The La Jara chronicle., 1911-05-12
DRAINAGE MEANS GREAT INCREASE IN PRODUCTION
What Drainage Wet and Aka Portions the
San Luis Valley-How the Remedy May
be Speedily Applied. y

1t will shorten the necessary
growing season on all small grain,
potatoes, beets, etc, from one
to three weeks.
1t will remove the mineral salts
from the surface where they now
prevent vegetation and wash them
back into the sub-soil where they
will assist rather than retard
vegetation.
1t will develop enough seepage
wat to irrigate thousands of
acres of land.
1t will make one farm practi-
cally as good as another.
1t will bring every acre up to
an equal standard, and that stand
ard is par excellence.
1t will not only raise the intrin-
sic value of all lands in the val
ley but will enhance the CONNER
cial value of what is now con-
sidered our best lands. Owing to
the similarity in appearance be-
tween our productive lands and
our nonproductive lands, the
price of our better lands can new
er command their full value, for
the reason the uninitiated are
unable to distinguish between
them, generally buying the poorer
because cheaper; hence many
have gone away condemning all
the lands of the valley, for the
sufficient reason that their ex
perience proved Improbable,
while trying to farm our cold,
waterIogged and alkaline lands.
Our good lands have to suffer
in commercial value on account of
the bad reputation of our poorer
lands.
Drainage will reclaim all, and
remove this fault, and not only
place our best lands on a high
er commercial value up some
where near a figure on which
they annually pay ten per cent
interest net, but will also raise
the price of the poorer lands
to the high commercial value
for the simple reason they will
be worth the money for the sim
pie reason that each acre can
easily be made to produce $4,000
per year or mOre-ten per cent
on a valuation of 5000 per acre.
No better lands, no greater ad-
vantages exist anywhere within
the state than right here in the
San Luis Valley, if we will only
get busy and avail ourselves of
the opportunity at hand and re-
claim the hundreds of thousands
of acres that are now lying idle
and unproductive for want of
drainage.
AS true as the facts above cited
is the further fact that these
lands when drained will need
more water to properly irrigate
them than is now necessary to
absolutely ruin them.
Additional water must be pro-
vided. This cannot be accom-
plished by direct flow from the
rivers. These waters have long
since been appropriated, The
only resource left is the Sc
curing of reservoir water, either
through the purchase of plants
already constructed or the build
ing of new ones. An objection to
the location of new reservoir sites
is the necessary delay in obtain
ing a right of way from the gov
ernment with all the dangers and
uncertainties attending. The
government might not approve
the sites and grant the right of
way. 1t is evidently the part
of wisdom to buy the reservoirs
already constructed and avoid
the tedious delay of building. AT
least if we should have to build
we should select a site already
approved by the government and
avoid the delay consequent in Sc
curing rights of way.
The La Jara reservoir, with q
capacity of about 10000 acre feet
is already completed and full OF
water ready for use. This can
be secured if taken at once. The
Terrace reservoir on the Alamoss