Gunnison news-champion., 1909-10-15
SPUOS ARE MOVING
Gaaasses Psssas Csse LArseA . M
tsr, as1 fssosss ts ksns Ia
eeAesf pvxs

the natural home 1t tile potato. aud
u Is probable that ue better sectIgn
for raisi4g them on large scale ex-
lsts IN Calurad9 thaa along the upper
Gunuisou from >apinero 30 Almoni
Especially on the benches and mesas
are they successful. aud as our grow
ers learn the tricks of the trade and
secure modern machinery the proht
grows bigger.
The much vauutei sugar beet IN
dustry which has made lower valley
land rise in price to $500 an acre, is
no more profitable than Gaanlsnn
ranch land planted in the rneals
spuds
In what is known a. the pper
Gunnisou" section, potato acreage
Is the largest aud the writer hap
penei to drive along that road We'd
nesday. He found everyone hastling
20 get the tubers out oi the ground
before the next hard freeze, for some
have already been slightly touched.
Having has been 80 late that help Is
almost impossible 10 secure, indeed
$500 a day was readily paid.
Zilbs and Tully Haymaker have
new Dowden digger, costing : ll2 on
and were finishing up the fourteen
acres on Tullys place, tie spuds
fairly rolling out along the endless
chain of the digger as four horses
swung down the row. One digger
can handle five acres day in good
ground, which would take five men
five davs Of heart breaking and back
breaking work. No use talking,
machinery and brains beats all the
muscle. Scientific farming Is the
Kind that makes money. A new
Thompson sorter is a recent pur-
chase here. Ii consists OF two IN
clined planes of heavy woven wire
carried along on sled arrangement
to which one horse is attached. By
logging the wire screens the potatoes
travel down into sacks, the smaller
ones automaticaiv feeding through
ON a lower screen and into a separate
sack while the DIRT drops to the
ground. One man ou tnr sorter can
sort. sack and handle the spuds as
fast as three pickers can bring them
with the wire baskets
On the home place Illba had about
iftv acres, aud expected close TO
twenty carloads, or POO tons This
is from four TO six tons to the acre.
lie has already shipped four carloads
mostly to Crested Butte, and has
thlrtv-six acres vet to dig.
On the Linton ranch, adjoining
Del Mckee has m SIX acres and sad
they were turning out well The
Delaware is the favorite potato here
50 far 4 smooth white spud, Of
heavy Weld and not subject to scab.
The famous White Pearl of the
Greeley district has not been tried in
Gunnison TO our knowledge. 1t is
probably too late for our season.
II. f. Trampe declares that his
first field will run six, seven and
some of it eight tons to the acre,
though he has other patches not so
good. His large potato cellar, hold
ing seventv-fve tons, will be COM
pletelv filed from the fifteen acres,
and he will hold them until the mar
llet suits. lie has only the Delaware
variety, and believes raising any
other is waste OF time. Mr..
Trampe has purchased Dowden dig
ger.
Theo. Davis has an ideal tract OF
land under the shoulder OF Flat Top
and will have fifty tons Of splendid
oualitv. He has raised them three
times on the same ground as well
an unusual occurrence without seal
appearing. and says the cultivation
Of the soil for digging, makes the
best possible preparation for grain
In the spring it is only necessary IL
level and harrow.
Your reporter did not 60 furthel
in the valley but heard that {. q
Miller had forty acres, while Waltel
Wilson. Mrs. Walker. ]. W. Smith
Bert Borden and others had large
tracts that were turning out well.
There never have been more thar
a few spare carloads OF potatoes t.
sell from our section, but this seasor
IT looks as though seventy-tive carr
could be loaded Well worth th'
attention Of buyers for eastern mar
kets. since Western Slope potatoes
bring from ten to twenty live cent
higher price than the Greeleys, ant
Gunnison spuds are of the yer,
highest quality. We ought to rals'
1000 cars, and will undoubtedly d.
so in few years.