THE I E RIGA T ION AGE. 



249 





class security. When such farm mortgages are placed 

 with a trustee, and bonds issued against them to not 

 more than two-thirds of their value, the security is con- 

 siderably increased. And when such bonds are further 

 secured by a mortgage on the vast properties of an 

 Irrigation Company, it will be seen that the protection 

 is fully as ample as the most careful investor desires. 



Such is the security lying back of our Irrigation 

 Bonds. It will vary slightly with different projects, 

 but not in a way to greatly affect the security. 



The next point to consider is the value and earn- 

 ing power of the land on which the security is based. 



THE VALUE OF IRRIGATED LAND. 



A mortgage on arid land, to the average investor, 

 appears very different from a mortgage on farm land 

 located in a humid locality. And here is the main need 

 for an education. 



Previous to irrigation, it is true that this arid land 

 has grown nothing but sage brush and cacti. Its bar- 

 renness is quite uninviting. The value of the land is 

 due -cili'ly to its grazing possibilities, or to the proba- 

 bility of future irrigation. 



But this same arid land, when the water is ap- 

 plied, becomes the most productive farm land in Amer- 

 ica. 



Colorado, which has the largest irrigated area of 

 any state, will serve as an illustration of the productive 

 power of irrigated lands. It should be remembered 

 that all the arable land in Colorado, save that used for 

 "dry farming," is irrigated land. And the farm prod- 

 ucts of Colorado last year were valued at $143,688,577. 



Rocky Ford cantaloupes, grown on irrigated land 

 south of Denver, are famous almost the world over. 

 Tl -i'v sell for $2.50 per crate, while other melons on 

 the same market, grown from the same seed, sell for 30 

 cents per crate. 



Peaches from the Grand Junction District bring 

 from four to six times as much as Middle West peaches. 



Fruit lands in the Denver-Greeley District often 

 yield more than $1,000 per acre. 



Colorado potatoes are the highest standard every- 

 where. They are dry and mealy, thin-skinned, free 

 from hollow centers, and they are also enormous yield- 

 ers. 



Colorado stands first in the production of beet 

 sugar. There are nine sugar factories north of Den- 

 ver and about an equal number south. Last year, Col- 

 orado farmers received for their sugar beets over $10,- 

 000,000. 



Colorado has the greatest canning -works in the 

 United States. 



Colorado pea-fed pork commands in every market 

 a higher price than any corn-fed pork. 



According to statistics of the Colorado State Ag- 

 ricultural College, the Denver Greeley District the 

 argest body of irrigated land in the country produces 

 liighest value per acre of any land in the world devoted 

 to general farming. 



In California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Wyo- 

 ling and Montana, the irrigated lands is among the 

 nost valuable and most productive farm land in Amer- 



REASONS FOR FERTILITY. 



The marvelous fertility of this arid land is largely 

 Jue to its richness in mineral salts. Potash, sulphur, 

 lime and phosphorous are found in the soil in abun- 



dance. It is estimated that good land in the irrigated 

 districts is ten times as rich in nourishing salts as good 

 land in Illinois. 



In humid districts, the rains of ages have washed 

 out a large part of these mineral salts. And millions 

 of crops of vegetation have served to disintegrate the 

 soil. This arid land, on the contrary, is in a virgin 

 state of fertility. 



Another reason for large crops and fine flavor is 

 the perpetual sunshine. Arid districts have very few 

 cloudy days. The sunshine and the dry air increases 

 the evaporation from the plant foliage. This increases 

 the circulation of sap, hastens its chemical changes, 

 and increases the nutriment fed to the plant. 



But the main reason, perhaps, for abundant and 

 unfailing crops, and crops of the highest grade, is con- 

 trol of the water supply. Every farmer is his own 

 weather-man, and is able to give to each crop just the 

 water it needs at the time when it is needed. He gives 

 little or much water, withholds or applies it, according 

 to the crop or conditions. 



In rainfall districts this is impossible. The farmer 

 must take the moisture sent him, and when it is sent. 

 Some crops require little moisture, some require much; 

 yet all of his crops are watered alike. Sometimes he 

 has a drought : sometimes a long rainy season. 



Thus every crop is full of uncertainties. The, 

 farmer, to be safe, must plant a variety of crops. He 

 must provide for both a dry and wet season, else take 

 very long chances. And the crop failures, due to un- 

 regulated rainfall, greatly reduce his average produc- 

 tion. 



CERTAINTY OF CROPS. 



On irrigated land, the farmer may raise such 

 products as he wishes, and know that the crops are 

 certain. He has control of his water supply. He can 

 apply it or stop it, give little or much, as the crop or 

 conditions require. This certainty of crops, and of 

 maximum yield is one of the greatest factors of value 

 in irrigated land. 



Another factor is the depth of the soil. Another the 

 freedom from insect pests. Another the ease with which 

 the land can be cultivated. Another is the higher value 

 of the crops which the land is fitted to raise. 



An acre of irrigated land planted in sugar beets 

 will net the farmer four times as much as an acre of 

 Illinois planted in corn. 



Land planted in potatoes will bring all the way 

 from $100 to $300 per acre. Strawberries often yield 

 from $400 to $700 per acre. Orchard lands often return 

 $1,000 per acre and more. 



One tract of 100,000 acres in Colorado on which 

 we are selling bonds at this writing, is located close to 

 Denver. It extends from five to twenty-five miles from 

 this growing city of 208,000 population. This fact 

 makes the land particularly valuable for suburban homes 

 and for truck farming. 



For all of these reasons, the value of irrigated land, 

 well located, is exceedingly high. Very often one year's 

 crop is sufficient to pay for the land and water. And the 

 value of this land is advancing at a tremendous pace. 



It is safe to say that good irrigated land is worth 

 from three to five times as much as the best rainfall 

 land, measured by production. 



Therefore, the liens on farm lands which are back of 

 irrigation bonds are, as a class, more valuable than any 



