$ 'i 





i 





\ 





C 









Apple Orchard in Uncompahgre Valley 



eleven and one-half feet, and will carry 

 a stream of 1,300 cubic feet of water 

 a second. The headings met with so 

 slight a variation that it took careful 

 measurements to determine it. The tun- 

 nel is being rapidly lined with cement. 

 It will connect at the west portal with 

 a large ditch twelve miles long, having 

 a carrying capacity greater than the 

 Krie. This canal winds through the 

 adobe hills, and is taken over a series 

 i >f drops to the level of the distribu- 

 tion system in the Uncompahgre Valley. 



To the average Easterner this story 

 may not even bring a thrill of pride, but 

 to the western man, or to the man who 

 is seeking a home, and who has read 

 of the marvels irrigation has wrought 

 in the arid regions, the building of the 

 Gunnison Tunnel means much. It 

 means, among other things, that 150,000 

 acres of desolation will be turned into 

 a garden spot, and that homes of com- 

 fort and plenty will be made for thou- 

 sands of American citizens. 



The old irrigation systems of the val- 

 ley have been taken over by the Gov- 

 ernment, enlarged and extended. All 



of the public land has oeen filed upon 

 except about 15,000 acres, which are 

 not yet open to settlement. This land 

 lies in small tracts on the outskirts of 

 the irrigable area, and as the ditches 

 are extended to cover it, it will be 

 opened to entry. 



The most valuable crop in the Un- 

 compahgre Valley is fruit, the climate 

 and soil possessing just the qualities 

 which give fruit of all kinds superb 

 color and the richest flavor, and which 

 produce enormous yields year after 

 year. One acre of pears, apples, or 

 peaches will increase a man's bank roll 

 by four figures, and there has never 

 been a time when the supply of fruit 

 has approached the demand. 



Many settlers, however, prefer to 

 engage in general farming, and alfalfa, 

 grasses, vegetables of all kinds, vine 

 crops, peas, beans, tomatoes, squash, 

 and. in fact, practically every crop of 

 the temperate zone, can be produced 

 in the Uncompahgre Valley of a quality 

 and in abundance surpassing the highest 

 expectation of farmers from anywhere 

 but the irrigated country. 



597 



