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Show IDAHO-Gem State I I Among what may be designated as the. newer states, none is attracting as much attention as Idaho. It is th scent of. greater development ana more rapid settlement than arc met with in any other. The statc has varied resources and a delightful climate, cli-mate, and the conditions arc all such that it is, very attractive, both to homcscckcrs and to investors. Though Idaliois in the latitude of Canada, ."it enjoys a mild climate. The influence of the currents of the Pacific Pa-cific Vs'Yclt, the temperature being moderate, however, without any of the excessive dampness tliat"Ncliarac-terizes tliat"Ncliarac-terizes "the western coast regions. Those familiar with the climate of the northern portion of -the United States, between .the Rocky Mountains-and Mountains-and the Great Lakes, arc always surprised sur-prised when they learn of the mildness mild-ness of the weather of Idaho. The Dakotas. Montana and Minnesota, in f ! the same latitude, ocp'cricncc long and bitter winters, and people from those stitcs visiting Idaho in the winter win-ter season are astonished to fincl the weather mild. ( . At thi greater altitudes there is more cold and much snow, but on the great Snake River plain, the scat of the main portion of the agricultural industry, there is little snov .cccpt-ing .cccpt-ing in the upper valley, nca cr the heiwIKvaters of the stream. This liver and its .mighty valley reach across the state from cast to west, some 350 miles-. In the eastern portion the winters arc sharp, and the products of the soil arc much the same as those of the Dakotas. The altitude of the vast agricultural areas is from 5,000 to 7,000 feet. The Uni(l produces from 40 to 60 bushels of wheat to the acre, 100 bushels of oats, 500 bushels of potatoes, from 10 to 30 tons of sugar beets, and six tons of alfalfa hay. In the western section, with a general gen-eral altitude of 2500 feet, wheat, corn, oats, barley, alfalfn, timothy and clover, grow luxuriantly, the yield running as high as in the upper valley. val-ley. Potatoes yield from 400 to Coo bushels to the acre. Sugtir beets do a little better than1 in the latter sec ticm and the industry is even more profitable. . In addition, this western section is remarkable for its fruit production. Its apples and prune are unequalled, while pears, peaches and plums, and K all other temperate zone fruits, do unusually . well. The . climate has U much to do with the, success, of the fruit grower, as there is almost continuous con-tinuous sunshine during the period of development of the crop. Before passing from this subject of climate the following meteorological data may be given. These arc from the . 1 records of the United States weather bureau at Boisc, the, capital, in the - wjestern . part of the slate. They arc for two years, 1905 and 1906. Those for I907 -have not been dompTcfcd at the datcrof this.,w,ritingfbut( they will make an even better showing: i 1905. 1906. Precipitation (inches)". .8.62 14.23 Number of days sunshine $24 321 Percentage of possible sunshine A :..:. 82. 61 Mean temperature 50.8 51.5 Highest temperature :...,ao3 , 102. Lowest temperature . fi 5 Average wind movement per hour (miles) 5 58 The cold weather comes, in two or three spells, which, in the Boise Val-lcy Val-lcy particularly, arc characterized by lack of wind, of which there is never much, as disclosed) by the record. Through the absence of moisture in the atmosphere, the relative degree of cold is much milder than shown by the mercury, the sensible tempcra-turc tempcra-turc ranging fromi 10 to 25 degrees above the record of the thermometer. It will be seen from these figures that the state has a climate combin-ing combin-ing all features that contribute to hcalthfulncss. The rainfall is light, and practically all cojnes in the late fall, the winter, and early spring. Late spring, summer, and' early fall arc practically without roin, the farmer relying upon his irrigation ditches to supply moisture to the soil a method that is always under his control, mak- v. ing drouth impossible. Inhere is f enough winter to give the change that is needed by most persons, without the boistcrousness that characterizes the -winter in other sections of the same or lesser altitude; It is an ic' a climmtc, and is constantly compared with that of Florence and. some other points in Italy. Idaho,, industrially, is an -empire within itself. It has- been said, that, were the state .sbut ofT from all other sources of .supply, it could fully develop de-velop all the great industries from its i own resources, and furnish its people peo-ple with all the necessaries of life, excepting salt and some of the luxuries. lux-uries. In addition to. the agricultural "wealth of its valleys, "it has limitless resources of mine, forest and stream. Practically every kind of mineral entering en-tering into general use among the people is found, and many of them in great abundance, these including gold, silver, lead, copper, coal and iron. liv Vast areas arc covered with pine, spruce, tamarack, fir and similar woods, aind the lumbering industry S has grown into great importance, I The streams of the state, tumbling from the lofty mountains to find their way to sea, tare capable of producing I .sufficient electric power to supply the needs of ai kingdom. The fall is so rapid that the water can be used over and over again as it descends. . The stockgrowcr finds Idaho a pe- ' culiarly favorable state in which to I operate, and liis business lias assumed vast proportions. Giief in importance is sheep growing. There arc 3,000,000 sheep in the stale and the flocks yield J 18,000,000 pounds of wool annually. The sheep arc kept in the vallcs during the winter, but in the spring they arc sent into the hills, where they remain until late into fall. The j pasturage is free excepting in the national na-tional forestsi. Cattle arc also sent j out in the spring following the receding reced-ing snow line far up into the moun- tains. Horse breeders find the western valley of the Snake peculiarly adapted to their purpose. Though the (business (busi-ness is in its infancy, it is predicted that many of the finest animals of the future will be from that valley. The opportunities for the farmer arc exceptionally alluring, for the soil is of a marvelous fertility, and a great variety of crops tan be grown profitably. profit-ably. In addition to the production of the ordinary field crops, the agriculturist agri-culturist iray devote himself to dairying, dairy-ing, stock breeding, fruit culture, beet sugar growing, or truck and small fruit production. , . In the western portion of the valley ' (Continued on page 6.), , - - rnaaMItii IDAllb.