The La Jara chronicle., 1907-09-13
WHAT THE OUTSIDE WORLD IS COMING
TO BELIEVE OF OUR WONDERFUL VALLEY
Denver and Pueblo Newspaper Men Visit the Valley and
Are Overwhelmed by Our Great Natural Advant-
ages and Exceptional Prosperity.
tFrom The Pueblo chleftaln }

piled high upon barren submits
and storms rage daily through the
year.
The geological as well as the
geographical conditions of the San
Luis valley have a most important
bearing, not only upon present
conditions but even more upon
the problems whose solution is
precedent to the future develop
ment and prosperity of this region.
Although the eye sees no appar-
ent slope of the level plains, the
valley is in reality. shaped like a
platter or saucer sloping gently to-
ward its middle and with the steep
er slopes around the outer rim.
From Alamosa the railway lines
run in straight tangents, north to
Villa Grove "a miles, west to
Monte Vista, "a miles, east to
Garland "a miles and south with
a single slight curve to Antonito
80 miles. The irrigation bitches
also run in straight lines, mile
after mile, and the minimum of
labor is required in preparing the
surface for irrigating and cultivat-
ing the fields.
Beneath the soil the layers of
rock, deposited from the lake wat
ers, conform to the surface slopes
and the drainage waters descend
ing slowly from the upper levels
and confined between impervious
strata, find themselves under in
creasing pressure, In the central
parts of the valley artesian wells
have been developed to a large
extent and form an important
adjunct to the water supplies of
the valley.
THE MOST ADAPTABLE CROPS.
The>crop that seems best fitted
to the climatic conditions of the
San Luis valley is field peas. The
dry air, the continuous sunshine,
cool nights in summer and the
warm days in the fall, with favor
able water supply and soil condi-
tions combine to produce a crop
that is of high nutritive value, of
heavy product and one that is al
most self harvesting. To grow
field peas neither cultivation
nor reaping is required. The
peas are sown broadcast or in
drills. They grow through the
summer, covering the ground with
thick mass of STEMS. leaves, BIOS
SONS and pods, continuing to
bloom and to ripen the peas for
many weeks and finally when the
crop is cured upon the ground,
the sheep or hogs are turned into
the field and the peas are harvest
ed without labor or expense.
1t is yet an unsolved problem as
to whether there is more money in
sheep or in hogs in the San Luis
valley, but it is settled beyond
possibility of question that there
is good money in either, and care
full comparison shows that San
Luis valley farmers get results
that are from two to two and one
half times as great as those
reached by the most successful
hog and sheep feeders of Iowa,
Illinois and Wisconsin. 1t has
been shown by actual experience
that quarter section (160 acres)
of good field pea land will false,
fatten and turn off 300 fat hogs a
year and carry over the brood sows
leaving the owner a gross return
of about $1,000, with less than
81 900 expense.
Without going further into the
details of production and profits,
which may be readily obtained
from land and immigration agents,
it remains fact that farming in
the San Luis valley is no longer
CONTINUED on page 81