COLORADO. 



123 



1892, to raise a fund sufficient to discharge the 

 half-yearly interest accrued and accruing on the 

 Capitol-building bonds. 



Land Ollicrs. The Government report for 

 1S!H givo tin- following totals for the State: 

 Karning* of registers and receivers, $63.414.63 ; 

 amount paid registers and receivers, 54,201.74 ; 

 net re\eiiue to the United States, $9,152.89; to- 

 tal (io\cminent fees, $24,735 ; total revenue to 

 I'nited States, $33,887.89. 



Mineral Product. The following figures 

 -how tin- principal items of the mineral output 

 for ism. the total value of which was $33,548,- 

 !t:!4 : Copper (pounds) 5,537,001, value $733,653; 

 lead (pounds) l^(i,^57.:}45, value $5.473.225 ; sil- 

 ver (ounces) l j::.l<fj.:;55, value $22,767,370; gold 

 (ounces) 217,652, value $4,498,866. 



The smelters of the State for 1891 produced 

 the unequaled product of $44,919,193, divided 

 among the smelters as follows: Denver plants, 

 s-JI.ls5.ia5: Pueblo plants, $11,241,289: Lead- 

 ville plant s, $6,778.013 ; Durango smelter, $1,114,- 

 ?.")ii; Denver mint deposits, $1,300,000; total, 

 $44,919.193. 



The figures show that, out of the total mineral 

 production of $33,548,934, the home smelters 

 have treated all but $377,991, and have also smelt- 

 ed ores shipped in from outside States and Terri- 

 tories amounting to $11,748,250. 



Manufactures. The figures given out by the 

 State Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 1891 

 there were 640 industrial and manufacturing 

 plants of all kinds in Colorado, including 85 

 brickyards where a superior quality of brick is 

 made. The railroad shops of the State are not 

 included in these statistics. The classification 

 of industries consists of smelters, mills, facto- 

 ries, bottling works, foundries, steel works, brick 

 manufacturing. Bakeries, merchant tailoring, 

 etc., are not included in this category. The total 

 amount of capital invested in the industries of 

 the State is $23,347,806. There are 19,624 per- 

 sons who earn their livelihood in the various in- 

 dustries, of whom 19,023 are males and 601 fe- 

 males. The total amount of wages paid was 

 $12,951,763.55. The average earnings of male 

 employees were from $9 to $20, exclusive of fore- 

 men. Only 53 of the women employed receive 

 over $15 a week for their services, and this is 

 due to a knowledge of office work, such as book- 

 keeping, stenography, etc. The majority of the 

 women and girls employed receive less than $11 

 a week. The average earnings of a factory girl 

 are from $4.50 to $6 a week, while some do not 

 earn more than $3 a week in some of the smaller 

 factories, 



The total value, annually, of the manufac- 

 tured product of Colorado's industries is $70,- 

 087.854.50. 



In the milling industries throughout the State 

 there are 103 saw mills, 42 flouring mills, and 24 

 planing mills. There are 10 smelters in opera- 

 tion in Colorado. 



The sandstone quarries of the State consist of 

 78 good producing properties, and $2,010,540 in 

 capital is invested therein. The number of men 

 employed in the sandstone industry in this State 

 i> 1..VJ.1. Colorado ranks third in production of 

 sandstone, compared to other States. The out- 

 putJor IS'.tl will exceed r,.!)50,000 cubic feet, and 

 yield $1,326,095 from all returns for ten months 



of the current year. These figures are not in- 

 cluded in the totals of manufacturing and indus- 

 trial plants. 



The oil refineries of Fremont County have an 

 annual production of 300,000 barrels of crude oil, 

 140,000 barrels of refined oil. and 160,000 barrels 

 of greases. The highest yield of a single well in 

 one day is 201 barrels. Of the total production, 

 80,000 barrels of oil and 58,000 barrels of grca>e> 

 are shipped to other markets. The balance is 

 consumed by local trade. 



The steel works at Bessemer have a capacity 

 for an annual production of 25,000 tons of [tig 

 iron, 16,000 tons of steel rails, 1,300 tons of iron 

 castings, 1,200 tons of cast-iron pipe, 4,700 tons 

 of merchant bar, 2,500 tons of spikes, and 45,000 

 (100-pound) kegs of nails. 



The annual production of brick in the State 

 averages 188,500.000. 



The cigar factories of the State have received 

 encouragement by the passage of the Union label 

 bill, and there is now a larger demand for Colo- 

 rado-made cigars than heretofore. The annual 

 production of the cigar factories of the State 

 was 15,264,000 cigars in 1890. The figures of 

 1891 will show an increase of at least 1,980.000 

 cigars over those of 1890. In 1890 the general 

 consumption in the State was 76,323,000 cigars, 

 including local and foreign manufactured goods. 



Agriculture. It is estimated that from 11.- 

 000 to 15,000 men are employed in agricultural 

 pursuits. The number of men, or "cowboys," 

 employed on the stock ranches is about 114 in 

 the eastern and 992 in the western part of the 

 State. Their average wages are $20 a month, 

 with board. The value of farming lands ranges 

 from $5 to $50 an acre. 



According to the statistics of the department 

 of agriculture, Colorado ranks first in the yield 

 of wheat per acre, which is 19'5 bushels, and sixth 

 in value, which is $16.22 an acre. In rye it stands 

 first both in the yield, which is 17'1 bushels, and 

 in the value, which is $12.78. It is in the first of 

 the five classes into which the States are divided 

 in the yield and value of oats and barley, and in 

 the second class in corn, potatoes, and hay, 

 though in the value of hay it is in the first class 

 with $15.76 an acre. 



The value of the farm product in 1891 was 

 $53,900,000. 



Following is an extract from a report by the 

 director of the Government experiment station 

 at the Agricultural College : 



At the date of the last report there were 4.811 

 ditches actually constructed, aggregating the wonaer- 

 ful total length of 11,052-9 miles. The area found 

 actually irrigated in 1890 reached the enormous sum 

 of 1,544,585 acres; while the area in acres under ditch 

 and capable of being irrigated amounted to 4,082,788. 

 By actual count we find the number of ditches for 

 which decrees have been issued and statement* tiled 

 to Dec. 1, 1891, to be 524. If we approximate the 

 average length of these new ditches and the average 

 area they subject to irrigation to be the same as that 

 of those given in the fifth biennial report, their ag- 

 gregate length will be 1.343-54 miles, placing under 

 irrigation 496,128 acres. This gives the State of Colo- 

 rado the grand total of l'_'..">'."i'44 miles of irrigating 

 canals, finished and being constructed, and a lotal 

 area capable of being irrigated, w hen complcti -d. f 

 4.."i7N s '''''> acres. There wen- -J.588,153 acres more sub- 

 ject to irrigation in 1 s '.") than were irrigated. 



Agricultural lands are more appreciated than for- 



