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Show SOUTHERN UTAH tL 1 E a L waitUEa.w v l i SALT LAKE, Aug 11. An undeveloped unde-veloped agricultural empire of wonderful won-derful possibilities is that section of Iron county where the state land board recently has been conducting land sales, according to Herbert E. Smyth, clerk for members of the board handling the sales, who returned return-ed yesterday from Parowan. He reports re-ports that during the public auction 18,446.35 acres of land were disposed of at an average price of about $3.25 an acre. The lands sold brought about ?60,-000, ?60,-000, of which $7,258.46 was paid down as deposits by the buyers. Tho balance bal-ance will be paid in 10 annual Installments, In-stallments, with interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum. The sale of lands was under the immediate direction of M M. Steele, member of the board. Mr. Smyth said this morning that, contrary to tho general opinion, the land is not located locat-ed in one big piece, but rather is scattered over quite a section of territory ter-ritory Most of the land there is government land. "In tho Parowan and Cedar valleys there are botwecn 200.000 and 300,000 acres that are not cultivated now, but which undoubtedly will be cultivated within a few years." declared Mr. Smyth. "It Is a verltablo farming empire, em-pire, teoming with possibilities. The soil is rich and fertile and adapted for raising most of the crops that are grown elsewhere in Ut?h. Problem of Water. "Until the problem of water Is solved solv-ed dry farming necessarily must be engaged in From my observations throughout the section I would say. however, that there is plenty of water wa-ter at depth, which may be got onto the land by moans of wells. "Near Cedar City the state land board has let a contract for the d-iv-ijig of a 6-inch well to a depth of bOO feet for tho purpose of determining whether water is obtainable. The difficulty dif-ficulty wiln most of the settlers in that section In the past is that they have not been able to obtain water for culinary purposes even. If it Ib demonstrated that water can be obtained ob-tained through driving wells, it Is only a question of a very short time until towns will spring up as though In magic ""At Lund, the Salt Lake route has a well, from which they get water for their tanks, at a depth of between 500 and GOO feet. Not far from there a flow was struck at 179 feet. ThlB seems to indicate the fact that water wa-ter may be obtnined throughout the alley Rich Alluvial Soil. "The soil In the Cedar and Parowan Paro-wan valleys is of the rich, alluvial variety, covered for the most part with a growth of sagebrush. In the Escaianto valley there are many .stretches of grass-covered land. "Some of the land at the recent sale sold as high as $12.50 an acre. This was located a comparatively short dis-tance dis-tance from Modena. A Youngr Pioneer. J "An interesting' feature of the?pub-He the?pub-He auction is the factthat r? M. Steele, who had immediate charge for the, board, is one of the youngest pioneers of Parowan. He went to that place in hia- mother's arms in January, 1851, when ho was only 18 months old." The public auction for lands in that section now Is over,' but the lands still are ouen to prlvato sale. Out of the 40,000 acres offered for sale, near-' ly one-half were sold., , |