264 WHAT I KNOW OF FARMING. 



At first, members of the Colony arriving at its lo- 

 cation, hesitated to take farm allotments and bnild 

 upon them, from distrust of the capacities of the soil. 

 They saw nothing of value growing upon it ; the lit- 

 tle grass found upon it was short, thin, and brown. It 

 was not black, like the prairies and bottoms of Illinois 

 and Kansas, but of a light yellow snuff-color, and 

 deemed sterile by many. But a few took hold, and 

 planted and sowed resolutely ; and, though it was too 

 late in the season for most grains, the results were 

 most satisfactory. Wheat sown in June produced 30 

 bushels to the acre ; Oats did as well ; while Pota- 

 toes, Beets, Turnips, Squashes, Cabbages, etc., yielded 

 bounteously ; Tomatoes did likewise, but the plants 

 were obtained from Denver. Little was done with 

 Indian Corn, but that little turned out well, though I 

 judge that the Summer nights are too cold here to 

 justify sanguine expectations of a Corn - crop the 

 altitude being 5,000 feet above the sea, with snow- 

 covered mountains always visible in the west. For 

 other Grains, and for all Vegetables and Grasses, I 

 believe there is no better soil in the world. 



To many, the cost of Irrigation would seem so 

 much added to the expense of cultivating without 

 irrigation ; but this is a mistake. Here is land en- 

 tirely free from stump, or stick, or stone, which may 

 easily and surely be plowed or seeded in March or 

 April, and which will produce great crops of nearly 

 every grain, grass or vegetable, with a very moderate 

 outlay of labor to subdue and till it. The farmer 



