GROWING SUGAR. BEETS IN COLORADO. 11 



than the former type, and it absorbs moisture re'adily. The compact 

 structure of the subsoil has a tendency to retard the movement of 

 seepage water from canals and ditches. This soil is well suited to the 

 production of the staple crops that are grown in the valley. 



The prevailing soil type in the Greeley area is the Colorado fine 

 sandy loam. It consists of a fine sandy loam, with a depth of 3 feet 

 and is underlain by a heavier fine sandy loam. As the depth increases 

 the proportion of silt and clay becomes greater. This formation has 

 good drainage and the type is therefore quite free from seepage 

 water. It is a good potato soil and is well suited to such crops as 

 alfalfa, sugar beets, peas, beans-, and grain. A review of the soils in 

 this region will show that they grade from the more open type, 

 known as the Colorado sand, to the exceedingly heavy type desig- 

 nated as Colorado adobe. While the agricultural methods which are 

 followed on the different types may correspond in some respects, it 

 will be entirely correct to say that considerable work is usually required 

 to bring these types into the proper condition for planting seed, and 

 greater care must be exercised in connection with intertrUage and 

 irrigation. These precautions with the extra work necessarily involve 

 additional expense in the production of sugar beets. 



CROP ROTATIONS. 



Crop rotations in the irrigated districts of Colorado have been 

 improved and strengthened very materially within the past 20 years. 

 The evolution of these systems has taken place during the past 50 

 years or more. The race for gold brought a large number of settlers 

 into, Colorado in the early sixties. A few of these men were successful, 

 others were less fortunate, and still others failed. There was prac- 

 tically no farming population at that time, and provisions had to be 

 brought in from the outside. High prices prevailed. Men who had 

 come from the farms of the East or Central West and who were dis- 

 appointed in the results of their mining operations turned to farming 

 for a living. The valleys to the east and north of the gold fields 

 attracted them. They discovered that vegetables of good quality 

 could be grown on these lands. The wild hay along the streams 

 furnished roughage for farm stock. The salable products brought 

 remunerative prices. Flour was in demand. Wheat growing became 

 therefore one of the important enterprises of the farm during that 

 early period. 



It will be seen that a complete cropping system could not have been 

 developed immediately, nor was it possible to determine at once the 

 type of farming that would give the best returns. The grower did 

 not have information concerning the adaptability of various crops, 

 and special types of farming to meet the new conditions had not yet 



