horse ranches, town and mill sites, irrigation ditches and lands, stores, and banks. To this city, as a final center, the railroad system of the region is gravitating. Here are rapidly centering the trans-Missouri headquarters of numerous commercial establishments, such as deal in single articles, and have agents in every village. For instance: the Singer Sewing Machine Company has a busy office with fifteen or twenty bookkeepers and typewriters constantly employed; they are posting the accounts of all agents west of the Missouri, and the general manager for that half of the Union resides here. The same is true of the Consolidated Oil Company, but the latter instead of importing its oil, as it did a year or so ago, now supplies the trans-Missouri region with Colorado oil. Numerous loan and investment companies are making this city the headquarters for their business, not in Colorado alone, but in the adjacent territories as well. Insurance companies will soon begin the same thing. This country is too far from New York, and too far from Chicago. The next point, the central point, the point which is far enough away from every other point, is Denver. It is the natural place for department headquarters for a hundred different articles of commerce. Everything is centering here.

It is a popular delusion that, because Denver's tributary empire is arid, it can never contain a dense population. The history of oriental nations refutes it-near Babylon a single storage reservoir maintained a million population by irrigation for 2,000 years, and when finally it broke, the garden spot became a desert. In India, countless millions have been crowded under irrigation ditches for generations. Indeed, there are portions of India that sustain a dense population by irrigation, and that without any living stream. Ditches 500 miles along hillsides run the sudden rainfalls into reservoirs, to be used as wanted. When our surface rainfall is thus gathered, and the full flow of their streams utilized, the immense agricultural productions of the arid region will dazzle the world. Then large sections of the arid region can raise crops without irrigation, others only need it occasionally. And in the mountains proper, it is estimated that enough potatoes can be raised without irrigation to feed a larger population than that of Ireland,

It is not extravagent to claim that the agricultural resources of the arid region, when duly developed, are equal to the task of feeding 50,000,000 people. This can be realized by calculating the wheat that can be produced by all the land susceptible of irrigation when the streams are all stored and used. But intensive culture and root crops will sustain many more.

However, if there was no agriculture in the arid region whatever, and everything consumed had to be brought in from Kansas and Nebraska, there would be a population in Colorado alone within 20 years, more than sufficient to make Denver a city of perhaps 1,000,000 inhabitants. This would be a state population of gold, silver and coal

miners, stone quarrymen, and manufacturing operatives, to say nothing of the thousands who come for their health. Indeed, Denver and Colorado, as they are now, are four-fifths made entirely independent of agriculture. And it must be remembered in this connection, that a mining village of 1,000 people in the Colorado mountains furnishes more than twice as much commerce to Denver and the railroads, as an agricultural population of 1,000 people in Nebraska furnishes to Omaha. The reason is obvious. The miners ship out all they produce, and ship in all they consume. The farmer does not. Besides, the miners live

better and spend more.

1888, Increase over 1887, 43.7 per cent. 1887, Increase over 1886, 165 per cent.

$19,851.700 $29,176,752 79

The activity of Denver real estate, and the interest shown by outside capital in this city, are demonstrated by these figures, showing the recorded transfers for the month of March, 1889, in four places, more forcibly than any other possible presentation can. The figures are obtained from the Recorder of Deeds, and are reliable in every instance:

St. Paul.

Omaha

$1,782,847 | Kansas City

2,344,052 Denver..

$5,364,684 6,111,029

In connection with real estate, we introduce to our readers some of the successful dealers in Denver property as an example to others who may desire to come West, and grow rich and influential, as those we mention have done. Almost without exception, they came West to improve their health, which an eastern climate had impaired. In addition to health, they have gained wealth and influence, to-day standing as monuments, directing the energetic youth of the East to the golden fields of Colorado.

R. FLETCHER was born in Coburg, Canada, September 29, 1849.

M1 Here he passed the days of his boyhood. At the age of 17

years he removed with his parents to Chicago, where he attended the best private academies, and then entered the university of New York, where he graduated with high honors. In 1879 Mr. Fletcher came to Colorado. His coming at that time, and the result of his decision to remain in Colorado, is the best possible illustration of the health restoring virtues of the climate. In Chicago his health was broken, and he became a physical wreck, so complete that his physician set a short limit to his life. He came to Colorado for his health. Under the benign influence of the climate the process of recuperation soon began.