The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1890-02-14
GRAND JUNCTION, COL0s
ARemarkable .rruit Region; !. Wen = 81
Agricultural Purposes, FOR Health, no.
From the Orange JnddEariner.l

G Agricultural Purposes, for HOalths Etc
From the Orange uddEarmer.J
GaAsD JUNCTION, Colo, Jan. 81. lsco.
ED. ORANGE JUDD FARMEn: For soma
time past have noticed In the lcadin pa
pers OF this state, and moe especially la
tile great dailles Of Denver. glowing sdt.
torials and correspondents descriptions Of
the Granl Valley. thinking there might
be sometaing In tlat section which would
BIZ OF int. est to your readers. your corre-
spondent made u trip over there with i
Wow OF inquifinS into facts 1nd furnish.
ing them to tac public through the columns
OF tue U. j. Farmer.
Grand Valley, or that portion OF IL en-.
braced within the confines OF Mesa County.
extending from tine town Of DeBeque; to
some TIL ty miles west OF the city o. Grand
Junction Qhv county seat OF n esa County /,
dil not ut tho first glance imp ess mo iayor-
ably. line climate is particularly dry and
brac ing. being Tho nearest approach to per-
and while u climate OF this kind Is es.
pecially Aeilthiui II c%ongeniat to the In
valid and ty no means unpleasant even to
the robust. without irrigation 1t Is not con.
genial to plant lie. But as one looks over
the Iluit orchards and farms that have had
irrigation and cultivation oae's first inn
pressions fade fast AVA and lie becomes
rapt in admiration OF the prolific soil, with
its wonderful productions OF fruit and veg-
citation.
The Grand Valley is situated in Western
Colorado. on the ltue OF the Denver and
Rio Grande Railway. 1t has an average
altitude olubout 4,5JO ieet above sea level,
and until u few years ago was occupied ny
the Ute Indians. Its soil is rich aud deep.
and it's climate mild and dry, having
neither extremes Of heat nor cold, and is
free from hailstorms. billiards. or cyclones,
In short it is all that corld be desired, and
l bellev without a single drawback. Un-
til within the past two years its possibili-
ties as u fruit-raising country were UNI.
known. and III fact not until the crops OF
the past year were harvested did 1t dawn
upon the residents of the valley that in its
fertile soil and magnificent climate the
Grand Valley possesses greater sources OF
wealth and happiness than the rich min
eral camps Immediately surrounding 1t.
Peaches. pears. plums. clerries. grnpes,
especially those of raisin varieties. and Der-
ries OF all kinds. yield a~bundantly. From g.
| yeur- old budded peach trees were gathered
this lust TALL 300 lbs. to the tree. and apples
even doubled that quantity. When it IS res
membered that In an area of country T0J to
1.2UU miles Immediately surrounding Colo
RADIO, though rich in precious minerals ami
settled by prosperous communities, yet
with the exception OF q few localities Of
limited a:ea this whole. vast territory Is
almost destitute of fruit. and has to receive
its supply from California, then the ii por-
tance and value of a fl uit-growing country
which equals that Of Cali orEia. situated
right In tho midst OF this %fruitless country,
can be appreciated. For the c%onsumptive
who has not entered upon the last stages of
the DISGUISE, und in fact to nearly every other
invalid suffering from chronic diseases. this
valley will prove a Vel liable paradise.
No only does the region offer health. but
q congc:.ial easy outdoor occupation. and
fact, I will cite one instance brou hit to
my own observation. One citizen here.
over the age Of sixty years: with a para.
lytic wife. with only a few dollars capital to
start with. and not even u horse to aid him.
has by his own efforts put into fruit u ten
acre tract. setting out about two acres the
first year.. and SO on. increasing yeur by
year until his whole tract was planted.
During that time he has supported himself
and taken care Of his invalid wife by plant
Ing other crops between his trees until they
were old enough to yield: Here are tho re-
suits: From his 5-year-ol trees he gath
cred and sold over 500 worth OF fruit to the
acre: from his 4-ycar-o old trees ABOUT $500
per acre; and from his Odds about
S15O per acre. His land has also increased
In value from $25 per acre to 81, 1000 per
acre, and he has now an assured income OF
$1,000 to $4,0DO per year.
This Is not IN isolated cH5B. What tiIis
old man has done. surely any one with
reasonable energy and Il small capitalcan
do. The best fruit lands. under ditch, can
still be bought a: from fifty to one hundred
dollars per acre. and can be set out into
fruit orchards at about S35 per acre, and
Aluuo W pay luoll way ny plunClnS OLueE
crops between the rows. and in three years
they will be worth $500 to $500 per acre,
and will increase In value at tho rate of
500 per ucre per year for several years
thereafter. while on account of climate. as
! have said. this valley must become the
paradise OF the sick and enfesbled.
l do not wish to create tho impression
that equal inducements are not held out to
the robust, and especially to those who are
situated in countries that are subject to.
bllzzards. cyclones or extremes of heat or
cold. for besides the advantage of climate
offered. more money can DO cleared on ten
acres set out in fruit in this valley without
the expense OF hired help, h a on many
three hundred and twenty aero farms with
n large capital invested in stock and imple-
ments. Nor is there danger OF the fruit in
dustry being ovcr-done. as TO-DAY Califor-
MIA is shipping to a country seven hundred
miles nearer to Grand Valley than to Calf
fornia, over ten million dollars worth of
fruit per annum!
There is ono advantage this valley nos
sesses l must not overlook; it has an abun.
dance of water for irrigation purposes.
more IN fact than can ever be used. While
so far l. have only spoKen of fruit. in nv
next l Will have something to say oil cereals
and vegetables. Your correspondent ia
indebted to W. J. S. Mcfarland, the Secre-
tary OF Grand Junction Board OF Trade.
Tor valuable Information. and any one SUI
nclently interested in Grand Valley to
make inquiries will always find him ready
to furnish srch information as he mar
nave. W. W. +.