The Greeley tribune., 1906-02-08
ON PEAS.
HOW THEY FATTEN LAMBS
IN SAN LUIS VALLEY
E. A. Newton, Veteran Editor
of Alamosa, in Town and
Gives Idea of Business
Down There

E. A. Newton Of Alamosa, for six
teen years editor and publisher Of
the Alamosa Courier. who claims
that he is now the pioneer newspaper
man Of San Luis valley, was in
Greeley last Monday on business
while on the way south for vaca-
tion. In an interview with a Trib-
une reporter, who inquired about
sheep feeding in San Luis valley, he
said:
"There is a decided upward tend
ency in the valuations Of farm. lands
in San Luis valley. Lands that sold
five years ago at twenty dollars an
acre are now bringing fifty, and
there is demand now where then
there was none. The one thing
more than any other which has at
tracted attention to the San Luis
valley in recent years is the success
and large profits attending the fat
tening of lambs for market on field
peas. We claim that we can put
flesh and fat on the bones of the
sheep more cheaply than can be done
elsewhere, and the mutton SO pro-
duced is of better quality than any
other. The simplicity Of the method
and slight amount of labor required
make the big profits.
THE field or Canadian pea Is
sown broadcast and plowed under. or
is drilled in with an ordinary grain
drill. A couple of early irrigations
are all that is necessary to ;Hlake the
crop. This is an important point,
because, while we have ample early
water none is stored. and in some
seasons our July water is short,
while you here are drawing upon
your impounded supply.
The pea is prolific, the long
vines being loaded with pods. Our
winters are very dry and the peas are
fed as they stand without harvest
ing. The sheep are bought in
southern Colorado, New Mexico,
Utah and Oregon, shipped about
October first and fed for something
like one hundred days. One acre of
peas are sufficient for eight to twelve
lambs. The animals are corralled
at night and simply herded in the
fields in daytime, being held back so
that peas and vines are cleaned up as
the flock is allowed to move a little
farther into the field each day. One
man will handle one thousand sheep
in this way.
"Nearly 400, 900 head of sheep
have been fed this winter, nearly
200, 900 were fed a year ago and less
than 100, 900 the year before that.
so YOU can see how the industry is
growing.
Last fall the price of feeders
went up to the. sky. The 50. 60 price
of previous years went up to 50, and
where profits were 50 and more per
head they have been less this year.
Nevertheless, the industry has been
profitable, few ranchmen having lost
money and most of them having
made fair returns directly, not to
mention the increment to the land
from the fertilization. The pea is
leguminous plant, which affects the
soil exactly as does your alfalfa, ana
the increased wheat crop which fol-
lows on pea land is itself good
profit on the sheep feeding.
''Our farmers are not all feeding
sheep. We have flour mill at Ala
mosa which makes 300 barrels OF
flour a day and you perhaps noticed
that the San Luis valley potato took
first prizes at Pueblo state fair in
competition with the Greeley spud.
We are willing to yield you the palm
now for quantity but for quality and
good yields we concede you nothing,
and Greeley must expect in time,
ana that not long, to have a rival
likely to wrest from her a part OF
that well earned fame for potatoes
and sugar beets-the reputation
which has prevented the great agri-
cultural wealth of Colorado from be-
ing completely overshadowed by its
known mineral richness.
"We confess to being backward
in the matter Of water storage, but
our people are now awakening to this
necessity. One big reservoir is