The silver star., 1898-03-31
NAY CULTIVATE ARID LANDS.
Kx-0overnor. Coopsr believes It Can Bs
Done without Irrigation.

Rx-0overnor. Coopsr believes It Can h
Done without Irrigation.
Farming without irrigation has
been carried on successfully In Colo
RADIO and l believe 1t may be made
profitable" said Ex-Governor Job A
Cooper. who is one Of the important
capitalists and cattle raisers Of the
state. 1.-The secret Of successful farm
ing on arid land is deep plowing and
internal culture. l believe that the
time Is coming when all the eastern
part Of the state, much of which is
now desert. will be under cultivation
and will support a large population
Irrigation for most of eastern Colo
RADIO is generally believed to be out OF
the question. l think the problem OF
reclaiming 1t must be solved by deer
plowing.
THE trouble with eastern Colorado Is
not lack of precipitation. In the arid
region of Colorado. Kansas and Ne
braska, the mean annual rainfall Is
twenty inches. nearly all of which
comes between March 1si and October
LIST. the growing season. Evaporation
soon robs the soil of this moisture: the
problem is to conserve it.
First turn over the surface to a
atDAH eight iIlcDtS pT 81 ANU
use another plow. reaching eight below
the first. The second plow does not
turn over the earth, but stirs it up.
This gives a depth of loosened soil of
about sixteen inches as reservoir for
moisture. Then the surface is broken
up fine, to almost dust by n close har-
row. The dust prevents evaporation.
and the ground underneath remains
moist throughout the season
Il am interested in the Wayside
ranch above Litileton. We have over
100 acres planted in grain. which we
grow without irrigation. Dennis Shee-
dy has also made success of dry
farming on the divide. On sixty acres
we grew thirty bushels of corn to the
acre. Under irrigation thirty-five or
forty bushels is considered a good crop.
Thirty acres planted In bald barley
yielded twenty-eight bushels TO the
acre, while forty bushels is good
crop on irrigated land. | know that
good crops of corn, rye, barley and
fruit can be produced on so-called arid
land without irrigation.
1.-The outlook for the cattle business
is remarkably good The business is
gradually drifting into the hands of
small farmers who keep punches of
MY W sixty tdtIle. anu tnl1lk IL PROD
able that there are more cattle in Colo
RADIO now than in the time of the open
ranges, and the number will Increase
rapidly.
Now | believe that eastern Colorado
will be populated by small stock breed
ers. There is enough water in that
section to water stock and by subsoil-
Ing the farmers can produce plenty of
food for fattening their cattle. Bald
barley Is excellent feed. and as said.
Colorado land without irrigation will
produce twenty-eight bushels to the
acre.
1T seems to me that there is rea-
sonable hope of reclaiming the great
arid plains east Of us. After the first
year the work Of farming on this sys-
TEN would be easier. A farmer could
In few years have n pleasant home
with orchards, garden, fields of grain
and bunch of good Durham cattle.
Durhams are the best all-around cattle
for the small farmer They are fair
mixers good mothers and excellent on
the block. | believe eastern Colorado
will yet be divided up into small
ranches and that it will support a
large population of contented and pros
Porous farrners."-Denver Republi-
can.