The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1907-01-31
COLORADO BETS AND POTATOES.
What the Beet Sugar Factories are Doing
for Colorado Towns. The Potato Crow

What the Beet Sugar Factories are Doing
for Colorado Towns. The Potato Crow
ing Industry.
Fred w. Angler writes from Denver
to The Journal as follows:
Beet sugar factories are making cities
of the Colorado tOwns-nOt a town that
has secured factory but what has
doubled in its population in the past
five years and prices have advanced upon
city property nearly four hundred per
cent. and will average two hundred per
cent. on country property. The Aroos-
should not AroOstook be able to meet
Colorado in the cultivation of sugar
beets?"
With the above note Mr.. Angler
sends copy of The Weld County Re-
publican. published at Greeley, Colo.
RADIO, from which the following extracts
are taken. OF Weld county it is said:
There were $4,000 to 10000 acres of
beets grown in the county, with an
average of - tons to the acre, making
total of 100000 tons, bringing $780,
600 to the growers. Weld county sugar
1dCCOllCS w LII LudhC tlO,OOU SdChO vi Su-
gar at 100 pounds a sack All told, the
agricultural output of the county will
be close to $7,00O.000.
The biggest beet grower in the dis.
trict is John Lamper of Weldon, who
raised 5000 tons for which he received
5000. Robert Boyd had the highest
acreage, taking 80 tons from each ff-
teen acres.
Johnstown has become the banner
sugar beet section in the Northern part
of the State, with an average yield of
20 tons to the acre. The biggest ton
mage an acre is accorded to Farmer
Hartman, who gathered 20 tons an
acre from small field. The cost of
growing an acre of beets is $3S, and as
S. ton is paid the grower profits may
easily be recAoned on the above 1t is
said that the coming year will see the
establishment of a sugar factory at
Johnstown, to be built by private CAPT
tai, and that 1000 acres have already
been subscribed for the growing of
beets for it.
Johnstown has the distinction of tax
ing eight different prizes on eight
sugar beetS sent to the Portland exposi-
ton. The exhibit contested with those
from IL States, the poorest of the Johns
town display ranking higher than the
best from the other States. The prize
beets tested IS per cent sugar and
weighed from ten to eighteen and one
half pounds each. Johnstown farm
lands have increased in value from $50
to 5000 an acre during the last year.
COLORADO's GREAT POTATO INDUSTRY.
The potato crop of Northern Colora-
do Whi0h cootinn riu oil nfhnrc in
the world in the annual quantity and
quality of its production of potatoes,
is estimated for the season of 1906 at
$500 carloads, 500 carloads less than
that of last year, whose crop was 40
per cent that of the season of 1904,
whose $4,000 carloads exceeded all
previous crops grown in the Greeley
district.
This years crop, shortly after its
harvest, was valued at $2,OOO,OOO, but
shortage of cars to carry the crop when
demand and prices for it were high
will lose the community at least $780,
900 and cut down the value of the crop
to $l,750O0O.
Ninety five hundred carloads esti-
mated in sacks means 1915, 900 sacks;
in the tons, 142, 500, and 4, $50, 600 bushels.
The crop is enough to fill a train of
refrigerator cars 30 miles long or to
cover an area three and one-half miles
long and three miles wide if piled with
sacks ten feet high.
Thirty thousand acres were planted
to potatoes this year and the average
yield was 70 sacks an acre. The
quality the best ever grown.
The cost of growing sack of pOta-
toes is estimated at thirty-fve cents,
which>makes the cost of producing the
present crop 1881, 25O, leaving the grow
ers S91s, 200 as profit.
The principal markets for Greeley po-
tatoes are Texas, Oklahoma, New Mex
leo, Kansas, Illinois, Missouri and Iowa.
This year Arizona was added to the list
as the California potato crop, which
usually supplies this territory, was in
adequate.
Every year carefully selected stock
travels to San Francisco and New York
to appear on the tables of the most ex-
elusive hotels in the cities. This year a
barrel of potatoes was shipped to Paris,
France, by the Greeley Mercantile com
pany. The potatoes were carefully Sc
lected and each wrapped in tissue paper
The cost of the potatoes here was about
So, but the expense of shipping was
nearer $50.
Forty tons of potatoes are being
made into starch daily by each Of the
two starch factories in Greeley.
Statistics show that the crop moves
slowest to market in December and JAN
uary. During last November less than
ten cars Of potatoes left daily for mar
ket,owing to the impossibility of getting
cars for shipment, and dealers were
obliged to cancel many orders. By the
first of January it is estimated that less
than half the crop will be on the mar
ket.
A LAND OF MILK AND HONEY.
Weld county is pre- eminently an
agricultural county and the greatest
irrigated one in Colorado. Its area is
equal to that of Rhode Island and Della
ware combined. 1t has property val
uation of $75,Ooo,00o and population
of 10000.
The irrigation system of the county
is one of the most elaborate, as we'll as
practical ones in the world. The com.
bined capacity of the reservoirs is near
ly 1000, 900, 900 cubic feet. If the canals
or big bitches in Weld county were
placed one after the other they would
m