The daily sentinel., 1909-01-09

Owing to the fact that it is OF
great local interest The Sentinel
herewith reproduces the article writ
ten by Mr.. Sands under the heading.
Grand Valley Project. United States
Reclamation Service" 1t follows:
The western slope OF Colorado is
becoming well known for it's power.
mineral and agricultural resources.
On this western slope are the largest
streams in the state. running over
numerous falls and rapids. The great
coal fields and the gold. silver and
copper deposits are scarcely
scratched. The western slope sugar
beets contain the largest percentage
of saccharine matter that has yet
been recorded. and the orchards OF
Palisade. Grand Junction, Fruita. Lo-
ma. Hotchkiss. Paonia, Delta and
Montrose not only comprise the high.
est priced agricultural lands in the
United States, but the fruit produced
is in a class by itself. and in every
auction market from San Francisco
to New York it sells for the highest
price.
NOT ONLY is THE QUALITY
OF THE AGRICULTURAL PROD
UCTS SUPERIOR. BUT THE YIELD
PER ACRE is WITHOUT PRECE-
DENT, so THAT THE RETURNS
TO THE GROWERS ARE SUCH
THAT A gig TO 5-ACRE FRUIT
RANCH OFTEN MAX ES THE OWN
Err PROSPEROUS.
THE FLOW OF THE GRAND
RIVER is LARGER THAN THAT OF
ANY OTHER RIVER IN THE STATE
OF COLORADO. IT'S WATERSHED
ABOVE GRAND JUNCTION COVERS
22,290 SQUARE MILES. If IT'S
w ATVsRS WERE STnRJyD Cn TIL At
THE ENTIRE FLOW WE'RE AVAIL
ABLE. 1T COULD BE MADE TO IR-
RIGATE OVER 100000 ACRES OF
LAND.
"Of the irrigated lands along the
Grand river it has truly been said
that there are none in the United
States that are more productive; but.
with the exception of small tracts
along the edge of the river, consd-
cradle difficulty is met when an at
tempt is made to divert the water
from the river and apply it to the
land. This difficulty is due to the
fact that, for the greater part of its
| course, the river is in deep canons or
comparatively narrow valleys, walled
in by high cliffs or bluffs This con-
dition is changed when the river
reaches Palisade, which is about 40
miles east of the Colorado-Utah
boundary line. AT this point the riv-
er leaves the canon and enters a
/ broad fertile valley which extends to
the state line and contains over 200,-
| 600 acres of land. This valley is
traversed by the Denver & Rio
| Grande railroad and contains the
towns and cities of Palisade, Clifton,
Grand Junction, Fruita, Iona and
Mack.
However. one serious obstacle has
always stood in the way of the devel-
| opment of the larger part of these
lands. The elevation of so per cent
of the lands of the valley is higher
than that of the Grand river at the
/ point where the river leaves the can
on. At the present time 10000 acres
/ of this valley are irrigated from a
canal having its headgate near Pali-
sade, and approximately 10,O00 acres
are irrigated by water pumped from
the river. An additional 5000 acres
Will be irrigated by the Orchard Mesa
and Redlands pumping plants. TIC
water the remainder of the valley re-
course must be had to one of tive
methods, viz: Large pumping plants
must be established. or canal must
be taken out several miles up in the
canon and then carried along the
canon wall to raise the water to a