The Canon City record with which is consolidated the Canon City cannon., 1916-07-13
SPRINKLED
ROADS ON
WEST SLOPE

Mr.. d. f. Gibson has recently re-
turned from a visit to the Western
Slope. His comments on the sprinkled
road over in the Grand Junction sec
tion are interesting. In talking about
the trip he said:
have just returned from a
trip to the western slope. That part
of the state, like this, has been
without rain for about ten weeks. For
the information of the fruit men here
| will give it as my opinion that the
Grand valley district, from Fruita to
Pal sade, will have from 80 to rs per
cent of an average crop and the grow
ers both peach and apple, are expect
ing better than normal prices. Mont
rose and Delta districts will have,
perhaps, 25 percent, but their re-
sources are varied. The North Fork
Valley. Paonia and Hotchkjss, will
probably have 30 per cent crop
of peaches and apples, and possibly
more.
In all these districts the growers
expect this year to get good prices.
For two years or more during the
dry season l have purposely avo .ded
going to the towns on the Western
Slope in which we have lumber yards,
because of the bad conditions of the
roads in the summer months. A few
years ago the road between Grand
Junction and Palisade was something
to be dreaded. and going over it was
put off as long as possible and at
no time of the year were the roads
what might be called good.
There is nc sand available over
there for surfacing and the road sur
face is adobe and l was firm in the
belief that no remedy was possible
for making a good road from adobe
soil. This trip, l drove from Palisade
to Fruita, a d stance of 80 miles, af-
ter ten weeks without rain over as
perfect a dirt road as it is possible
to have. There was no dust, no ruts.
no chuck holes and an even surface.
1t was something to marvel at. That
same road used to be the worst kind
of a road. In dry times it was an end
less succession of chuck holes that
would bounce a car or vehicle all over
the road and up in the air. There
were q series of ruts no more than
foot apart in many places and every
thing covered with dust in travelling
a mile.
Now this Is all changed and I guess
will always be. 1t was simple enough
when some man with intelligence.
thought how to make it right.
On this 30 miles of road there are
six men with teams and wagons and
sprinkling carts. These men are
hired to do what work they can do.
each on FIVE miles of road and the
pay is 800 per month for man, team
and wagon, and small gasoline pump
on the rear of the cart. The county
furnishes 600 gallon steel tanks for
the wagons.
This is all irrigated country and
each quarter of a mile the wagon is
backed up or driven along side of an
irrigation ditch. 1t is filled in six
minutes with this gasoline pump
and spread a quarter of mile in dis
tance in six minutes. This makes
30 filings of the tank in a day in
$50 minutes. or 8 hours time to sprin-
kle five miles OF road twice each
day. This keeps the road, with some
tion without rain for any length of
time. 1t is no longer an experiment.
1t is a certainty. / talked with differ
ent men in authority and asked IL
there was any grumbling because of
the cost. In each case the reply was
mot a grumble." or words to that ef-
feet. 1t seemed to be the concensus
opinion that people no longer grum-
BILE about money honestly and intel
ligently spent for roads. Net only
that the road commissioners and the
public over there no longer look on
1t as an extravaganza, it brings
good returns.
In the first place. the farmer is, on
a scale of averages, as frequently an
owner of automobiles as the city man,
so that he cannot say II he would.
that this is being spent for the city
man to run his car over. But with
that out of the consideration. the far
mer feels that it actually pays to have
a good road to travel over. He hauls
bigger loads with ease to his team.
His fruit. If he is hauling that, gets
to market clean and attractive and
looks better and sells for more and
he and his family have the pleasure