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Show 34 IMMIGRANTS' AND SETTLERS' GUIDE extensive system of irrigation has been introduced which, it is thought, will relieve the settlers fron1lack of rain and other difficulties which have hitherto limited agricultural pro~ress. Color~do is not, in any just sense, however, an agricultural region. T1vo-thirds of the surface are mountains, 'vhile the remaining one-third is lit· tle short of desert land. Along the foot of the rano-e where issue living streams from mountain canons th~ soil m~y be irrig~ted, and thus made productive. ' So the soil on the r1ver bottoms is productive to some extent! but th~ principal part of the prairie surface yields nothing but buffalo grass of an inferior growth. As re~ards the production. of grain, the crops on the various branches of the South Platte Arkansas and Fontain que Bruille, afford encour~ging pros~ pects.* In ~he southern part of the Territory considerable attention has been paid to the raising of wheat, corn, barley, and other cerea~s, but the continuance of dry ;veat~1er .pres.ents a forrmdable obstacle to great success m this direction. The bottom lands of the Platte River and other mountain . strean1s have a r~ch alluvial deposit, \vhich only ~~eqmres water at long Intetvals to promote an astonishrug vegetable growth. All the succulent varieties of plan.ts, such as potato~s, cabb~g:es, onions, squashes, etc., attain an enor1nous Size, retainino- the tenderness J"uici-ness, an d s1veetness '\\-"' 1n .c h almo5s t everywhere el' se be-long ~nlJ: to the smaller varieties. The \vild fruits of the. 'I erritory are also nutnerous and abundant. It is believed by some that Colorado will in a few years be able to supply her own home demand for the necessaries ?f life, but t~is belief is not concurred in by the best mformed residents of the Territory. ' * Gov. Evans estimates that in 1862, the production of the lastnamed valley alone was 25,000 bushels of wheat 40 000 bushels of corn, 20,000 bushels o{ potatoes, and other produc~ in' proportion. TO THE NEW STATES AND TERRITORIES. 35 • • STOCK-RAISING, ETC. As a grazing and stock-raising region Colorado pos- · sesses great advantages. Near the base of th~ rocky ranges, and along the valleys of the ~tre~ms w~nch ~ave their origin in the mountains, vegetation IS pr?hfic. The grasses are not only a?undant, b~t they contain m?re n~triment than the cultivated speci.es .of. th~ most pr ~sperous agricultural districts of the Mississippi Valley. These grasses cure standing, and cattle have been ~now.n to feed and thrive upon them throughout the entire wmter months. MINERALS, MINING, ETC. . As a gold-mining country, Color.ado is. second only to California. The Colorado gold-mines d1ffer from those of California in this particular, viz. that in the former the precious ore is generally foun d I. n extensi. ve '' 1o d es " of quartz and pyrites, while in t?e latter, placer and gulch.m.ining are the most extensive and the mo~t profitable. We do not mean to be understood by this that there are no placer mines in Colora?o· Numero~s gulches and ravines have been exte~sively w_orked In different parts of the Territory, and m some Instances the yield has been astonishingly rich and abun~ant. But up to the present time, the extent of the dJscoveri~ s of gulch, bar, or river. deposits has not seem~~ to esta.b lish a claim for Colorado as a great placer-minmg region. That the inexperienced may more clearly u~~er~t~nd the difference between " placer" and "lode m1n1ng, the following brief explanation is appended : " PLACER" .A.ND '' LODE's MINING. Where deposits of gold are ~ound in gulches, on ba~s, or in river beds, mixed only with the sands and alluv1al |