640 



THE IRKIGATION AGE. 



The tendency is toward smaller farms and the crops that 

 make the small farms profitable, that is, intensive cultiva- 

 tion. Orchards are being planted all along the valley, and 

 there is no reason to believe that the conditions are dif- 

 ferent than those existing at Rocky Ford, where the or- 

 chards are one of the commercial factors of the country. 

 At Holly the melon industry has developed very rapidly, 

 and a market is being created in the east for Holly melons, 

 which points far to make the Rocky Ford people sit up 

 and take notice at a little later date. 



The sugar beets are well taken care of by the fac- 

 tories in the valley. Two of these are independent, and 

 three are in the hands of what is known as the Sugar 

 Trust. The beets of the Arkansas Valley, by reason of the 

 hot summers and certain elements in the soil, are sweeter 

 than in other parts of the country, and for that reason the 

 factory at Holly and the one at Swink changed their 

 method of paying for beets, the percentage plan now be- 



Yiew Showing Concrete Construction on Canal Work Near 

 Holly, Colo. 



ing in the contracts. If a man's beets range above 15 per 

 cent of sugar content, he is paid accordingly. Last year 

 the best beets taken from Holly showed a percentage of 

 32.8. At the present rate of payment, this would mean 

 nearly $7.00 a ton for the beets. 



The transportation facilities of this valley are also 

 important, and do much to attract settlers. The main 

 line of the Santa Fe runs along the south side of the 

 river, while a road now owned by the Santa Fe. but 

 originally called the "Sugar Road," runs along the north 

 side of the river from Holly to Swink. These two roads 

 with their many stations, simplify the matter of trans- 

 portation, and make farms in that valley desirable. Few, 

 if any, of the farms that are under irrigation are more 

 than three or four miles from a station. 



The towns of the valley are thrifty, wide awake, and 

 the sort that attract strangers, and as the country be- 

 comes more thickly populated, naturally the little cities 

 grow rapidly. The special efforts being made in coloniz- 

 ing large tracts of land in the valley in the last few months 

 have all given an impetus to the growth of the towns, and 

 the people of Lamar and those of Holly look for a doubling 

 in the population in the next five years or less. Along the 



Sugar Road are some thriving little places, which are also 

 ready to assume city airs and anticipate a rapid growth. 



When one reflects on the Greeley District through 

 northern Colorado, with which comparison is always made 

 when one speaks of the growth of an irrigated country, it 

 is plain to see that the towns share in the growth of the 

 country. Both Greeley and Fort Collins with a trifle over 

 3,000 population in 1900 have grown to three or four times 

 that in 1010. The same is true of Loveland and Long- 

 mount and other towns in that district. Basing their cal- 

 culations upon these facts, the towns of the Arkansas Val- 

 ley ought to more than double in the next five years. The 

 conditions of the country warrant these conclusions, be- 

 cause of the rapidity with which the lands are being bought 

 up and settled. The investments that are being made in 

 the Arkansas Valley are almost entirely by thos^e who con- 

 template making their homes there, and not by speculators. 



The success of the irrigation projects now in opera- 

 tion in the valley has also attracted the attention of capi- 

 talists, and other larger projects are being planned on both 

 the north and south sides of the river, on the tables lying 

 from six to ten miles from the river. 



The Arkansas Valley is indeed a fertile land, and 

 where now there are scattered farms, villages and towns, in 

 a few years there will be a million people, possibly more, 

 all supported by or living upon the irrigated land. 



A NEW IRRIGATION PROJECT FOR 

 WASHINGTON. 



JOSEPH JACOBS, C. E., has begun work on the perma- 

 nent survey for the Quincy Valley project in the state of 

 Washington. One engineering crew is already at work on the 

 reservoir site and dam site at Wenatchee Lake in the Cas- 

 cade Mountains, from which source the famous Wenatchee 

 Valley district draws its water supply for irrigation. 



The Quincy Valley project covers from 300,000 to 400,000 

 acres of land in Grant County, adjacent to the Wenatchee 

 apple district. The two districts are separated by the Colum- 

 bia River. 



The Quincy Valley district is especially adapted for 

 raising winter apples. 



The building of this project involves the construction of 

 a syphon across the Columbia River, through which water will 

 be brought across the Columbia River from Wenatchee Lake. 



The project has been financed by eastern capitalists and 

 will be completed at the earliest possible date. 



BOND MARKET IMPROVING. 



The demand for high grade bonds continues to gain 

 strength in the market. Buyers have become very critical, 

 but there is a steady demand. Irrigation bonds that are 

 known to be safe are well thought of and there may be 

 extensive dealing in them before long. 



View of Main ("anal Near Holly, Colo. 



