The Lamar register., 1891-09-05
IRRIGATED FARMS

aDiaze in innumerable places. The prairie
tires have been started by homeseekers to
drive off the cattlemen and their herds.
The order of President Harrison's Cape
May message permitting Cherokee In
dians to Craze only their own herds on the
strip has aroused the deepest desperation
and they have taken severe measures 10
drive the invading cattlemen out.
Field and Farm says that the noun
tain hay crop Of Colorado is the heaviest
on record. In Middle Park, South Park
and the plateaus of western Colorado hay
ing is past its meridian, and by the middle
OF next week the crop will have been har
vested in all sections. This wild hay
brings good prices for horse feeding.
Livery and freighting outfits use it al
most exclusively. The crops will be worth
not less than slo,OOo,OOO this year, exclu-
sive of alfalfa
Some people believe that there are no
large corn fields in Colorado. There is one
in Ell Paso county in cultivation by the
Colorado Springs Garden Company which
includes 700 acres. The corn rows are
mile and half long, and there is not a
finer stand o corn in the State than this
field now in tassel. The crop has not had
a drop of irrigation water except that
which fell in form of rain. From 35, 600 to
10000 bushels of grain will be harvested
from this field, besides from 6,OOO to 1000
tons of fodder.-Field and Farm
The small farmer everywhere is gen
orally doing better than the large agricul-
turisc. That this is true may easily be
proved by inquiIing into the relative pros
perity of the ten-acre and lOO-acre farmer
in our own ueIghborhood. Which is bur-
dened with the least debt in proportion to
the total value of mis- land. Which is pro
curing the best profit upon his capital and
the largest money yield per acre, ard
which gets the most satisfaction out OF le
business of agriculture! One trouble is
that we have been too gras ping in regard
to land, and have acquired more than we
could handle TO the best advantage
Canon city Record.
Those farmers who stopped irrigatiug
their wheat when it was in bloom made
grave mistake, says an experienced wheat
grower. When rain continues there is
sufficiency of moisture to cause the grains
W - bdb pump anu ldtSG, bub III llS dD-
sence of rain irrigation should be kept up
right along. Even now it is not too Ia1e
in many instances TO greatly improve the
yield of wheat and oats by a course of ir-
rigation. In turning the water on we
should not attempt to use so much as
when the grain was half grown, yet we
would cover the ground nicely with water.
The growth Of wheat, oats and barley
may be considerably prolonged by several
light waterings aud it is surprising how
much heavier the yield will be. OF course
it would not do to prolong the growth of
| late sown grain too far into the season
since the frost might iniure it, but there
would be no danger in irrigating the
early fields. This idea about irrigation
was discovered by noticing the grain
growing along near irrigating bitches in
which there was running water filled
/ better and was a great deal heavier than
that standing away from the ditch and
which was not irrigated after the blossom
began to drop OF. The reason for not ir
rigaling so profusely at this stage as
earlier in the season is that there is dan
ger of the grain lodging if too heavily
watered. Those farmers who can do SO
should try this plan of increasing the
yield of their fields.-Ficld and Farm.
The census office has issued a bulletin
on irrigation in the state OF Wyoming. 1t
is shown that in this state there are 1917
farms that are irrigated out of tota
number of 3, 246 The total area OF land
in the 1917 farms is l,5Us, $50 acres, upon
9,616 acres of which crops were raised
by irrigation in the year of 1880. In addi
tion to the irrigation area from which
crops were cut or gathered, there We're
approximately 24O,OoJ acres irrigated for
grazing purposes. The average size of ir-
rigated farms-more strictly of irrigated
portions of farms-on which crops were
raised is ll9 acres. The average tirst cost
OF water rights is S3.G2 per acre, and the
average cost of preparing the soil for cul
tivation, including the purchase price of
the land, is SJ.iS per acre. The average
present value of the irrigated land of the
state, including buildings etc, is reported
as SSl, 40 per acre, showing an apparent
profit, less cost of buildings, of Sl3.SO per
acre The average annual cost of water
is A cents per acre, which, deducted from
the annual average value of products per
acre, leaves an average annual return of
S1.Sl per acre. The tendency throughout
the entire arid region, SAYS the bulletin
to describe as irrigated all land to which
water has been applied within any recent
period by artificial means, land to which
bitches, perhaps far destitute of water,
have been constructed and even land for
which water rights merely are claimed
has placed the census office under the
necessity of absolutely restricting itself
in its official bulletins on irrigation to
land on which crops were actually raised
by the artificial application of water dur
ing the year 1859. The farms or stock
ranches in Wyoming, irrigated merely for
grazing purposes, have therefore not been
taken into account in this bulletin beyond
the foregoing statement as to their ap-
proximate total area.
Encountered a Big Wave.