Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-24
FARMS OF COLORADO
Value Greater Than That of
the Mines.
ARE USUALLY SMALL
HAY THE MOST VALUABLE CROP
IN THE STATE.
Potato Trade is Reaching Enormous
Proportions - All Work in the
Field Done by Machinery.
BY WILLIAM X. CURTIS.

BY WILLIAM X. CURTIS.
Special Correspondence Of The Star and the Chicago
Record Herald.
COLORADO SPRINGS. July 10. 1905
We are accustomed to look upon Colorado
as mineral state. yet the value OF the
products of its farms now exceeds the value
of the products of It's mines Last year the
total OF farm products sold In the market.
not including those consumed at home, was
al. 100 100. The increase has been very
rapid. particularly in horticulture. Fruit
orchards and berry patches are extending
In remarkable manner. l met a gentle
man yesterday from Grand Junction, out
near the Utah line. who told me that q
million fruit trees had been planted in that
valley this spring
The state of Colorado has area OF
about 66,00o.000 acres. or 13.825 square
miles. OF this $1,000 square miles. or L.
100000 acres. are capable OF producing
crops under irrigation. The area already
under cultivation Is about 10 per cent OF
what is possible-about two and a half mil
lion acres-and this area has increased from
5000 acres in 1870, 61G,000 acres in 1880
and .S23. $50 acres in 1890. The census fig
ures for 1900 were I. 1874 600 acres but those
who are best qualified to Judge are OF the
opinion that at least 5O0OOO acres have been
put under the pillow during the past five
years. and 20 per cent added to the culti-
waited acreage
Colorado farms are usually small most
OF them having less than fifty acres: al
though several tracts of thousand or more
acres are under cultivation by the same
farmer The average farm is 100 acres.
Farm values also seem very high They
range from SO to 81 600 an acre. but that
includes perpetual irrigation rights. You
can buy dry farm" all the way from g
an acre upward. and there have recently
been sales of irrigated orchards at 81 600 an
acre
Features Of Colorado Life.
You have read in the newspapers fire.
quently about "the big things" that are
raised In Colorado. The prodigious size
gained by some of the products was Illus
trated last fall when twelve neighbors sat
down to a meal at which they were served
with one chicken that weighed ten pounds,
one potato that weighed six and one-half
pounds. one fifteen-pound cabbage one six
pound beet. one two-pound onion and three
pies which were made from a single apple
that weighed one and oue-half pounds A
beet was exhibited in the Colorado building
at the St. Louis exposition that weighed
forty-three pounds
/ wrote you last fall about some of the
Interesting features OF agricultural life in
Colorado and OF the celebrations held In dif-
ferent parts of the state at harvest time.
described Melon day at Rockyford.
where 5000 melons were consumed on the
park grounds. and I told you also of
fedCH uHy AT IranO Junction. ''Slraw-
berry day at Gienwood Springs. Apple
day" at Canyon City. Potato day" at
Greeley and Pumpkin Pie day at Long
mont. Since then Tomato day has been
introduced at Brighton. in Adams county.
On each of these occasions all corners are
fed free of cost with the particular fruit
named.
Hay is the most valuable crop In Colo
rado then come fruits. dairy products. su-
gar beets. potatoes wheat. garden truck
and wool in order
The Potato Trade
Greeley is the center of the potato trade,
which is reaching enormous proportions.
This year the value of the crop In that
particular locality Is expected to reach
s.. 100000 If the farmers get an aver
age of thirty cents a bushel. The average
shipments for the past ten years have been
1880 cars. and the acreage last year was
about 1890 acres. This year there are
about 20 0D0 acres In pota toes, and at least
10000 cars will be needed to carry the
crop to eastern markets. 1t is too early to
talk about prices. The harvesting viii not
begin until the middle Of August. and lots
of things may happen between now and
then. Potatoes have sold high 81 a
bushel. but last year the average price
was thirty cents.
All the work In the field is done by ma
chinery except the final job of picking the
potatoes off the ground and putting them
in sacks. No machine has yet been found
capable of PERFORMING that function.
a new Industry has been introduced at
Greeley-to utilize the small potatoes and
the culls which may not proftab.y be ship
ped to market. starch factory has been
erected and the first shipment made the
other day of potato starch from Colorado.
which was u carload of 40 900 pounds. marks
an epoch In the agricultural history of the
state and the establishment OF an entirely
new industry. The 2Go,vo0 pounds of pota-
toes used to make this 10000 pounds of
starch were almost worthless for any
other purpose 1t has been demonstrated
that almost anything In the way of po
tato will yield % per cent in starch. This
is almost an entire saving.
Increase in the Melons.
/ wrote you last fall from ROCKFORD that
the farmers of that valley expected to ship