Rocky Ford enterprise., 1896-06-11
WESTERN FARM NOTES
(From Field and Farm.)

and sells for twice the price in the mar
ket.
Conservative estimates place the total
of trees planted In the Grand
valley this spring at 100000, which is
not too large count
G. B. Reynolds Of Raymond. Nebraska,
has purchased 25OO0 Mexican sheep
from james stnson at Albuquerque.
New Mexico. and the lot VIII soon be
shipped up.
In the Pecos valley the eastern buyers
are picking up all the wool In sight At
prices ranging from hve to i've and
three-fourths cent? per pound. This ID
worse If anything than last year.
The grasshopper crop is ripening very
rapidly and the annual supply will be
Just as voluminous a ever. One Of the
best Investments on q farm these days
Is the cost of hopper doser. which IL
merely nominal.
Those farmers who plowed their lands
last summer and fall find that they are
far ahead of those who did not. Their
crops are planted now and they md a
little leisure time in which to do other
work before time arrives for irrigadng.
The people of Colorado eat 100000
head Of cattle every year. The larger
part OF these are old cows with liberal
sprinkllng of barren heifers and Q still
smaller number of hay-fed steers. Al
most no graln.fed cattle are consumed
by Colorado markets. The largest local
market Of Colorado ID Denver. which
buys as many steers as all the other
markets Of the state combined.
The Empson canning factory In Boul-
der county has made contracts this sea
son for $50 acres Of sweet corn and will
add canned corn to Its product Besides
this there are 1,2JO acres given over to
peas, tomatoes and pumpkins, which b
an increase over the acreage Of former
years, and eighty acres arc planted In
currants, which will bear this summer.
the yield from which will be used In
making jelly for the market
Thus far there has been plenU Of
water for irrigation all over Colorado
and the planting is mostly done. More
corn has been planted than ever before.
but has not done well on account Of cool
weather which has prevailed all through
the month. There will be great de-
mand for the irrigating water next
month, and some farmers will regret
they did not use more Of It this month.
The season as a whole 10 all right and
,,1l t><,I Ia
dicntions.
In running sheep on the great Western
plains each one Of the animals costs its
owner from fifty-hve to sixty-nve cents
q year. Each one is nominally worth
from seventy-five cents to 81. With the
wool alone. then, each sheep pays for Id
keeping aid little more. The profit 10
the owner comes not SO much from the
wool as from the large natural yearly
Increase to his flock. The sheep II bene-
fetal not alone to the owner, but also
to the herier, who may perhaps have
the sheep on shares, the shearer, who
gets FIVE to seven cents for every sheep
he shears, thus making good wages.
and the owner Of the dipping pen who ID
paid one and one-half cents for every
sheep dipped.
The cost of running cattle on the
range varies from So to 81 a head year.
according to the conditions Of range and
the amount Of winter feeding. In the
foothills and mountain parks where
some hay has to be provided for winter
and enough land owned or leased BY
the cattlemen to insure his winter range
from intruders, one man can take care
of about 300 head of cattle Of all ages
He can also put up the seventy-five tons
of hay that would be needed for winter
with the aid of extra help for q few
weeks. The present prices In Colorado
for well-graded stock on the range are
about S15 head for cows, $12 for year.
ling steers, SIT for two-year-old steers.
and $25 for three-year-old steers, max
ing mixed herd Of 300 head worth -
500. The value Of the range, with what
fences, corrals, tools. etc., that the cattle
man would need would be about 1000.
Alfalfa is now In bloom In some parts
Of the country and hay making will soon
be on again to continue all summer az
each succeeding crop natures. A writ
er In Arapahoe county contributes his
method of harvesting the crop as fol.
lows: "In regard to my method Of cut.
ting, curing and storing hay. will say
that cut alfalfa before 1t comes into
full bloom, being careful not to let II
get too ripe; il loo ripe think the stalks
get woody and the leaves fall Of. there
by losing the most nutritious part Of 1t.
In very warm weather we aim to haul
II to stack late the day 1t was cut. We
leave 1t for awhile in the windows,
then pitch it into cocks just large enough
for the go-devil to handle readily and no
more hand labor is required except to
arrange 1t on the stack with pitchforks
after the Kicker has delivered 1t. We
consider the hay dry enough to STACK
when we cannot wiring water out of tho
STEMS"
The last of the Fort Collins lambs
were unloaded In Chicago last week ana
brought $5.25, the best price paid fof
snv lambs this year. Lambs that VIII
seIl for this figure come very near max
ing 100 per cent. profit the way We ne
a.