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<br />wel Is on a few individual farms. The principal crops in the order of
<br />acreage harvested are alfalfa, sorghums, wheat, onions, sugar beets,
<br />other grains, and vegetables.
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<br />53. About 76 percent, or 734,000 acres, of Bent County is in
<br />grassland which provides good grazing for I ivestock, an important com-
<br />ponent of the economy. The major source of income in the livestock
<br />industry is from beef cattle. Other I ivestock raised, in the order of
<br />importance, are sheep and lambs, turkeys, chickens, hogs and pigs, and
<br />mi Ik cows. Bent County, in recent years, has ranked 22nd among the
<br />63 counties in Colorado in the number of cattle and calves on its farms
<br />and 20th in the value of al I I ivestock and I ivestock products sold.
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<br />54. The largest non-agricultural employer is the Fort Lyon
<br />Veterans Hospital located about 6 mi les east of Las Animas. Fort Lyon,
<br />an old frontier post, was first occupied by the U.S. Army. It was
<br />abandoned as a fort in 1889 and in 1906, because of its location in a
<br />beneficial climate, it was reopened by the U.S. Navy as a hospital for
<br />the treatment of tubercu I os is. In 1922, the fac i I i ty was transferred
<br />to the Veterans Administration. The reservation comprises about 1,200
<br />acres. The hospital is devoted primari Iy to the treatment of veterans
<br />with mental illness and has a 681-bed capacity. About 500 people are
<br />emp loyed and the annua I payro II is about $2 mil I ion. Over 80 percent
<br />of the employees I ive in Las Animas.
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<br />55. The mineral resources of Bent County include clays, gypsum,
<br />I imestone, sand, gravel, stone, petroleum, and natural gas. Mining
<br />activities are of minor importance as indicated by the value of mineral
<br />production in 1960, estimated at $114,000. Sand and gravel accounted
<br />for $55,700 of this total, crushed stone accounted for $35,300, and
<br />the remaining $23,000 was from crude petroleum and natural gas.
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<br />56. Manufacturing and I ight industrial activities in Bent County
<br />were establ ished principally to meet local demands and support agri-
<br />cultural production. In 1960 there were 14 manufacturing establ ishments
<br />I n the county, 10 of wh ich are listed in the class i f Icat i on "food and
<br />kindred products."
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<br />57. Comparisons of yearly retai I sales, bank deposits, postal
<br />receipts, school enrollment, and other factors over the past decade
<br />indicate little change in business activity. Based on 1947-49 prices,
<br />retai I sales in Bent County increased at the rate of 1.0 percent per
<br />year from $5,536,000 in 1948 to $6,230,000 in 1960. 8ank deposits
<br />increased from $2,558,000 in 1951 to $2,590,000 in 1960, or at the
<br />rate of 0.14 percent compounded annually. School enrollment increased
<br />from 1,651 in 1956 to 1,742 in 1960. This represents an increase of
<br />about 1.31 percent per year compounded annua 1 I y.
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<br />58.
<br />System.
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<br />Las Animas is located on the main I ine of the AT&SF Rai Iway
<br />It is also the terminus of the Las Animas-Amari I 10 Branch of
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