The Julesburg grit-advocate., 1919-02-20


Nebraska. The county has an area
Of 339,s4O acres. The South Platte
river flows across the county from a
point on the western boundary very
near the center from the north to
south, in northeasterly direction to
the northeast corner. and its broad,
rich valley has been developed as an
intensively farmed, irrigated district.
About $4,000 acres of this valley are
in the Julesburg Irrigation district,
and receive an abundance of water
supply from the famous Jumbo reser-
yoir. The non-irrigated tablelands
are principally on the south side of the
river. The average rainfall is about
twenty inches, and about threefourths
of which falls during the growing sea-
son.
The South Platte river and some
small tributaries afford the drainage
of this fertile section, and the princi-
pal source Of supply for irrigation.
There is strong underflow of water
in all parts Of the county. which is
reached at depths ranging from thirty
feet to 225 feet, according to the To-
cation from the river. This affords
an abundant supply of excellent soft
water for domestic uses, and is used
all through the country for live stock.
Wells are bored at moderate cost to
this ,nderflo'". and the voter is pump
ed by windmills principally.
The surface is varied but generally
level or gently rolling. The small
hills skirting the river slope off to
gently rolling plain, which covers an
area of most fertile land particularly
adapted to agriculture. The soil is
black loan from two to five feet in
depth. with clay and sand subsoil
mixed
The principal industries in Sedg-
wick county are general farming,
stock-raising and dairying. The irri-
gated section is one of the most pro-
ductive in the United States, and is
extensively cultivated to sugar beets,
potatoes, wheat, rye, oats. barley. corn
and other cereals, alfalfa hay and 9TH
er feed for stock, producing abundant
crops. The chief crop in the irrigat-
ed section is that of sugar beets.
there being over 5000 acres planted to
beets each year. the yield ranging
from ten to twenty-siX tons ner acre.
The price paid for the sugar beets to
the growers by the Great Western
Sugar Company for the 1918 crop was
$1,000 per ton and the Sugar C"mnanv
has secured contracts for the 1919
crop at the same price. The yield of
sugar beets per acre depends largely
upon the work of the grower in the
preparation of the soil and cultivation
of crops.
Prospects are very bright for the
establishment of sugar factory in
Seigwick county within the near fu-
ture as this section is fast becoming
one of the leading beet raising dis
tricts in the state, and each year there
is an increase in the acreage planted
to sugar beets. An organization OF
some of the leading business men of
the county have been actively engaged
at work on the proposition of secur-
ing a modern sugar factory to take
care of the large tonnage of sugar
beets grown in this district.
The potato crop is one of the best
of any county in the state. Fourteen
growers out of large number raised
46,OOO bushels of potatoes on total
of 225 acres of land. The growing
of potatoes has proven beyond doubt
to be good and paying crop. The
wheat grown and harvested in many
instances produced from forty to six
ty bushels per acre, and other small
grain averages in proportion. The al
falfa crop is an important one, not
only because good crops are harvested
but for the reason that it builds up
the soil quickly and places it in prime
condition for the raising of sugar
beets and other crops on the scientific
rotation plan.
The tablelands in Sedgwick county
comprise the non-irrigated section and
exceptionally good crops are raised
thereon. These lands are commonly
termed "Dry Lands" but with the
abundance of rainfall which visits
this section each year this term is
imbigious and the large area of the
table land section each year is pro
iucine large yields of all kinds of
grain: wheat, oats. corn, spelts. millet,
POTATOES. alfalfa and native hay. In
many instances. owing to good farm
ing and cultivation of the soil, the
average yield of wheat per acre has
reached So to 40 bushels; corn produc-
IS from 81 to As bushels per acre, and
other crops do equally as we'll The
potato crops on the table lands are
always. good. the quality being equally
AZ good as any grown in Colorado or
elsewhere. The yield ranges from 20
to 200 bushels per acre.
The land is easily titled. and the