The Elbert County tribune., 1907-05-16
100000 COMING
SETTLERS POURING INTO EAST.
sRN COLORADO DAILY.
ARID LANDS BLOOM AS ROSE
me Land That Has Known Nausht
But the Tread of Grazing Cattle to
Be Stirred by the Plow.
By Alvin T. steinel.

PoNiihS INTO eastern Cole fado from the
canadian border on the north to the
Sait OF Mexico on the south. from
every state as far east as Indiana, de-
sef'lng the humid regions OF the Mis-.
sissippi valley. buying ranches or filing
on homestead land in the semi.arid
counties that are now being TILED and
maue fruitful under the dry soil cul-
ture system.
At Denver's back door there has
been an influx of population estimated
py the most conservative citizens at
So,OOO 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 undisputed sway.
"A generation ago there was lust
such movement. a 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, adventurers 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 tie the
price of land along the Union Pacific
from Denver to Cheyenne Wells-and
nobody wanted 1t at that. The Union
| Pacific owned every other section for
| twenty miles back on both sides of
| the track-an enormous grant given
by the government as subsidy. But
even the shrewd men at the lead of
the great railroad system did not real
ize the value of the land. 1t 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 ut that
1t was due to the railroad officials
| themselves that Fasteners began to
| get Interested in eastern Colorado
lands. The railroad men said II was a
good buy" But they really didn't be-
lieve it was. The tale was 80 oft re-
peated that tie railroad company's
land agents began themselves to be-
lieve. This self-hypnotism having been
accomplished, it was comparatively
easy to convince the land-hungry farm
| ers of Missouri Iowa, Minnesota and
| farther east, that their opportunity laid
in Colorado. Homeseekers' excursion
rates furnished the opportunity for
visit and they came-from Pike county
and Podunk, Oshkosh and Kalamazoo.
And they bought-first at SO ana So an
acre and, as the demand grew, from Sc
TO $40 and s12. Buying stimulated
homesteading and now the tide Is at
food, 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 a vast empire.
heretofore devoted almost wholly to
grazing with a 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 har-
row, corrugated roller, imperial pulver-
izer or packer, level and firm this
ground as soon after plowing as pos
sibIc. 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 be 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
the formation OF crust at the sur
face. Keep this ground clean-free
from weeds.
Ground that has been well cult
vated for several years will produce
two crops in succession and can be
given summer culture. In this way
it is possible to grow two crops in
three years on well-tilled soil. II
farmer expects to cultivate eighty
acres. he should divide it 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-irrigated lands
in Weld county last season. after seed
ing his spring crop, at once prepared
his fall wheat seed bed-150 acres.
The writer visited his field early in
July. and found his seed bed in fine.
mellow, moist condition for seeding.
Just few miles from this careful
farmers ranch was a 500-acre field