The daily sentinel., 1900-09-13
Continued from Second page,

COnt1nuoQ from SeCOnO page
keystone of the agricultural arch-that
abundance of water which Grand river
furnishes and Of which not one
twentieth is utilized at the present
time. Take The reports on file in the
office Of the state engineer at Denver,
and what do tney show! The cubic
feet per second of water running down
the current of Grand river during the
irrigating season-say from June to
September-is more than double that
of all the other streams in the state
combined. This establishes d certainty
of water supply for irrigation that can
never be questioned. While at pres
ent 10000 acres are covered by a
canal system, there are half million
that could be irrigated, and the land
area is here in this valley from one
to fifteen miles wide and forty miles
long; made up Of three distinct mesas
and with a variety of soils that adapts
them to all the purposes and economies
of soil culture.
The chemical tests made of these
soils is interesting and instructive,
and should be wider known and under
stood than they are. 1t has come under
the observation Of the writer that these
are seldom mentioned save in the way
Professor Davis of the Agricultural
College reported upon them, and no
better matter can be entered on record
here than his statement, which is as
follows:
II made a physical and qualitative
analysis of soil from the lower mesa,
one from the second mesa and one
from within the city Grand Junction.
limits. The soil from the second mesa
is sandy loan, made up of sand,
clay, carbonate of soda and oxide Of
iron. 1t is of light color, fine grain,
not excessively sticky, absorbs moist
ure very readily. The soil of the lower
mesa is darker in color, containing
more clay and less sand, very fine
grained and would be classed clay
loan. 1t absorbs water readily, does
not cake on drying, is not sticky
enough to be difficult to be worked
with tools. Chemically, this soil is
composed Of iron the silicate of ale
mural, sand, carbonate of lime, sui
phate Of potassa, sulphate of soda and
oxide of iron. The soil from within
the limits of Grand Junction is fine
grained, light color, absorbs water
slowly, forms a pasty and somewhat
a clay soil. Chemically it is composed
tassa and oxide of iron. In these
analyses the chemical ingredients are
I named in the order of their relative
abundance. Neither of these soils con-
tains any material which should prevent
| high fertility. On the contrary, each
contains those elements which are
well known to be Of high value to any
soil'
Here the student Of science, working
| in his laboratory, pronounceS his die
tum. The farmer and the uit-grower,
in field and orchard, prove it true, in
| the harvest time of the year, by
| fertile soil, genial climate-what
| more could u hOme-seeker in Colorado
desire?
What was there in this valley in
| 1852? Read what a writer said Of 1t
| year or SO later, when the lower val
| ley was about to be opened up:
Three months ago l slept upon the
floor of the one cabin dotting the then
solitary waste. The moonlight crept
through the chinks in the log walls
and the spring wind whisued around.
Each had weird suggestions to the
senses, born of the experiences of the
past and of the hopes for the future.
For ages the Indians had control Of
this broad domain Of rich land-to
what end? The blakened trunks Of
the cottonwood trees fringing the river
banks give the only answer-the desc
latiOn of savage and ignorant existence.
But now comes the newer civilization.
Homes arise and the silence is broken
by childish voices where once the In
dian warwhoop resounded. The seed
sower and the tree planter are about
their work and the skill of the canal
builder has come to their aid. The
water is to flow far above the present
current, giving welcome moisture to
fields of growing grain, to gardens and
to orchard lands. Time and toll and
capital are to work wonders. They
are to solve the problem of fruit cul-
ture in Colorado in this fertile valley.
Each day adds to the assurance Of
success"
Was the vision delusive? The
prophecy a vain one?
Let us see. Let us take the year
1893, ten years after the active move
ments along developing lines began |
What says the story? Is 1t anything |
but one Of progress?
One of the editors Of the Rocky |
Mountain News at that time delivered |
an address before Western Slope |
Congress held at Telluride, in which |
he referred to the wonderful develop |
ment of Western Colorado and gave
approximate estimates, which gave to |