Rocky Ford enterprise., 1896-01-23
WESTERN FARM NOTES.
CFrom Field and Farm.)

The great plains OF Colorado lying
east OF Denver Will some day he given
over almost entirely to sheep. We can
now hear the tread OF the thousands
yet to be.
W. Il. Morand OF Pinneo. Washing
ton county, has sold his cattle to en-
gage In the sheep business, and starts
In by purchasing 800 merinOs from
Fred Bachman of Kiowa, Elbcrt cOun-
ty. The sheep were driven across the
country and arrived In good condition
and without loss.
Down In Phillips county. the most
arid portion OF the Colorado rainbclt,
one garden with n windmill lrrigating
plant last season produced Il quarter OF
an acre of onions which sold mt S4OO.
When crops pay like this we should
think that all the rainbelt farmers
would be negotiating for windmills and
irrigation.
In ordering trees for planting It Is
better to select the two-ycar-old apple,
pear and plum trees instead of three
and four-ycar-old trees, rs they almost
Invariably have more fine, tibrous roots
In proportion than do the older trees.
Young trees can he more readily train
ed than older ones. The most cXtens-
I've Colorado planters prefer to plant
young trees.
The Denver hog market showed II
somewhat better feeling this week
when prices reached S3.5J for prime
killers. The demand for hogs is much
broader than 1t was few weeks ago.
though the packers still agree that pro-
vision prices do not justify the figures
for the raw material. However, this
state of affairs has been chronic ever
since the winter butchering season be-
gan.
The common notion that ducks must
have body Of water to rcvcl In Is
not altogether correct. 4 good author
ity says that ducllings cannot stand
being wet upon the back. not so much
as young chickens, In fact. The noted
Itnkin farm raises 10000 ducklinGs
every year. with no water to swim or
bathe In. and II Is claimed that they get
fntter and are nicer for eating purposes
when they have only water to drink.
An Otcro comfy firm that makes a
business of fnttcning cattle to market
In Colorado towns has telephone con-
nections between its feeding farm and
the leading cities. In this way the run
of the supply and prices is kept and
car or two of becvcs can be dropped
into Pueblo. Denver or Cripple Creek
| Just when wanted. A close watch of
| the market has enabled this firm to
show II good profit all through the de-
pressed stage OF the western cattle
business.
The cabbage crop OF Weld county
forms something of an item in the
| farming operations of that section. The
crop aggregated 200 carloads the past
sea son. and of this total of 100 car
| loads nave already been shipped. the
bulk of the lot coming to the Denver
market. The farmers realize about SD
a ton for cabbage on the cars and ten
or twelve tons to the acre are easily
grown. the yield in some cases running
MS high as twenty tons to the acre.
under skillful cultivation.
| There are such quantities of oats
grown In Colorado and prices are so
low at present that it would seem unad-
visable to plant such large acrcages of
| this cereal the coming spring. If
mining continues to boom and many
teams are to be employed on the ore
wagons in the mountains all the pres
ent crop will be taken at prices some
| what better than current quotations,
but still there will be no need of such
universal planting as characterized last
year. Oats will be low so long as
horses are Il drug on the market.
The most inexcusiblc of all wastcful
negligent habits on the part of the aver
age farmer is the matter of disposing
of the manure which accumulatcS
about the barns and stables. 1t must
be taken care of and hauled out to the
fields and pastures sooner or later; then
why not do it before its most valuable
fertiliZing properties are lost Prompt
attention to this matter not only pro-
notes comfort and gives an appearance
of clcalincss and thrift but the gain on
the average farm will he sufficient ev-
cry year to pay the wages of good
extra farm hand the year round. 1t is
not worth onehaf rs much when left
to leach and waste around the stable
as it would be If hauled while fresh
from the fields. On most Colorado
farms the winter presents the most
economic time for hauling manure and
the pleasant days of winter can be put
to no better use. The roads are good.
the teams unemployed and the farmer
himself has plenty of time for this
work.
A correspondent in Delta county asks
for Information about transplating
evergreens Among cvcrgrcens, ar
Dor vitae. the spruces, frs and
soft-wooded pines all transplant
most readily: the hardwood res
inous pines less so. but all evergrcens
may be safely transpanted. even when
of considerable size if care is used, and
all transplant most perfectly when
young. All trees grown in the nursery
or other cultivated ground. and all
trees root-pruned the year previous to
transplanting grow more readily than
those taken directly from the forest
The reason is obvious. Cultivation
causes an abundance of fibrous roots
to be made and the growth of any
plant Is measured by the number of its
tibrous roots. If nursery-grown with
careful .root-pruning and careful
transplanting. even nut trees are sue
cessfully transplanted when young,
but the course is not to be commend
ed. Hence, when extensive plantations
are to he made. the value and economy
of the home nursery is realized. even
If the seedlings are bought of the
wholesale nurseryman. who makes
speciality of forcst-tree propagation.
Boulder county makes splendid
showing as an agricultural district.
There are 100000 acres under cultiva-
ton and this acreage by the way Is
| ola Of