-GEM STATE. (Continued from page 3.) of the Snake, phcnominal success is m;t with 'in production of apples and prunes. Both arc of superior quality, and command high prices. This is especially true of winter apples. These command high prices even when the market is glutted with the ordinary fruit. They nearly all go to eastern markets in competition with fruits from rail sections. An orchard begins be-gins to produce at age of five years, and when the trees "arc ten years old they yield from 500 to 1000 fifty-pound boxes per acre. The fruit commands from $1.50 to $3oo a box -in the orchard, or-chard, rcpcndcnt upon the 'variety and the general crop. Prunes arc not quite so certain ol bringing high .prices in the green state, but when the market is glutted the surplus can be evaporated, in which condition they command remunerative re-munerative prices. In good years prunes yield about $500 an acre. Development of the beet sugar industry in-dustry has proven of great benefit to the farmers of the Snake River region. re-gion. It has been found that the beets grown in the Snake River Valley, Val-ley, especially in Western Idaho, is superior to hc produce of all other sections. Irrigation is of especial benefit, since water can he supplied just when it is needed for growth, but turned off at the time when it is necessary for development of a high percentage of saccharine contents. Again, the soil is especially adapted to the beet while the long flood of continuous sunshine during the season of growth seems to add to perfection of the product. Farmers secure ranging rang-ing all the way from 20 to 35 tons per acre, for which they arc paid $4.50 at the shipping station. The beets are purchased by companies owning the factories. There is one of these plants in each sugar district. The beets may be delivered to the factory by wagon if the farmer is near enough, but for the convenience of those more remote, leading stations are provided by the railway company where the beets can be dumped into the cars. The sugar company pays the freight, the net price for the beets thus being made the same for all producers. pro-ducers. The production of this crop is of great benefit to industrious families with numerous children. The youngsters young-sters find employment in the Ibcct fields during the long summer school vacation, and thus contribute much to the prosperity of the family. When a twenty acre beet field is thus handled with labor of the family, the returns are practically all profit. Such a fields carefully cultivated, will produce from $2000 to $3000. The crop never fails. All vegetables and small fruits flourish flour-ish and those who devote themselves to their production do well. The smie is true of melons, these being in demand over , wide section anjjlKom-manding anjjlKom-manding yery, remunerative prices. It is an ' interesting fact that, in western Idaho, the strawberry is induced in-duced to yield two crops each year, the sccondl coming on just as the first chill of autumn is experienced. The second crop is as abundant as the first, and its texture and flavor arc considerably more delicate. The second sec-ond crop, eagerly sought after, doubles the revenue of the grower, and has made the Idaho fall strawberry straw-berry widely known in the market. Dairying Is carried on extensively and the industry is constantly expanding. ex-panding. Cows do well and the butter but-ter yield is very high. Creameries arc established in all communities where there arc enough cows, and these buy the cream at remunerative prices. There is a wide market for ' the butter, an'd the production may be expanded without limit. Hogs thrive remarkably on the feed that is afforded on an Idaho farm. They pasture on the alfalfa in the summer, and in the winter they thrive on the hay, needing but a little grain to put them in condition for market even after they have Ibccn kept for months on the hay feed. Idaho, in addition to being so attractive at-tractive to the farmer, the miner, the lumberman and the slock grower, is one of the scenic wonderlands of the world. Its mountains match the Alps 1 in grandeur, and the lakes, set like gems among them, arc among the most beautiful in the world. Persons traveling for pleasure are turning more and more to the state during the summer season, when life outdoors among the hills is like a dream. As a resort for sportsmen, it is famous. Deer, elk, and bears are found in great numbers over a large area, the interior of the state, along the western slope of the Bitter Root Mountains being the finest large game Jiunting ground in the United States. - The countless streams about with trout, and the angler flndls the state a paradise. The Oregon Short Line railway and ( its numerous branch roads make connections con-nections with stage lines running to 1 interior places, and thus the tourist is enabled to reach many of the points of scenic interest, while with a- private outfit, he call visit the most remote spots and enjoy nature in her wildest as well as her most subdued moods. JJWXLLXAM B'ALDERSTON. l |