Sturgis advertiser. (Sturgis, Dakota [S.D.]) 1887-1???, 1889-01-17
ESPECIAL ooRRRspoNDzNoH.l
DENyER. Coll. Dec. rs. Il

A Grand Country. {
fsrEcrAL coRREsPoNDzNoH.l
DENVER. Col. Dec. rs. 1888.
Three DAYS ago 1 got back to my cosy
hotel here from an extended trip over the
State of Colorado. The genial editor of the
Field and Farm short time ago extended
to me an invitation to accompany him In
jaunt through the State. 1t was his usual
yearly trip at the close OF the harvest season
to gather up items regarding agriculture
and its kindred belongings. The gentleman.
Captain Cutler, Is one OF the best posted
men In the Rocky Mountain region. and. in
addition. splendid travelling companion:
Possessing the personal acquaintance of
nearly every ranchman In the State, with
phenomenal tact in getting information.
had my doubts last spring as to the
ability of Colorado farmers to raise sue
cessful crops. This is dry climate.
the rainfall being very small. and to
one accustomed to regard abundant rains
as essential to crops, it did seem to me that
the land was hopelessly barren. want to
correct that impression. now that l have
had visible proof. and to say that / am
ing and profitable farming sections OF the
United States lie within the boundary lines
OF Colorado. 1t seems strange to talk OF
Colorado and adjacent States as especially
adapted to farming, yet such Is the actual
fact. The Colorado farmer does not care,
so far as his crops are concerned whether
or not the entire year passes without a
shower. An ever-compensating nature pro-
vides an abundance Of water in the melt
ing SHOWS of the mountains. that flows
down during the warm. dry summer
months. needing only the simple skill
of the farmer to store the water and dis
tribute it over his fields at the time when it
is most needed. l learn that at the present
time there are over 5000 miles OF main line
rrigating bitches completed. and more
A., = "a
struction. to be finished by next spring.
The Soils of the plains. apparently SO ster-
lie. are the worn down debris OF rocks
Astounding in potash and alkalics, the
richest chemical materials for the growth
of nearly all crops. They only need the
the best soils in the Eastern States. which
have long required the application of those
mineral fertilizers SO profusely abundant
here. In one place. near San Isabel. where
last spring the plain looked to me like a
worn out door-mat. uninvting and sterile.
from which the yield of the meals tubers
amounted to TWO HUNDRED BUSHELS PER
ACRE. and in some instances exceeding this.
The water brought by small irrigating
ditch from one of the numerous branches
of the San Luis River was the magic elixir
that had brought about such marvellous re-
suits. In other places over the State
found it to be no uncommon thing.
in TACT, the usual thing. for the
potato crop to range from $50
to 200 bushels per acre. Wheat
has done remarkably we'll MY friend. Cap
tistics. / give you some OF his figures.
The Captain is inclined to be conservative.
and / told him SO. His reply was, with a
shrewd twinkle of the eye: We'll. I've
lived here many years, and have some prop
erty. I expect to live some years to come.
N only fall n alf nf Nyhn tha lupI will do
and let the buyer find out the value of his
ranch. why, then. am making every fellow
agood advertiser of what have left. His
figures are thoroughly reliable. They show
the wheat crop Of 1888 to be not less than
three million bushels, averaging from
twenty-five to thirty bushels per acre. The
crop of winter wheat was an experiment,
heretofore the spring variety being sown.
The crop of winter wheat has. however,
exceeded the yield of the spring grain by
about six bushels to the acre.
1t used to be thought that corn would
never succeed as crop in Colo! ado. East
ern corn growers said: Your altitude is
too great. and your nights are too cold. !"
Let me say. that during the tripfrom which
have just returned have seen thousands
of acres of splendid corn. from every acre
of which twenty i've bushels have been gath
cred. l do not mean to say that have not
seen poor crops / have; but they were
the result. not of any unfitness of the
SOIL but of the improvident. shiftless stu
pidity of the fellow who calls himself a
farmer. The man who floods his fields
with water in early spring time. before the
trosts have lett the ground, and then ne
elects the needs of his cop during the bal
ance Of the season. preferring to loaf around
whisky mill in town; such chap couldn't
raise half bushel OF sweet potatoes to the
acre on the choicest spot in the Garden Of
Eden. The alfalfa hay is one OF the great
staple crops, of Colorado. 1t is planted
crop, and. though not requiring what might
be called cultivation. does require some at
tention in irrigation. 1t yields, with fair
treatment, an absolutely reliable crop Of
Sc to $40 per ton. Three cuttings are made
yearly. and in many instances four. There
is no better hay for all kinds of stock. Pigs
eat it greedily and fatten rapidly upon it.
The oat crop has been an abundant one.
averaging over 40 bushels per acre, and
weighing as high as IS pounds per bushel.
The dry climate. the strong mineral soil.
and the timely application of the water to the
growing crop, combine to make all grain
heavier and of better quality. On the farm of
Mr.. Charles Fassett. near Monte Vista. In
the great San Luis Park, I saw an oat field
that had yielded ninety bus els - the acre.
ine crop of barley has Leen good. The
quality of the grain is pronounced to be
superior to the best German barley. and is
eagerly sought fer by Eastern brewers.
vegetables nHf' iASpI pace Will the grains
in making ii record for prolific growth.
Onions. beets. pafsnips. turnips, are simply
enormous. The cabbage crop alone will
this year net q round million of dollars, a
large proportion of the crop finding its way
over the new railroad line from Denver to
the Gulf. to Old Mexico.
expect you will say that 1t requires a
good many acres to be farmed to produce
such quantities. Well. the returns from she
| various county officers. made in obedience
| to law. to be presented to the State Legisia-
| ture which meets the second day of Janu-
| airy, show that there are now in Colorado
| twenty thousand farms averaging 100 acres
| each. an increase of over fifty per cent.
since the report of 1867. The farmer in
Colorado has one advantage not possessed
| roads In Colorado are without any
| question the finest natural roads in the
world. The roadbed is at all seasons solid.
| oven and hard. and. except In the mountain
district. every road is as level as a barn
| floor. Larger loads can be hauled in quicker
| time than on the highways of other States
| The spirit Of railroad enterprise has pushed
| to the utmost the construction of the iron
| lines in Colorado. The shrewd vision of
| the railroad man has foreseen the future
| greatness of the land. and railways have
been projected and built in every direction
over the State. running in very many cases
| through vast tracts OF country as yet prac-
tically unsettled. but rich in the most fruit
| full pI omises.
| Now, expect that you will ask what is
land worth in Colorado. and what does it
cost to farm it2 Well. land can be bought
| in some OF the best agricultural districts at
| ten dollars per acre, including perpetual
| right to the use of abundant water for irri-