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mining. Mines became deeper and the ore itself became more complex. It was necessary to recover smaller and smaller amounts of the precious metals from increasingly larger amounts of ore. To overcome these special problems in mining and milling, Colorado manufacturers designed and built innovative mining machinery and equipment, such as ore concentrators, sample grinders, steam hoists, pulverizers and structural steel products. These products allowed the mines to achieve economies of scale and resulted in marginal mining operations 'becoming profitable. This in turn stimulated other economic activity including agriculture, service industries and further railroad development. Although income from manufacturing was only $1.8 million in 1880, it increased to $11.8 million by 1900 (Mahar, 1963) and its importance to the Colorado economy far exceeded its size. The significant role Denver played in the early economic development of the State was mostly a matter of luck and timing. Business leaders were skillful and creative in attracting Eastern capital, but mostly it was the fact that Denver was easily accessible from the east and centrally located in the Rocky Mountain region that assured it the role of a powerful regional center of commerce and industry. Population in Denver increased from 4,759 to 134,000 between 1870 and 1900. A very large percentage of those people had jobs either directly or indirectly related to the mining industry. Denver became a major hub for wholesalers, warehouses and merchandisers who shipped bulk goods into Denver, repackaged them and shipped them out to the mountain hinterlands and beyond. It also became a major smelting center for the mines. Ores could easily be hauled by train from many mines and consolidated at a central location where economies of scale reduced mining costs substantially. Moreover, labor and fuel were abundant and cheap, and refined metals could be sent to markets efficiently. Perhaps the only detriment was that Colorado did not really control its own destiny. Eastern money was responsible in large part for the economic development of the State. By the 1890's, large mining corporations were formed and run from elsewhere (Abbott, 1976). Most of the railroads were controlled by outsiders (Dorsett, 1986). Outside control was a mixed blessing for Coloradans. On the one hand, capital was available to make things happen, but on the other hand, local decision making was often precluded. Agricul ture aDd Devel~t of Water Syst.-s: 1900-1940. Left to the mercy of natural forces, it is not easy to grow food in Colorado. Major Stephen Long, who explored the country between the 100th meridian and the Rocky Mountains, described the region as "almost wholly unfit for cultivation" and called the land the Great American Desert (Dorsett, 1986). Individuals desperate enough to give farming a try, many of them discouraged miners, soon learned that unpredictable and variable rains made a constant and dependable supply of water essential for success. In the last half of the 19th century, farmers started to scratch out a meager living along the natural river drainages of the South Platte and Arkansas in the east and the San Luis Valley in the south, next to the Rio Grande. Individually, or in groups, they built small ditches to carry water from the river to irrigate small areas on the floodplains. By 1859, there were at least 40 ditches in the San Luis Valley alone, including the oldest ditch in continuous use in Colorado, the San Luis People's Ditch, constructed in 1852. - 4 -