The Ordway new era., 1907-05-17
100000 COMING
SETTLERS POURING INTO EAST
ERN COLORADO DAILY.
ARID LANDS BLOOM AS ROSE
Inc Land That Has Known Naught
But tine Tread Of Grazing Cattle to
Be Stirred by the Pillow.
By Alvin T. Steinel.

pouring into eastern Col, ado from the
Canadian border on the north to the
Gulf of Mexico on the south, from
every state as, far east as Indiana. de.
serting the humid regions OF the Mis-.
sissiDDi valley. buying ranches or fling
on homestead land in the semi.arid
counties that are now being TILED and
ture system.
At Denver's back door there has
been an influx of population estimated
by the most conservative citizens at
There is room for 10000 more. Every
train is bringing It's quota of home
seekers who become home-finders and
establish farms where once the cattle
kings held undisputed sway.
A generation ago there was just
such movement. flank OF the west
ward'bound army going into Colorado.
But 1t was made up OF vastly different
material. There were school teach
ers. invalids. adventures and fuSitives
| from justice, hundreds OF whom came
to secure shoestring titles to home
steads on which to borrow money.
They got the money and left the coun-
| try. Those who remained were too
poor in cash or experience to tackle
| the raw prairie hundreds of miles from
| established settlements. They gave
up the struggle after the first year OF
drouth and returned to the settle
| ments with tales of woe that have
| scarcely been lived down by Colorado
| In twenty-five years.
Ninety cents an acre used to re the
price of land along the Union Pacific
| from Denver to Cheyenne Wells-and
nobody wanted It at that. The Union
| Pacific owned every other sec.ion for
| twenty miles back on both sides OF
| the track-an enormous grant given
| By the government as n subsidy. But
even the shrewd men at the lead OF
| the great railroad system did not real
!1e the value of the land II was just
| so much waste-a veritable white ele-
| phant on the hands OF the mana cement
that finally was disposed of at from 81
to $3.50 an acre-good riddance at that.
1t was due to the railroad officials
themselves that Fasteners began 10
get interested in eastern Colorado
lands. The railroad men said Il was n
good buy" But they really dida't be-
| lieve 1t was. The tale was so oft re-
peated that the railroad company's
land agents began themselves to be-
lieve. This selfhypnotism having been
accomplished. 1t was comparatively
1 - t,... s..,.,
ers OF Missouri. Iowa. Minnesosa and
farther east. that their opportunity laid
in Colorado. Homeseekers' excursion
rates furnished the opportunity for n
visit and they came-from Pike county
and Podunk. Oshkosh and Kalamazoo.
And they bought-frst ut So ani s. an
acre and, as the demand grew, from s6
to $40 and s12. Buying stimulated
homesteading and now the tide Is at
| flood, homeseekers and purchasers OF
decided land pouring into every town.
| village and hamlet from the Arkansas
basin to the valley OF the Platte and
from the eastern boundary Of the state
to the foothills, filling vast empire.
| heretofore devoted almost wholly 10
grazing with population of expert
enced American farmers. from the best
agricultural sections of the Mississippi
valley.
A bulletin by Professor olin gives
the fundamentals of soil culture as fol-
lows:
after the SHOWS of winter have
melted. plow the ground at least seven
or eight inches deep. With disc mar
row. corrugated roller. imperial pulver'
izer or packer. level and Arm this
ground as soon after plowtng as pos
sible, at least not later than each half
day, and follow up with smoothing mar
row to establish the earth mulch 10
check evaporation. This mulch must
NOT he too fine, as the winds OF the
plain tend to rift the soil or blow the
earth mulch entirely away. If possible,
stir the surface soil with a good spike
tooth or acme harrow several times
through the summer from two to four
inches deep. Follow every summer
rain with a good narrowing OF this
summer cultured ground, preventing
tho formation OF a crust at the sur
face, Keep this ground clean-free
from weeds. =,
"Cround that has been well cult
waited for several years will produce
two crops In succession and can De
given summer culture. In this way
It is possible to grow two crops in
three years on well-tilled soil. IL
farmer expects to cultivate eighty
acres. he should divide It into two crop
diyisions-cropping forty acres the
first wear and giving summer culture
to the other forty acres. This gives
him a crop on one-half his land each
year while he Is storing up moisture
in the soil reservoir Of the other half
to make the next years crop.
"a farmer on the non-irrigated lands