s 



BULLETIN 72G, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



and dry and are in poor condition in the spring unless irrigated 

 thoroughly during the late fall or early winter. 



The Greeley district lies close to the mountain range and the mean 

 annual temperature there is 47° as compared with 51° at Fort 

 Morgan. The range between extremes is wide, 100° being frequently 

 reached in the summer season. The nights, however, are cool. 

 The summer temperatures for the Rocky Ford district are somewhat 

 higher than those recorded for the other districts included in this 

 survey. Throughout the entire territory cloudy days are the 

 exception. 



Fig. 3.— Irrigation canal No. 2 in the Greeley district. 



High winds are a characteristic feature of the region, and they 

 usually blow with greatest persistence in the spring, when the fields 

 are without vegetation. Thus it is a common occurrence for loose 

 soil to be picked up and carried along with each strong current of air. 

 If the young beet plants are still small and tender when the winds 

 are high, considerable damage may be done to the crop by the moving 

 soil. It is sometimes necessary to reseed large areas, owing to the 

 fact that the plants from the first seeding have been destroyed by a 

 wind storm. Only in some of the older districts has this difficulty 

 been reduced by the growing of windbreaks. 



