Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-26
RECLAIMING A DESERT
PROJECTED IRRIoAT1oN OF Sra
ooo ACRES IN IDAHO.
Estimated Cost Of the Works 81 1 900,
OOO-Farm Values Will Be In
creased $2s, 2o6, 900.

| 'It is no reflection on other parts of the
! west to state that Idaho. these days. fur
nishes the most Instructive example of mar
| velous development to be found west of the
! Missouri river" remarked Senator Dubois
| today. 1T is well-nigh impossible to keen
/ up with the forward strides we are making
| IN every channel of trade and industry, but
| the development of our latest agricultural
| resources Is most remarkable.
| From the headwaters Of the Snake river
| on the eastern borders. extending nearly
| across, the state. a perfect network of ir-
| rigating bitches has been constructed. and
| the great Snake river desert Is dotted every
| where with cases OF bloom and fruitage;
! more than one million acres Of land once
absolutely worthless have been wrested
from artd1ty and are now producing crops
worth annually not less than SIS 600 OOO
More than $50. OO0. 600 has been added TO the
faxable~wealth of the state by this work of
conquering the desert
The Payette- Boise Project.
News comes to me today that the Secre-
tary OF the Interior has finally approved
the plans and estimates of the engineers of
the reclamation service for the largest irri-
CATION project in the west in point of area
reclaimed and total cost of the works 1t
is called the Payette-Boise project and pro-
Nioco iol liic irrigation olg,WD acres OF
lana, more than twice the total cultivated
area of Rhode Island. The estimated cost
of the works Is 81 100000, or about $50 per
acre.
The plans provide for some rema rka BILE
changes in the physical conditions of the
valleys. Great dams in the Payette and
Boise rivers will store the floods of these
streams. From the former stream broad
canal. running along line of foot hills and
passing through the divide between the riv-
ers, Will carry the surplus flow OF the Pay
cite river into the Valley of the Boise
here a network of canals and bitches many
of which are now In operation, will furnish
water to nearly 500 square miles of coun-
try No other section OF the west pre-
sents more attractive field for national
reclamation than these valleys. The lands
lie at an elevation of from 2, 100 to $500
feet, and the climate Is the very best found
in the arid region, the winters being mod
crate. the thermometer rarely reaching
zero: there Is freedom from wind, and an
unusual number of bright, sunshiny days
mark the winter months. The summers are
long and warm, and with irrigation pro-
| mote the most rapid vegetable growth. The
soil is rich, productive and adapted to all
fruits and cereals of the temperate zone.
All deciduous fruits and berries produce
abundantly. Apples and fruits are in ready
demand in eastern market where they
bring the highest prices
The Estimated Results.
1.-The average size of irrigated farms of
this section of the state is forty acres, and
the average value per acre of irrigated
land according to the last census. is sos.
The value of farm property per farm is
5000, including building. improvements,
machinery and live stock The gross In
come per farm not including produce fed
to live stock in 1900 was 81 224.
Using the above unit averages. the re-
suits of the successful completion of this
great irrigation project may be briefly
summed UP follows:
New farms. s5,5O0,G0O; increase in irri-
gated land in acreage, 2T2, coo; value of new
farms at $5S per acre, SIS. 600, value of
| farm property including live stock, S12,-
| $50 COO; total increase in farm values, S2S,-
aGp8,oOO; total gross annual income from
new farms. So. $4,000
THE Payette-Bolse project alone will add
| 40 ner cent to the value of farm property
| and 81 per cent to the gross income from
rms in Idah p"