Rocky Ford enterprise., 1907-05-17
100000 COMING
SETTLERS POURING INTO EAST.
FERN COLORADO DAILY.
ARID LANDS BLOOM AS ROSE
The Land That Has Known Naught
But the Tread Of Grazing Cattle to
BE Stirred by the Pillow.
BY Alvin T, Steinel.


Like mighty army. settlers are
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 MS Indiana, de.
serting the humid regions OF the Nils.
sissippi valley. buying ranches or filing
on homestead land In the semi.arid
counties that are now being TILED and
made fruitful under the dry soil cul.
turc system.
AZ Denver's back door there has
been an influx Of population estimated
by the most conservative citizens at
10000 In the past twelve months.
There is room for 10000 more. Every
train Is bringing Its quota OF home.
seekers who become home finders and
establish farms where once the cattle
kings held undisputcd sway.
A generation ago there was Just
such a movement, n flank Of tho west
ward'bound army going Into Colorado.
Hut II was made up Of vastly different
material. There were school teach.
ers. invalids. adventurers and fnsitivcs
from Justice. hundreds OF whom came
TO secure shoestring titles to home.
steads on which to borrow money.
They got the money and icft the coun.
try. Those who remained wcrc too
poor In cash or experience to tackle
hs Fnt nlFl. hae .
established settlements. They gave
up the struggle after the hrst year Of
drouth and returned to the settle
mcniS with tales Of woe that have
scarcely been lived down by Colorado
In twenty-five years.
Ninety cents mn acre used to tc tho
price OF land along the Union Pacific
from Denver to Cheyenne wciis-and
nobody wanted II u, that. Tho Union
Pacific owned every other scc.ion for
twenty miles back on both siics Of
tho truck-an enormous grant given
By the government as subsidy. hut
even the nhrcwd men ut IN. ;..ad Of
the great railroad system did no, real.
isr the value Of the land. u waH Just
40 much waHis-a vcritablc white Gle.
that finally WAS disposed of Mt from 81
10 3s.bo an acrc-sood radiance at that.
II was du. tn the railroad officials
themselves tina, Fasteners bcsan to
sct Interested In eastern Colorado
lands. The railroad men said q was a
good buy" hut they really dida't be.
iicsc IL was. The tale was 40 oft 70.
pcaicd that the railroad eompany'H
land agents began themselves 10 he.
li-vc. This Srifhypno,isn having been
accomplished. II was comparatively
easy To convince tho land d,hunEry farm.
era of Missouri. Iowa. Minnesota and
farther east. that their opportunity laid
In Colorado. Homcscckcrs' excursion
rates furnished, tho opportunity for n
visit and they camc-from Pike county
and Posunk. Oshkosh and Kalamazoo.
And they bought-nvst at ~ AMI % an
acre and. as the demand grew. from ts
to SO and si:. Buying stimulated
homcstcadinR and now the tide is n,
food. homcsrckcrs and purchasers OF
decided land pouring. into every town.
village and hamlet from the Arkansas
basin ia the valley Of the Piai', and
from the eastern boundary Of the state
to the foothills. iiliins n vast empire.
heretofore devoted almost wholly to
grazing with a population of expert
cnccd American farmers. from the best
agricultural sections of the Mississippi
valley.
4 bulletin by Professor Olin gives
the fundamentals Of soil culture - fol.
lows:
After tho SHOWS Of winter have
me eltcd. piow the ground a, least scrcn
or eight inches deep. With diss har'
row. corrugated roller. imperial pulvrr.
iser or packer. level and arm this
ground as soon after blowing as pos,
sible, at least not later than each half
day. and follow up with smoothing har.
row to establish the earth mulch to
check evaporation. This mulch must
not bc too fine. as III. winds OF tho
plain tend TO riff, the soil or blow the
earth mulch entirely away. II possible.
stir tho 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 n good narrowing OF this
summer cultured ground. preventing
the formation Of crust at tho sur.
face. Keep this ground clcan-frce
from weeds.
Ground that has been well culti.
vated for several years will produce
two crops in succession and can bc
given summer culture. In this way
It IL possible to grow two crops in
three years on well.,illed soil. "
farmer expects to cultivate eighty
acres. he should divide II into two crop
divisions-cropping forty acres the
first year and giving summer culture
to the other forty acres. This gives
him 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.irrigata1 lands
in Weld county last season. after seed.
ing his spring crop. at once prepared
his fall wheat seed bcd-l5o acres.
The writer visited his field early In