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Show ' T ' ' J " ' ' j 1 "7 C. r I. Frcci), 7cll-::i::.::: S:lt ".:c T:!!:: Glow-1 V-.fcly cf-fcpus Ctcllb cfiL: Gem State. ."If ever there . was a paradise on earth for the agriculturalist, that r'.ace Is the Twin Falls country In Idaho," said C. M. Freed, -retired '. furr.lture dealer.vto The Telegram. 1 last r.'ht, immediately after his return from that part of Idaho, where he went for a trip of Investigation and Inspection. "The 'completion of, the . Twin' Falls canal system," 'continued Mr. Freed, "marks the beginning of the golden age for Idaho. . The fondest dreams of the most optimistic have teen, more than realised, and the senlth of the State's development has not been reached by any manner of, means, . 14 ". ' ".., "Six. months ago the. country around Twin Falls was a barren-looking desert.- The sage brush covered the apparently ap-parently barren and sterile soil. The Jackrabblt and the coyote had ' things all their, own way. i ' Country is Transformed. V ''....' "Today all Is different. : The entire country has been transformed: , The completion of that wonderful engineering engineer-ing feat has, meant more for Idaho than the Idaho of today can realize, and more than the Idaho of the future will be able to realize "for many years to come.-. . . I , ; "Where six months ago there was nothing but sare brush, the farms have . bee.-i cultivated and are making their owners wealthy. , Twenty-five to thirty bushels of the finest wheat that can be raised Is being grown on every acre of that sage, brush land that has been ! cultivated. And this is only the, first season. -.-. r "While I was In the Twin Falls neighborhood I visited the ranch of J. B. Perrlne. This ranch la an illustration illustra-tion of what Idaho, can do. In that climate it Is generally supposed that I only -the semi-hardy fruits can be ' raised. , On the Perrlne ranch, however, how-ever, there is an orchard producing the finest almonds that I ever ate.. The peaches, pears, apples and cherries can I not be excelled in any market or from any farm land In the country. J Quickly lluna Into Honey. " " j -.' "Speaking of farm products, I saw oat fields in which the oats stood six feet In height' And they had not gone to straw, either, -because they were nearly weighted to the ground with the grain. ,1 actually, counted from 140 to 200. grains of oats to a single stalk. This grain quickly runs into money, rhen you consider- that on the Perrlne ranch the harvest' this year will yield 20.000 bushels of grain, from a 400-acre farm. This is the first season that this land has "been under cultivation . for grain, and on the average right through the district the wheat runs thirty bush- els to the acre. . ... -" "The settlers have gained more than they thought possible In so short a time -since the great canal was com- j pleted. Where thejr paid $25 an acre for their land with the water right, they are being offered from $65 to $125 i an acre tor the land today and the majority are holding on. - One man was offered $1,000 for sixteen acres and refused re-fused the offer. . . V - . , Trees Are Being Planted, v "Another feature that Impressed me. Every one, everywhere one may go, is planting trees. Fruit trees In their orchards, or-chards, and shade trees of many varieties varie-ties beside the roads, around the houses and in various other places. These trees In a very few years twill change the appearance of the entire country. "The town of Twin Falls Is nine months old. It . Is a lusty youngster, but It Is not In any sense of the word a 'boom town. The growth Is of the substantial kind, the kind that counts for a great deal. There are two banks, five lumber yards and many other businesses, busi-nesses, and every one. seems to be plentifully plen-tifully supplied with money. "The town is the trading center for a large area of country, and it is bound to be prosperous. While I sat for two hours one afternoon In the branch of the McCornlck bank of this . city, at Twin Falls, five large business houses opened substantial accounts with the bank.. Five new accounts In two hours! That tells the story of the town. - ' "The land is ideal, topographically. For many miles It is as level as a floor, without a hill or vale. The soil Is from three o Ave feet deep all through the valley. . Will Hare Factories. VBut agriculture will, not be all that the Twin Falls country will have to depend de-pend on. The M liner dam, a few miles from the town of Twin Falls, Is almost entirely 'completed. Power will be generated gen-erated there for the benefit of mills and factories that are being built there. A manufacturing center will develop out of Mllner. The Milner dam furnishes more than 300 miles of laterals and ditches with water for the farmers. The whole country Is criss-crossed with different dif-ferent systems of Irrigating ditches. "It will not be long before this section sec-tion of Idaho will be the most thickly populated rectlon of agricultural country coun-try In the entire West or Middle West. While I saw one ranch of several hundred hun-dred acres, and one of 640 acres, under the highest state of cultivation, the rule is for small farms. This rule Is being followed closely enough by one who is at all Interested. . Salt Lake Must Hustle. ''Salt Lake is by right of . geographical geographi-cal lotatlon and railroad facilities the natural trade center for this entire district dis-trict "But Salt Lake merchants will have to put the right-kind of men out and they-want to get the field 'staked off before Butte or other cities step in and devour that which Is ours. "Freight shipped from here today Is delivered . to the consignee tomorrow. No other city can do this for Twin Falls. That Is one reason why we should be early in the field before the people will get Into tjhe Idea of buying elsewhere. But Salt Lake can not go after that trade In a slip-shod, careless manner: Salt Lake will! have to bid lively for the pleasure and profits to be found In Twin Falls." . |