a. they arc generally called,
the graad meSas. The river, run through the
central part Of the valleys, 50 that good farms
are located on either side. An abundant
growth of cottonwoOds extends along the
banks OF the streams, and il j. from these
trees that the settlers have for the most part
built their cottages and for new country,
it must be said, these places are very pretty.
yellow piae ofrhc best quality covers the
mountain ranges, There is belt beginning
near Ouray and running parallel with aud ON
the west side Of the Uncompahgrc and Gun.
uison to Utah, which is from tiny to sixty
miles long aud from five tn twenty miles
wide. 1t is fifteen miles west of Delta, and
can be reached by wagon road. 1t affords
good opening for saw mills. The lumber
made from this timber is n good, if'not bet
ter than the best Chicago or Milwaukee lum.
Der.
The lands since July IS 1SS2, nre open {"
prc.cmptiun, to town-site entry, and to entry
under the mineral statutes, bat not 10 home
stcaG vr scrip entries, or timber culture. 4
government survey has been ordered, hut the
prc.cmptor will have about three years 10
pay for his land.
WHAT WILL GROW HERkP
To this question there is but one answer TO
make: Almost anything in the agricultural
line and in the way of fruits, possibility
that all kinds can be successfully grown,
The first assertion has been practically
demonstrated. On one ranch was raised
corn, alfalfa, potatoes, turnips, hcets, carrots,
parsEps, cabbage, onions. tomatoes, beans,
SQUASH peas, cucumbcrs lettuce, musk and
watcrmcons, and radishes. The domestic
yrusscs all grow by irrigation-ti timothy, blue
top, clover, Hungarian, millct, etc. Potatoes
weighing six and u half pounds were raised
ON the North Fork, and green corn aud mel
ons were furnished to the Gunnison market.
Last year Odessa wheat yielded over 80 bush
els to the acre, oats from 30 to 20 bushels, and
potatoes from 200 to 400 bushels. II can be
safely asserted that all the cereals and vege-
tables suited TO temperate zone may be
raised. II may be that here, as in the valleys
ON the eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains,
that the intense winter warmth followed by
sudden extremes of cold, may be fatal to fruit
culture; but soil and climate matching tina,
soil and climate where the peach and apricot
flourish to perfection are thought to be here.
Young apple trccsssct ont last spring grew
from fifteen to thirty.six inches during the
season.
sToCK.
The platcaus, or grand mcsas, MS they are