The Grit-advocate., 1905-04-07
AS Others See Us

days edition OF the Rocky Mountain
News, Of Denver, contained a very in
teres.ing writeup VI Julesburg and
vicinity. The article was illustrated
with two half-tOne cuts, one Q picture
of the Pleasant View school house, the
other threshing scene on the Feter-
sen 4 LOveland ranch; it WAS signed
by X. L. Francis, which is the nom
de plume sometimes used by bliss
Martha A. Turner, the young lady
who visited Julesburg a few weeks
since in the interest of the Ranch
News.
The News article gives an exhaus-
tive description of the irrigation sys-
ten in Sedgwick county, including
the new Julesburg reservoir, and tells
in glowing terms Of the prospects for
future development of the agricultural
resources OF the county. Concerning
these resources, and some OF the peO-
pie who are developing them, the auth
or says:
"There are three distinct agricultu-
raj phases of the Julesburg country.
Its farmers are getting from forty to
forty-tive bushels Of wheat from their
irrigated lands and practically devote
no time to any other method. These
live along the river bottoms or under
ditch rights. Then there is another
class on the divides who are closely
following improved dry farming meth
Ods and watching the work OF the gov
ernment to guide them in the kind OF
crops that may be protitably raised un-
der the se1Li-arid conditions that ex-
ist The rainfall Of this section is an.
nually on an average of seventeen
inches, aud when the proper kind OF
crops are put in the farmers never
seem to fail in any year, or at least
none OF them have in the past five
years. L. w. Pidgeon is one OF
these divide farmers who is getting on
well by scientific soil culture system
following the Campbell method Of
storing the rain water. He said that
last year he put in fourteen acres Of
rye under the Campbell method, do
the. most accurate work he could in
thestime he had, and he got eight
bushels more from an acre OF this than
the rye he put in under his ordinary
methods of soil tilling. This was done
as an experiment and this year he is
putting in forty acree of winter wheat
under the Campbell system. He is
also going to plant an orchard, follow
ing this system in its cultivation.
"Julesburg and its vicinity is great
place for bachelors. They seem to be
as prosperous as the crops, and should
be among the first to be brought under
taxation If a bachelor tax really be-
comes law. They are well-to-do and
prosperous, and all farm their own
lands, John Holmes is one Of these,
and he has got a bank account and
goes of on winter trips East from the
proceeds of forty acres, where he does
intensive farming. He netted S35. 90
an acre from his sugar beets last year,
and will put in more CHS. He puts in
barley, wheat, potatoes. and is now
planting an orchard of cherry, plum
and apple trees. He came out from
Ohio eight years ago, but says moth
ing could induce him to go back there
to farm again.
"lIans Heldt is another one of these
charmers in the bachelor class who
farms small area and is now IN very
comfortable circumstances. He has
diversified crops, and this year put
half of his land in wheat and the rest
Of it in potatoes, beets and feed.
"The big farmer Of the district is
John Elhart, and he is an old timer {.
He lives five and half miles west Of
town, and last week brought TWO car
loads of hogs to the Denver market.
He fed them ON alfalfa and corn, of
which he raises large quantities. He
raised 5000 bushels Of corn last year,
and has twenty-five acres in alfalfa.
acre His son is also farming under
the same methods, and doing well.
They both use irrigation.
IN. G. Roth, another old timer, is
waxing fat on the proceeds of lS5 acres
that he has under cultivation. lie
raises the same kind OF crops as his
neiuhhorS Init has added fruit to his
resources for revenue. He sold SlOO 90
worth OF fruit from five acre orchard
of plums, cherries and peaches, besides
| all he needed for the supply Of a large
family. He is interested in the Camp
bell system of soil culture, and is To-
eating his sons on farms adjoining his
own, and on one OF these this system
will be put in operation this year.