Gilpin observer., 1920-01-22
COLORADO NEWS NOTES.

now revising the schedule to be used
by county assessors in gathering agri-
cultural statistics for 1920 and will
have them ready for distribution to
the assessors early in March. Every
effort will be made to make the work
of the assessors easy and simple, no
information being asked for which
farmers cannot give readily without
reference to their books or accounts.
The schedule will also call for con-
siderable amount of information
which was not collected last year,
principally regarding crops grown
only in restricted localities and the
number Of fruit trees of bearing age.
An effort will be made to distribute
samples of the schedules sometime in
February, so that farmers may be in
formed regarding what information
will be sought and will be prepared
to give assessors and their deputies
the information without delay
Reports of county assessors for
1919, as tabulated by the State Immi-
grafton Department, show that 26,,
620,O94 acres, or 40.13 per cent of the
agricultural land. This includes a
very large area that has never been
broken and much that will never be
broken, being valuable only for graz
ing purposes. 1t includes more than
100000 acres classed as dry farm
ing" land, most of which ultimately
will be cultivated. Reports of coun-
ty assessors made to the Immigration
Department In 1919 showed that there
was approximately 5,5OO,OOO acres in
cultivation last year, the largest ever
cultivated in one year.
The Avondale prison farm is no
more. Ten substantial farmers Of Pu-
eblo county bought $40 acres of the
land and the Improvements and the
water rights for $14S,21S.5O at the
sale when members of the State Land
Board auctioned off the land in small
tracts, none less than forty acres and
none more than eighty acres. None
of the sgners of the petition previous
ly circulated asking that the state
Land Board refuse to renew the lease
to the penitentiary for the prison
farm, was bidder at the sale.
The Rendle, Dow & Co. mercantile
store was completely destroyed by fire
at CRANKY. The loss, according to Of
ficials of the company, is estimated
between $4,000 and $4,000, part OF
which is covered by insurance. Glen
Dow, the manager, lives in the real
of the store, and when he was
aroused at o'clock in the morning the
flames, which are believed to have
started from the furnace in the base
ment, had made such headway that
nothing could be saved.
Claiming that Palmer Lake has
failed to clear snow from certain
parts of the Denver Colorado Springs
| highway and that autoists stalled
there have been compelled to pay ex
orbitant prices in order to get pulled
out of the snow banks, the Colorado
| Springs Auto Trades Association has
submitted to the Chamber of Com
merce resolution asking that Pal
mer Lake be cut off the intercity road
| il the situation is not remedied.
The rare operation of TRANSMISSION OF
blood was performed upon Thomas
| Weiss at local hospital in Alamosa
His brother, Peter Weiss, mining
man of Creede, furnished the blood
| and several ounces were transferred
| to the veins of the patient. Weiss
suffered a breakdown from Overwork
| and his blood supply was so depleted
| that physicians say it was only AZ per
cent of normal The operation was
| entirely successful.
The first continuous Oil shale re-
| tort of commercial size ever operated
| in Colorado was started last week on
| the property of the Continental Oil
Shale Mining and Refining Company
on Piceance creek, about two miles
| from Rio Blanco. The trial run was
made and the results were quite up to
the expectations of the management
and the designing engineers who
carried 1t through.
At least 1900 persons attended the
opening of the First National bank at
| Windsor. The entire interior of the
building was decorated with flowers
and officials Of the bank gave out car.
was furnished throughout the after.
noon and evening by n local orchestra
Refreshments were served during the
day to over 1000 people.
| Wireless telephones will be used by
the federal forest service to aid In
fighting fires In the woodlands this
summer. The experiment was first
tried mt the time of the big fires in
Montana last year and was so sue
cessful that it will be put to the test
In Colorado forests.
1t is reported that a new town, Pc
orla, to be located six miles west OF
| Deer Trail, will soon be started by