The daily sentinel., 1909-01-01

| valley TO the other, so rapid is the
| development and so great the de
mand for shipping facilities.
Grand Junction is a thriving and
] enterprising city of over 10000 in
habitants in the very center of this
! splendid agricultural and horticul-
| tural country. This city is the me-
| tropolis of western Colorado. 1t
leads in size and activity as well as
| opportunity and in all other lines.
Grand Junction is still young town,
and small one compared to what IT,
will be in a very few years
The opening of 10000 acres of
splendid fruit land under the pro-
posed government ditch will at least
double the population of Grand juno
tion.
The completion of the electric rail
way system connecting Grand juno
tion with Palisade on the east and
with Mac k on the west ought also to
double the population.
The natural increase in the country
as more land is brought into cultiva-
tion will add materially to the num-
Der of people locating in this thriv-
!. ing city.
1t is known that there is an abund-
ance of gas to be obtained within :
600 feet by boring almost anywhere
in or around Grand junction. This
Will bring manufacturing industries
and thereby will further increase the
population. In one old abandoned
well. drilled years ago with the hope
of getting a large flow of artesian
water, or an abundance OF oil, there
is flowing a small stream of splendid
irtesian water. 1t is believed that if
this we'll, or some other well is sunk
well being about /. .05O feet in depth.
that a Sood flow of artesian water
will be struck.
There are good indications that
the Grand valley has oil. but so far
II is undeveloped
The beet sugar factory located at
Grand Junction is the first one con
structed in the state, and is one of the
most successful that Colorado has
There is one difficulty and that is to
get the people to turn from raising
fruit and raise enough sugar beets to
give full seasons run for the fac
tory. Sugar beets pay from $50 to
S75 per acre, and sometimes more
The raising of fruit. potatoes, alfalfa
and other products bring even bet
ter results than the raising OF sugar
beets. although considered to be very
profitable.
The domestic water supply in the
country is by cistern. The farmers
construct good cisterns and every fall
and spring they are filled with canal
water through charcoal or gravel
filters. and they therefore secure
for themselves a splendid supply of
soft, palatable and healthful water.
On one point only must the farmer
be careful, and that is the cleaning
of the cisterns thoroughly twice a
year.
For irrigation purposes there is
not better system in any state than
that which supplies the Grand valley
with water The farmers own the 4
canal and operate it under cor
porate company. each farmer having
shares of stock to represent his in
terest in the canal Think of it, 1t
costs only about 50 cents per acre
per annum to supply water to the
farmers of the Grand valley through
the Grand Valley Irrigation Ditch
There are places. especially under
pumping plants, where ii costs from
80 to $40 per acre per annum. Think
of the advantage of owning first-class
water rights under the splendid
gravity ditch where the expense is
almost nothing: and then think of
having an abundance of water at all
periods of the year and for all pur-
poses, and you will begin to apprec-
late one of the many advantages en-
joyed by those who till the soil i'm
the Valley of the Grand
The soil varies from adobe to a
light sandy loan. All grades be
tween these two are TO be found in
other sections of the valley. The
heavy soil needs more care in culti-
waiting and the light soil requires
more nOurishmeut and feed
AT present the transportation facil-
tiles of the valley of the Grand are
steam railroads, teams and auto-
mobiles: but there is now being con-
structed an electric line that will |
connect all the towns and will give
splendid advantages to the farmers.
In due time it will go through all
sections of the valley and will con-
vey the fruit from the orchards and
prod ucts from the farms cheaper than
the farmer can haul their own pro-
ducts by team. When this system
shall have been completed and the
large acreage now under water and
also that covered by the proposed
government canal is all brought into
cultivation, the Grand valley will no
longer be in the ordinary sense a
farming community. but will in re-
ality be one great solid city from end
to end and from side to side.
1t has been estimated that no
fewer than 100000 people will be
living happily in the Grand valley
within the next twenty years. the ma
| iority of them making splendid
living on small tracts varying from
| two to ten acres each.
Indeed, in a few years ten acres
will be large farm in the Grand
valley. for already many are making
their living on fiye-acre tracts and