A LITTLE STUDY OF THE DIVERSIFIED FARM. 



BY C. E. MITCHELL, OF GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. 



D EFERRING to your desire expressed in the May 

 1\ number of THE AGE for suggestions as to the 

 best crops for farmers to raise on irrigated farms in 

 this portion of the arid region, I desire to make the 

 following remarks, based, not on any practical ex- 

 perience as an actual tiller of the soil, but on fourteen 

 years residence and observation in western Colorado, 

 during which time I have seen the valleys of the 

 Grand River, and its tributaries in Colorado, in the 

 various stages of development, from the time when 

 the Indians formally abandoned it under the terms of 

 a governmental treaty up to the present time, when 

 all the valleys without exception are fairly settled and 

 are acknowledged the best agricultural and fruit 

 raising section of the great Centennial State. 



As a matter of fact the Indians never did have any 

 use for this valley country at any time, regarding it 

 only as a desert stretch over which they* were forced 

 to travel at times in journeying to and fro between 

 the high mesas which suited them much better, 

 affording, as they still do, excellent hunting and fish- 

 ing, as well as good pasturage for stock. 



What applies to irrigation, as it has come under my 

 observation in western Colorado, will, I believe, apply 

 with equal force to the whole of the arid section in 

 which you included Colorado. 



During the time I have given this matter attention 

 I have seen hundreds of examples of the folly of the 

 average farmer attempting the cultivation in an irri- 

 gating country of a large body of land. In nearly 

 every case the only result is a complete failure. The 

 exception only proves the rule. And, as I presume 

 these things are well known to you, I will assume in 

 my suggestions that we are speaking to the farmer 

 who attempts the cultivation only of five to twenty 

 acres. 



I suggest that every farmer starting in a new 

 country on virgin soil should, first of all, believe 

 thoroughly in that great American idea INDEPEN- 

 DENCE! Following this thought along to its true 

 meaning, he will determine when first settling in his 

 new home to raise everything he possibly can which 

 may be necessary for the support of his family and 

 what work and live stock he may have. 



I have observed that the family which sat down to 

 their Thanksgiving dinner after being in their new 

 home a little over a year, and thanked God that, by 

 hard work on their own part, supplementing the sun- 

 shine and water provided by abeneficient providence, 

 every article of food on the table for that meal was 



produced from their own farm, was at the end of five 

 years much better off than some of their neighbors, 

 who perhaps worked as hard but devoted all their 

 energies to " raising something to sell." 



THE GARDEN PATCH. 



Observation and inquiry convince me that the 

 beginner should first of all lay off his garden patch 

 where he will raise potatoes and such other vegetables 

 as are needed for home use. This ground should be 

 carefully leveled and fenced. Right here let me say 

 that the leveling of ground is a most important item 

 in irrigating countries. No one thing will, in the long 

 run, pay the farmer better in the saving of time and 

 labor than work spent in the very start in leveling 

 land and laying out his ditches so that he can water 

 his land to the best advantage. 



After deciding on the vegetable garden his next 

 thought should be to provide for his horses and cows. 

 The number of these should depend on the amount 

 of work to be done and the size of the family. Some 

 can get along very well with one horse by trading 

 work with their neighbors, but there should most cer- 

 tainly be enough cows to supply the family with plenty 

 of milk and cream and all their butter. If there is an 

 occasional extra pound or two to spare so much the 

 better. It can always be sold at the grocery store or 

 exchanged with some less fortunate or less thrifty 

 neighbor. 



After the horses and cows have been provided for 

 attention should be given to the matter of poultry. 

 Enough hens should be kept to furnish all the eggs 

 and chickens which the family will use, and, like the 

 butter, any surplus will always find a ready market. 



The absolute essentials of life having been pro- 

 vided for, it remains to be decided what shall be 

 done with the balance of the ground. A small patch 

 may be very profitably given to a strawberry crop. 

 This fruit most generally finds a ready sale when 

 ripe, or it may be easily worked up into canned goods 

 or preserves and sold later in the season. 



THE ORCHARD. 



Next comes the problem how much to put into 

 orchard. Generally speaking, it seems to me best if 

 about half of the remaining land is put in trees and 

 vines, leaving the other half for diversified crops, 

 which may be rotated as necessary or desirable with 

 the portion already set aside for garden and past- 

 urage. 



What kind of trees are most desirable is a ques- 

 tion each person must settle for himself. But in a 



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