Mexico weekly ledger. (Mexico, Mo.) 1855-1956, 1904-10-20


FIT. COLLINS, Col, Oct. l2.-With
pleasure / take my pen and paper to
scribble the dear old Mexico LEDGER
a few lines to those wishing to hear
from me. SO many Of my friends re-
quested me TO write them personally In
regard to the country, but as they all
take the LEDeEE--as every intelli-
gent person of Audrain county should
II will make this letter public for the
benefit OF them all Ft Collins is
situated in a beautiful valley IA miles
north of Denver, on the Colorado
Southern Railroad, and is neat little
town about the size Of Mexico, and
has all the necessities to make 1t a
neat little town. The farmers are
now busy as they can be taking care
Of their third cutting of alfalfa; this is
something that took my eye, to think
they have harvested three crops OF
this hay this year, making from one
and a half to two tons a cutting
They get five dollars ton in the field,
and sells readily at that.
Next are the spuds- which you and
call potatoes = making from 200 TO
800 bushels per acre. Boys, you never
saw such potatoes in your life. | saw
some potatoes that would weigh 3 and
4 pounds, and not exagerating myself,
either. They say they have had
specimens to weigh and pounds,and
they are sound asa dollar. | asked a
farmer who was loading car for
shipment how much he was getting
| for them, the reply he gave me was,
''40c and s1.n / thought / ought to
have more detlnate answer, ! said,
how much a bushel? He said, 1--WE
don't sell by the bushel, everything
goes by the 10Oor ton weight So l
set my head to thinking aud l made
the numerous sum Of 2ic per bu. Next
Is the sugar bects, large acreages OF
these with their tall, green tops,greets
ones eyes, Of which they are also busy
harvesting. 1t is amazing to see how
many people are required to handle
this industry. There are large num-
ber Of Russians and Mexicans scatter
ed throughout the beet section, In
fact, there are regular settlements or
little towns Of this class Of people
which mostly handles this Industry.
They contract most all the work from
the cultivation to the harvesting OF
the beets. They also contract pick
| ing up and sacking spuds-potatoes--
for so much a sack, containing from
TO q bushels in a sack. Most every
farmer / have seen has from one &C
three Russian huts on bis farm.
| They move to these huts In tht
spring, SO l am told, and stay till tht
harvest is ended and then move bach
| to their settlement or town in thu
winter.
| Well, will say the weather AMI
climate is fine, they say very seldom
they get enough snow during ths
winter to make good sleighing II
conclusion, will say to those that ar
thinking OF coming out here with th
! expectations to get work, | would ad
, wise you to wait now until spring
, They say chances will be better thel
than they are now. This country !
over done at the present time witt
laboring people. II you are seekinI
, for your health. / would advise you .
, cume. OF course the climate doesn'
agree with everyone. Those that ar
afflicted with lung trouble, such a
asthma, consumption and throa
, trouble this climate is highly recon
I mended for these diseases. Well,
! feel as though have taken up th
whole front space of the LEDGER an
/, just. got good start, ! will continu
. my letter some other time-if this es
! capes the waste basket and II 20
want to hear the balance, with thes
few remarks l will close
l forgot to tell you the yield 9
sugar beets per acre. Their averag
yield this year, so | am told, is 20 tor
+ for which the farmers realize s5 pc
i ton. Farms are worth from sl0o
8 s225 per acre. Understand this is a
= irrigated section, which is the first
= ever saw. We are well.
ell Iremain yours truly,
al THEo. FL. SELB,
ri Fort Collins, 90