Show FARMS AND FARMING IN IK COUNTY last week we had occasion to visit couvdos county on business or ratter rather that portion of it south of 0 alamona alamosa A amosa and we were gratified to note the me material advancement of the county in the last three years vears the ponton coition of the county we saw the most ol 01 was that between alamosa alamona and the conejos river land all under ditch immediately south of alamosa alamona aud and within three to six miles of the town several thon thousand saud acres of land have bave been broken by a canal company the breaking up odthe of the prairie building of fenced and erect iga of small houses have very much altered the ap bearance pe arance of the face of the country from alamona alamosa creek ten len mires miles south of alamona alamosa Ala roosa to the latter laiter place we counted forty housed most of these houses were on the company lands but quite a u umber number were on the lauds lands of pie or on farms bought of the company 1 tre are very sorry orry say bay crops on the randa arb are a fail ure not a total one but we do not think there will be harvested enough aralla from the several thousand acres planted to leplace the seed and the leed of the teams that planted the gr und it la Is plain klajn to be seen that the lailure of the crops is pot not ut attributable to the of the soil or climate but to the persons that managed the planting and irrigating patches of grain are to be seen tuat that have been taken oaie mie of that give an indication of the fertility of the soil aou these spots have had sufficient water and indicate a yield if ef 30 bushels of wheat to the acre but the large faria fara as a whole is a sad fal failure luri aai and a calamity to the valley the railroad runs for miles through h this farm and every traveler sees es and notes the failure nine out of every ten who see it dont know that the failure of the crop Is at tributes tri buted to mis matia ement or cut cit atlon latton and they doubtless doubt leES jump to the conclusion tuft the tae country is to no glod 11 A greater mistake than N this could not be made and to illustrate this we have only to eite cite these con embers em ners 10 lo another lann farm not bot three I 1 miles C away behave we have reference the of bf scandinavians s adjoining the station of la jura jar fourteen miles south on tac D ii G callway lall way here you lee a little village tareo years old of aboul about thirty hout houe hui on plats of ground of aboul acius each the village contains contu ins about two hundred inhabit ant there ther jare elare four school children tais little village to Is dot fi a model of beauty or of architectural note not a person of this village four years ago had two thousand dollars most moat ot of them had nothing but their household goods and a few of them a team or a cow cew today to day every in richfield stands in agar garden cien where enough vegetables e ta bles will bu be raised to feed the family with potatoes to spare the farm Is ia one large field containing probably acres of which 1000 is ip in crops of wheat oats and barley if any oue otie doubting the fertility of thes thestil the soil ollor or ta ft the climate of the san luls luis valley to produce crops will take the trouble to visit this farm his doubts will be dissipated we have seen grand crops growing in iowa illinois kansas Ne nebraska braslis do 0 but we never saw the crops of the richfield Bich field community excelled anywhere we hive haw seen as foode but none better their wheat will average about 80 bushels bus bels their oats 60 00 and barley 40 if no disaster of storms destroys them 11 here H derecan can be seen a perfect system of ot irrigation as well as of general no man in this it at tempts to plant and care for more than 60 acres more attempt 40 here largel larae holdings of land is discouraged 1 farm tittle little but farm this well is in the motto and that it is a good ont is proven by the rc results I 1 F their people dont pretend that they have a model farm or are model farm ers they only claim that they are Ot striving riving to make a living and home lor for their families claey think by patient wit and economy in a few years they N will fill have a competency and that they will have learned how bow to make farming pay a lair remuneration tor for the labor and capital invested in this settlement everything looks prosperous you can find no na failures tor for want of proper irrigation whatever the crop is it is thriving and this holds good on the new land as well as that broken three years ago potatoes peas and other garden bles grow as finely ai as in the market garden plats aronel this city there are no signs of wan want t all of plenty this community ot of very poor people three years ago affo now have horses cows bogs bogg and their lauds lands are arc fenced e ne ed though not divided into little ft fields ad 0 one ne large field thus saying saving useless le c costly tay bencin fencing krom richfield we traveled by wagon to the settlement of ephraim Ephr alm about six sh miles south of the former lormer places place here iri imi a community some tout four years year older than settled by a mixed population from utah and several southern states the land at ephraim is ia not as I 1 as at richfield Richtie ld but bat the crops surrounding the town are very good showing care in planting and irrigation alie same arrangement ot of building the dwell dwelling inK houses in small plats plata ot of grousd prevail here as mentioned a at t richfield but they are lar larger ger and the town is not so compact the j he farming here is done somewhat similar to that described above one large field and small individual holdings from ephraim we journeyed west three miles to hanasab Manss Ma nasaB fis the largest and oldest of thel Mormon settlements in the conejos valley here are evidences of more wealth and longer patient labor a the houses bouses are better and andlee the surround surroundings ings more homelike but they only indicate indi caie what richfield will be in a year or two mr S 8 smith president of all the settlements resides and from here exercises a watchful care over all this gentleman deserves a more extended notice than we have bave space to 10 give him but we vie cannot avoid saying that he has man aged the affairs of his bis church and his people willil rare skill diplomacy and ho nesty his watchful and faithful eye is if ever ou the lookout for the good of his people naturally they are a law abiding people and by mr smiths advice they attend strictly to their own business meddling but little with the affairs ol of politics endeavoring by the rectitude ot of their everyday every day action to gain ain the approbation of their rulers of the state and church charitable in all his relations with his fellow men he asks for his people only that which he and they extend to others we could write more we would like to write more but this must suffice manassa is is a farming community managed like the others we have spoken of this community has en rolled school children they have a good church aud and a good the dwellings are built in a tour four acre plat ol of ground and this piece of land is a miniature farm tula ina dhigh state of cultivation the general farm to is one large neld field with splendid crops of onto oats barley peas potatoes and wheat all of these promise a splendid yield these are a lew few of the observations we made in a hurried business visit to this part of abe ihy yan san luis valley here we saw the evidences of the wonderful fertility of the tbt soil here we saw the absolute proofs of the grand fraud future of this part of colliado Coloia ado do here we learned how this future can be accomplished colorado jalmer and live stock journal |