234 



THE IBBIGATION AGE. 



SAN LUIS VALLEY, COLORADO. 



Our readers will, no doubt, remember that we recently 

 published some articles on the San Luis Valley, Colorado, 

 descriptive of that country as a stock raising section, where- 

 in also was exploited many of the attractive features of that 

 delightful state. 



We were recently permitted to examine a letter written 

 by a gentleman who has spent more or less time in that 

 country, and the matter contained therein is so honest a 

 presentation of the possibilities for home building that we 

 reproduce it herewith. The letter is published without the 

 permission of the writer, but with full consent of the gentle- 

 man who received it. 



May 15, 1908. 

 Mr.--, 



Chicago, 111. 

 Dear Sir: 



Your letter received, and as you seemed in no special 

 hurry, and I was, indeed, very busy, I have delayed answer- 

 ing a little longer than I had expected to. 



I was glad to hear from you personally, and also be- 

 cause at this time we are making quite a campaign for the 

 sale of some lands in both Utah and Colorado. I will try 

 and give you the information as fully as possible, and would 

 also appreciate it if you would write me whether the party 

 referred to is one who merely wants a small tract upon 

 which to live, or whether he would be interested in the 

 matter in a larger way from an investment point of view, if 

 the proposition suited him. 



It is not our policy, nor, indeed, do we think it is good 

 policy in western countries to depend upon rainfall for 

 farming. The so-called dry farmer will make a good crop 

 occasionally, but it is a method of farming not to be de- 

 pended upon, and one which is practiced mostly in irrigated 

 countries by the shiftless element who are not thrifty enough 

 to get possession of good lands and good water rights. The 

 question of good water rights is of first importance to any 

 one interested in irrigating lands and, in this connection, will 

 say that we own stock in two irrigating ditches, one of which 

 ditches (The Centennial) gets its full appropriation of water 

 when the Rio Grande River has about 300 cubic feet of water 

 per second, and the other of which (The Empire), gets its full 

 appropriation of water when the Rio Grande has about 3,000 

 cubic, feet of water per second. 



The latter of these ditches is made to sell land with, 

 and the first named is made to farm with, but it is a sac! 

 commentary upon the intelligence of the ordinary buyer of 

 irrigated lands, that the lands with paper water are bought 

 almost as readily as those with real wet water. We have 

 sold all of our Empire water in connection with the less 

 valuable and less favorably located of our lands, and what 

 we now still own is the choicest of our lands, together with 

 the very best of water rights in the San Luis Valley. 



The priorities of the Centennial Canal date back to about 

 1876, and it furnishes literally a never failing supply of 

 water. 



Improved lands in the San Luis Valley sell from $45 to 

 $100 per acre, the latter being the choicest of lands adjacent 

 to town. We just closed a sale, a few days ago, of a 75- 

 acre tract at $45, and have quite an acreage of very choice 

 land in cultivation that could be sold at that price. 



There is a loading switch on the D. & R. G. within 

 one-half mile of our land, which can be used for shipping 

 grain, potatoes, or anything that the farmer markets in 

 cars. 



Our land is all top irrigated, that being, we think, the 

 more practical and effective method of applying water to 

 the soil, although there is a great deal of sub-irrigation done 

 in the San Luis Valley. 



Regarding winter temperature, the noting of the ther- 

 mometer registration will not give a fair idea of same; 20 

 to 25 degrees below zero at sunrise is not an exceptional 

 figure for the San Luis Valley, yet the winter in that coun- 

 try is practically free from cloudy or windy days, and it is 

 a fact that the thermometer may register 20 degrees below 

 zero at sunrise, yet at 10 o'clock the temperature will reach 

 15 or 20 degrees above zero and by noon will be thawing 

 freely in the sunshine. The snow in the valley is very light, 

 so. much so that it is practical to feed peas on the field during 

 winter. 



