GROWING SUGAR BEETS IN COLORADO. 11 
than the former type, and it absorbs moisture readily. 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 intertUlage 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 
