This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1895 edition. Excerpt: ...Colorado in 1893 was 3,000,000 bushels. The average yield of wheat in Colorado is twenty-three bushels to the acre, which is the highest average yield of all the western states." "Do oats thrive well?" "Oats grow well in all parts of the state, but the San Luis Valley seems particularly well adapted to the growth of this crop. The yield is from sixty to one hundred bushels per acre; the weight, which is from forty to sixty pounds per bushel, makes them a very profitable crop. Farmers are giving the matter of oat raising much more attention than formerly." "I presume barley also does well?" "Excellent. Barley is grown all over the state, and is one of our staple crops; it does especially well in the San Luis Valley. It matures early, is of superior quality, and owing to the absence of rainfall in harvest season, it is always bright and unstained. It weighs fifty pounds to the bushel, and yields on an average of thirty-five bushels to the acre. There is a good local market, as all Colorado brewers are supplied from our own product, and there is a demand for Colorado barley from eastern states." "And hops?" "Yes. Hops do well in Colorado, as the soil and climate are especially adapted to their culture; however, as yet, it only has a small acreage of hop gardens, and the brewers annually purchase nearly $100,000 worth from other states, although Colorado could supply St. Louis and Milwaukee with hops." "And all of your crops are dependent upon irrigation?" "Almost entirely. There are a few places in the state, like the Divide district, where artificial irrigation is not always required, but it isn't safe to depend on rainfall, which is so limited, and irregular, ...