I have had the experience of seeing friends of ours 

 visit here from the San Luis Valley, when the temperature 

 here was 20 to 30 degrees above zero, complain extremely 

 as to how the cold was affecting them. In fact, all of our 

 Illinois friends of the valley have expressed themselves to 

 the effect that the winters they have spent in the San Luis 

 Valley have been the most pleasant they have ever ex- 

 perienced. 



In the summer time the sunshine is very powerful in 

 that country, on account of the high altitude (7,500 feet above 

 sea level), and the very clear air. It, therefore, gets quite 

 hot in the sunshine, yet the shade is always cool and 

 pleasant, even if it is only the shade of a board roof. In 

 fact, the difference between sunshine and shade is greater 

 by far in that country than here. The nights are always 

 cool in summer, in fact, any one with a delicate constitution 

 usually finds it convenient to take an overcoat even in the 

 summer time when making a night drive. 



The spring is probably the least .pleasant season of the 

 year in that country as it is rather slow in developing, and 

 inclined to be more or less windy during April and May. 

 If one will visit in the San Luis Valley on April 1st he will 

 probably find vegetation as far advanced as in Illinois. If 

 he will visit the valley on June 1st he may be disappointed 

 in the progress made during these two months, but if he 

 again visits it on August 1st his astonishment will be greater 

 than was his disappointment on June 1st on account of the 

 wonderful growth during these two months, which are 

 really the best growing season of the San Luis Valley. 



Alfalfa is grown very successfully, and while it does not 

 produce as heavily on account of the shorter and cooler sum- 

 mer as will be the experience in lower altitudes and warmer 

 climates, yet it is more valuable on account of the better 

 combination of other feeds to go with it, regarding which 

 I will mention a little more later when I speak of hogs. 



San Luis Vallev lands in good cultivation should pro- 

 duce 60 bushels of oats to the acre, 40 to 50 bushels of wheat 

 may also be expected, in fact, 60 bushels have been produced 

 in the past. Barley should produce 40 to 50 bushels under 

 favorable circumstances. To produce these yields the land, 

 of course, must be in a good state of cultivation and fertil- 

 ization, which can be easily accomplished by the raising 

 of peas and alfalfa, both of which deposit large quantities 

 of nitrogen in the soil, and enrich it very rapidly. In fact, 

 it is deemed impractical to raise more than about three suc- 

 cessive crops of peas in the San Luis Valley as the ground 

 becomes so rich that the peas grow almost altogether into 

 vine if peas are grown continually for a longer period. 



Regarding fruits will say, any kind of berry can be suc- 

 cessfully cultivated if a person is inclined to give them the 

 necessary attention, but in order to grow them successfully 

 they must be laid down and covered in winter time. This 

 is not so much on account of the extreme cold, but on ac- 

 count of the large variation in day and night temperature, 

 as the warm sunshine in the winter time will draw the sap 

 into the berry vines and the cold nights freeze them to such 

 an extent that it kills the plant if they are exposed to this 

 continual exchange of temperature during the entire winter. 

 Those farmers who wish a small berry patch for home con- 

 sumption find no difficulty in protecting the same by cover- 

 ing up the vines during the winter season. 



Hardy variety of apples are grown successfully in the 

 valley. 



While general farming (except corn), with wheat, oats, 

 barley, etc., is very successfully conducted in the San Luis 

 Valley, my ideal of farming in that country is the hog or 

 sheep farm, but more particularly the hog farm as I think 

 that country is just a little better adapted to raising hogs 

 than any other place on earth, and that for many reasons, 

 the first of which is that hog cholera and similar diseases 

 are unknown in that country, and the fine, invigorating and 

 dry climate keeps the hogs in such perfect state of health 

 that they not only grow rapidly, but produce the very finest 

 grade of meat. 



As stated earlier in this letter alfalfa is grown success- 

 fully in the San Luis Valley, and as is known by all advanced 

 in the question, it is one of the best feeds known for frame- 

 building in hogs. In fact, they can be successfully prepared 

 for the fattening rations with little other feed than alfalfa 

 which they glean themselves from the field, thereby eliminat- 

 ing any cost of harvesting. After the hogs have spent the 



