2264 NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



irrigation project in the Uncompahgre Valley, furnishes 

 water for 65,000 acres of land. Other ditches and pro- 

 jected canals in the Grand Valley are still more ex- 

 tensive, so that all told, the irrigated area of these three 

 river basins approximates 300,000 acres. 



The leading fruit of the west slope, as of other dis- 

 tricts, is the apple. All varieties are grown, although the 

 Jonathan, Rome Beauty, Winesap, Gano or Black Ben 

 Davis, are coming to be the leading varieties. Pears are 

 grown extensively in this district, except where the 

 blight has destroyed the trees or made pear-growing 

 unprofitable. Both the sweet and sour cherries are 

 grown successfully. Of these, Montmorency and 

 English Morello are the leaders among the sour cherries 

 and Napoleon and Black Republican, of the sweet 

 cherries. Peach-growing is largely limited to the Pali- 

 sade and the so-called North Fork districts in the neigh- 

 borhood of Paonia. The Elberta is at present the lead- 

 ing variety. Plums, both the American and European 

 species, are grown extensively. 



The fruit districts of the southwestern part of the state 

 have not developed so rapidly as those of the western 

 slope, largely owing to a lack of railroad facilities. 

 Montezuma County has for several years been re- 

 nowned for its excellence of fruit, and large plantings are 

 being made there. The area adapted to fruit-growing 

 in this Southwest district, which is from 100,000 to 

 200,000 acres, is as yet largely undeveloped and will 

 require immense irrigation projects to bring it up to its 

 possibilities of production. The area of the West and 

 Southwest District approximates 65,000 acres planted 

 to fruit. 



Owing to the remarkable diversity in altitude, pre- 

 cipitation, soils, temperatures and exposures incident 

 to its mountainous surface, Colorado has developed 

 many peculiarities in horticultural crops. One of the 

 most marked of these is the strawberry-growing in- 

 dustry of the Steam Boat Springs district of the north- 

 western part of the state. The climate is normally cool 

 and the winter snowfall is heavy, lying on the ground 

 from early fall till late spring. This gives perfect winter- 

 protection to the plants. Their growth during the short, 

 cool growing-season is remarkable. The fruit, which is 

 abundant, large and of good quality, begins to ripen 

 July 1 to 10 and continues well into August. At present 

 there are only a few hundred acres of strawberries in the 

 district, but the planting is rapidly increasing. 



In the Plateau Valley, a few miles above Grand Junc- 

 tion, under climatic conditions somewhat similar to 

 those of the Steam Boat Springs district, there has 

 developed a rather unique industry in the way of dew- 

 berry-growing. There in the deep, rich, cool soils the 

 dewberry attains a remarkable degree of excellence and 

 productivity. Distance from railroad and the perishable 

 nature of the fruit have prevented this crop from assum- 

 ing extensive proportions, although the work has been 

 profitable to a few individuals. 



The red raspberry has been a profitable crop in 

 various fruit districts of Colorado, particularly in the 

 vicinity of Loveland. The strong, fertile soils, con- 

 genial climate, and moisture supplied by irrigation, 

 combine to make a luxuriant growth of vines and heavy 

 yields of fine fruit. In order to avoid the drying and 

 killing effects of the arid winters, the practice is fol- 

 lowed of laying down the canes and covering them with 

 soil during the dormant season. 



The potato is in point of value, with the possible 

 exception of the apple, the most important of the horti- 

 cultural crops of Colorado. There are many peculiari- 

 ties in its adaptability to the conditions of soil and 

 climate and the distribution of its production over the 

 state. The climate and soil of the higher mountain 

 valleys are exceptionally congenial, possibly because 

 they are similar to its habitat in the high altitudes of 

 the Andes Mountains of South America. One species, 

 Solanum Jamesii, is native to the mountain plateaus of 



Archuletta and La Plata counties in southern Colorado. 

 Only a small part of the irrigated land of Colorado, 

 however, is adapted to the growing of potatoes and 

 but relatively small sections outside the high mountain 

 valleys can produce potatoes at all successfully. For 

 some reason, as yet not understood, the potato cannot 

 be depended upon to make tubers on a large part of 

 the best lands of the lower altitude districts. The more 

 important potato-growing areas, in point of total 

 production, are: the Greeley district, with a normal 

 acreage of 35,000 to 40,000 acres, in the plains 

 territory of northern Colorado; the Carbondale dis- 

 trict at the junction of the Roaring Fork and the 

 Crystal rivers in Garfield County; the Uncompahgre 

 and North Fork valleys in Montrose and Delta coun- 

 ties; and the San Luis Valley, a mountain valley above 

 7,000 feet in altitude, comprising more than 3,000,000 

 acres in the southern part of the state. Other small 

 valleys in the mountain areas are equally important 

 in respect to yields and quality of product. No district 

 in the United States gives greater average yields than 

 are obtained by some of the better growers in these 

 mountain valleys. From 300 to 400 bushels an acre on 

 large fields are not uncommon average yields, and this 

 without the use of any fertilizer. A large part of the 

 available potato lands of these high mountain valleys 

 are as yet undeveloped and the acreage planted to this 

 crop is rapidly increasing. 



The cantaloupes grown at Rocky Ford and other 

 points along the Arkansas Valley in Colorado have 

 brought that district to the attention of the whole 

 country. The natural adaptability of the soils and 

 climate is such that the cantaloupe has become the 

 leading "hoed" crop in general rotation with grain and 

 alfalfa, over a large area of land. Thousands of cars of 

 cantaloupes are shipped each year from the Rocky 

 Ford territory and the market extends over all parts of 

 the United States. The cantaloupe is also grown, for 

 distant markets, in the Grand Junction district on the 

 West Slope and, for local markets, in the Greeley dis- 

 trict. 



Cabbage-growing, on the East Slope, for distant 

 markets is an industry of increasing importance. The 

 northern Colorado irrigated district, with Greeley as a 

 center, is now producing heavy yields of cabbage that 

 are shipped to markets in the cotton- and grain-belt 

 states. Wakefield and Winnigstadt are grown for 

 early shipments, while Scott's Cross, Flat Dutch and 

 Ballhead are the most common late varieties. The high- 

 altitude mountain districts are also well adapted to the 

 growing of heavy yields of good-quality cabbage, but 

 the transportation facilities are such that no consider- 

 able industry in cabbage-growing has been developed. 



The onion is grown, not only for home use and local 

 markets, but its production as a crop for shipping into 

 distant markets has in several districts become of con- 

 siderable commercial importance. The districts where 

 onion-growing has become established as a permanent 

 industry are Greeley, Pueblo and Canon City on the 

 East Slope, with Olathe as a center in the Uncompahgre 

 Valley in the western part of the state. 



One of the vegetable crops to which the irrigated 

 lands of Colorado are admirably adapted is celery. 

 This vegetable is being grown for local consumption in 

 all parts of the state. The growing of celery for distant 

 markets is steadily on the increase, and is being found 

 generally profitable, in the region above Denver, Pueblo 

 and near other towns where stable manure can be 

 procured for fertilizing the land. 



Peas grow well in all the higher parts of the state. In 

 the San Luis Valley, the Canada field pea is grown 

 extensively as a field crop for feeding sheep and hogs. 

 The garden pea is grown for the canning industry in 

 the vicinity of Longmont, Loveland, Greeley and Ft. 

 Lupton, at which places canneries are located. Other 

 canning crops are also grown in these same districts, as 



