6 BULLETIN 1026, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
not enough alkali to injure crops. This soil is especially well 
adapted to grain : alfalfa, and potatoes. 
The Laurel sandy loam is an alluvial soil and occurs in a strip 
one-half to 1 mile wide in the river bottoms. It ranges in depth 
from 2 to 5 feet, and is dark brown to black in color. The soil be- 
comes more sandy with depth, passing gradually into coarse sand 
and water- worn gravel. This soil is not very well drained and the 
water table is near the surface the greater part of the year. Only 
small areas, however, are affected by alkali. This soil is particularly 
well adapted to cabbages, onions, and sugar beets. 
The Fort Collins loam occurs in small areas north of Greeley and 
in the vicinity of Fort Collins. It consists of a reddish to a very 
dark brown light loam, from 4 inches to 1 foot in thickness, under- 
lain by a layer of heavy loam from 1 to 4 feet in thickness. Below 
this layer of loam the subsoil grades again into a light loam extend- 
ing to a depth of 6 feet or more. The soil is very sticky when wet 
and bakes badly. It is fairly well drained, is affected by alkali in 
small areas only, and is adapted to fruits, grain, potatoes, alfalfa, 
and sugar beets. 
WATER RESOURCES. 
Water for irrigation in the Cache la Poudre Valley is obtained 
from the river and its tributaries; from supply ditches collecting 
run-off from the high slopes of the drainage systems of the Grand, 
Michigan, and Laramie Rivers; from shallow pumped wells; and 
from seepage from canals, reservoirs, and irrigated lands which re- 
turns to the river or its tributary channels. 
A station for gaging the river has been maintained since 1884 at 
the mouth of the canyon, above all canal headings but the North 
Poudre and Poudre Valley, and because of the permanence of the 
channel section there the continuous automatic record of stage, the 
frequent ratings to check the discharge curve, and the length of the 
period covered, the records of discharge at that point are particu- 
larly complete and accurate. As the river is fed principally by 
melting snow, characteristic marked variations in yearly, seasonal, 
and daily discharge are to be expected. 
The discharge varies from year to year with the fall and winter 
temperatures and the amount of precipitation on the upper slopes of 
the basin, the greatest discharge coming after a fall and winter 
which pack the deep gulches with snow and ice. The annual dis- 
charge at the canyon station averages 320,000 acre-feet, but has 
varied from a minimum of 169,000 acre-feet in 1888 to a maximum 
of 689,000 acre-feet in 1884. 
