The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1907-09-13
Big Successes in Fruit Culture on
Sem;-Arid Lands by Means
OF Irrigation.
PROFITS FROM SMALL FARMS
Ease of Crop Management Under Arti-
fetal observation-disclosures of
Irrigation as Practiced
in Colorado.

VINO LABOR III OITlcoS ana SHOPS anu uo
not go out into the air and sunshine
of the farm. One thing that no doubt
discourages many who have chosen
the business Of farn1ng as their
means of livelihood is the uncertain
ty of the season. Bad weather and
short crops have sent many man
deeply in debt, it is true, but, after
all, the human race must live off the
farm. A fish diet would get monoto
nous.
But there is one method of farm
ing that is free from uncertainties.
The farmer makes his own season in
the irrigated regions. Great stride;
are being made in irrigation and it
would be hard to find an ilr eating
farmer who would be willing to re-
turn to the old method, with the I'M
certainties that are unavoidable. Cali
fornia and Colorado are the states in
which irrigation has made the great
est strides and it would be impOssi-
BILE to find men engaged in agriculture
and horticulture who are more pros
porous than are to be found in vari
Gus parts of these states.
The business of farming by irr1ga,
ton is exceedingly fascinating. One
may use his pencil to some purpose
here, without the likelihood Of having
a prolonged storm or a severe drought
cut down his income as shown by his
estimates. Success under irrigation is
a mathematical certainty. If man
plant an orchard Of certain variety
of apples, pears, plums, cherries, or
other fruit, suited to the region, he
can figure that on a certain year the
trees will come into bearing and will
Weld a certain value in fruit. The
next year they will bear certain in
creased amount and continue to in
crease Experience in each irrigated
! region has established about what
the yield will be, and, within certain
limitations, each years products may
be estimated There is no business
which shows a better prCpOrtiOnate
profit The certainty of results gives
greater heart to the business man
who operates farm for profit.
The growing of small fruits in the
suburb of a large town or a city
such as Denver makes large income
from a few acres. A ten acre farm
near Denver insures a liberal revenue
to any man who will manage it in a
business-like way. His strawberries
will give him $500 to $1,000 an acre.
Some growers get even larger re-
turn. Red raspberries, black caps and
blackberries, gooseberries and cur
rants are always to be depended upon
to give big returns. Help at picking
time is always easily secured. Straw
berry beds require renewal every
three years and this leaves a certain
proportion of the ground to be used
for garden crops, which also are big
payers Green peas were sold at 10
cents a pound in the pod at Denver
in June from Denver's suburban gar
dens. Strawberry growers received
So a crate or 1917 cents a box during
the same month for the second pick
| ings.
Those who have orchards are par
ticularly fortunate, as all tree fruits
have a good market. The Jonathan
apple is a favorite fancy apple in a.
markets and brings big prices The
Winesap is almost equally favorite.
Both are good growers and good keep
crs especially adapted to Colorado.
A five-acre orchard of either of these
varieties in bearing in an irrigated
region can be depended on to give any
family an income that will enable
them to live in luxury. The expense
of management is small in compan-
son with results. The fact that more
people are not taking advantage of the
opportunities under irrigation is prob
ably due to the imperfect knowledge
| or lack of knowledge regarding the
development of this method of farm
management 1t is a case of the early
bird getting the worm, but the early
bird is often of the restless type and
content to take a small profit and
leave the actual settlement and de-
velopment of the lands to others.
A Chicago bond house is doing for
Colorado what other states are hoping
that others may do for them, in sap,
plying the capital for great develop
ment in irrigation. The construction
Of STANDBY lake reservoir near Den
J yer is the fulfillment of the dream
| of several of Denver's substantial
business men who have long seen the
need of such storage capacity The
! system in its completeness will irri-
gate about 100000 acres, or about 312
| square miles. AS each two acres of
land under the ordinary practice with
irrigation will support one person, it
will be seen that this development will
provide support for 100000 people.
] Where do the people come from?
Everywhere There is a constant
shifting of population and people find
the new places almost as fast as they
are created. Many people come from
the older irrigated sections where
things are getting a bit crowded and
lands sell at $3.50 to $500 an acre. A
T. 90 =