The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-16
Millions Of Acres Of Desert Lands
Now Being Made the Most Pro-.
ductive Of Soil by Bringing the
Water to Them.
IDAHO "A LEADER IN THIS
TREMENDOUS CHANGE
How the Payette Valley in the
Sunshine State Has Been Con-
yerted Into q Paradise for the
Agriculturist. -. se..... ...s.,
BY HERBERT VANDERHooF,

SA8AASNAVN2 !Sbs g, .s,a .-,.,. ..1r."a.
BY HERBERT VANDERHooF.
The traveller through Idaho who is in
terestcd In the system OF irrigation, which
has wrought such wonders In that land
impressed by the splendid Inducements
offered to the asrioulturdst in the Payette
The Payette country lies where the
Payette river pours its waters into the
great Snake rive: in the southwestern
town OF Payette, now numbering $500
Inhabitants, stands in the center of this
fertile region and benefits by the work
OF the settlers who have made the sur
seekers. r..
It Is an impossible task to describe in
exact words what irrigation has done for
bers that the farmer farm; in nj this section is
entirely independent Of the forces of ma
ture as regards the raising of his crops
an ID ides = may be obtained Of the boon
upon the Payette country. =
Lot the rainfall be little or great, it is
all the same to the Payette agriculturist.
desired moisture is there, and the CRATE
ful soil responds generously to It's inf1u-
ence ~
Borders en- the Miraculous.
4C ID no -eXaS86Tal1On 70 say Cnat
| change brought about in the arid west
through irrigation is little short of
miracle.
Here stands city of $500 inhabitants
try. where few years ago the lank coy
ota made his abode and prairie dogs and
jaclsrabhits held high revel, ~undisturbed
sde 'hS he Alfalfa aafa s1ds predicting 80 Hss
Of hay to the acre. where formerly the
eye wearied viewing an endless expanse
of yellow cactus, sage brush and the hot
. It is but recently that the. people Of
! this continent awoke to the Importance
Of the irrigation question. Surprising the
me e ION the Paciflc instead Of the At-
lantic coast, 1t is evident that the popu
| lation increase would have been governed
BY the i9 Of the s yat
! die in. the last ditch" but beyond it.
The pioneer line OF agriculture is that
Of the last ditch:
agriculture for all the ancient civiliza-
lions: India, Judea, China, Egypt, Nine
veh and Babylonia are all cases in point
written in connection with that Of irri-
cation. The ancient Egyptians as far
a the da s Of na Il the
valley of the Nile under lVation-
Therefore Idaho may be said t., have
taken lesson from: the past, asHit were,
( was. land enough and. to spare in the
Estate, but the water supply was woefully
Fa9asanag 1nensaaSs e
less for purposes Of cultivation until irr1-
CATION was brought into play. 80, f. & :
r EsIdeal Conditions for lrrluat aon:x' {
re P ta valsy the of eond'tlons
aetal water supply: Bringing :s the hoods 'oas
combination irrigation bitches soon
, The valley sy IN v.n Re- tSs
streams Of melted snow that poured
down from the great mountain ranges
into the canals destined to enrich the
valley 1t was not 11nE before .o dese r.
/ ..ield the treasures Of It's soil to the hand
F OF man. >''> - :
At. the present, time land can be gur-.
cite ,irom, 500 TO- $3.50 an acre: Land il
other parts Of the valley In the raw
state can be had at from 3sosto s75 ar
acre. The prospective settler tn the Pay.
returns for his labor. Fruits Of all kinds
large and small, are produced in amazing
quantity and reach a point Of perfection
gr gro IN IS Section S Of the United States: =
s. The alfalfa crops are ,uneceled. hay
is product upon which the farmer car
; always rely. and corn and wheat grow
!
| mercies the PaYette settlers are indebted
to the splendid climatic conditions, a:
storms and cyclones are unknown. :
cattle industry must ~ not rof
of the Payette valley. Wide acres Q
tain sides upon which thousands OF hogs
sheep and cattle feed and grow fat. Thos'
wishing to engage in the lumber or min
ing business will also find exceptional in
ducements in this portion Of the state.
3 Profit In Fruit Growing.
, So far, however, the fruit farmer ha
: cite section. There is biz money in tn
{ primes command the highest prices in tn
: eastern markets. Small holdings Of frui
. small amount that will y'ald the in
9 vestors liberal harvests of gold.
Transportation facilities are excellent
: Fruit is shipped by the car load from tn
t road connections with all the great mar
i kets, thus acting as the distributing cen
: ter for the surrounding country:
r And this is no small thing in the farm
) but the disposal Of the said products
another and serious question.
), In the Payette valley both Of thes
q problems are solved; firstly. by irrigation
4 and the ma tural. richness Of the land
r secondly by the ready service given b
s the steam breathing, steeds Of the shinin
O rail. 1t is "a combination that Is Thar
a to beat" -: 81.
s f. There is another factor that every in
. tending settler must take charge of Il
L the land Of almost perpetual sunshine
: It Is a fact substantiated by the record
reau that the average duration Of day
Of sunshine in idaho is 900 days IN tn
: year This accounts for the necessity 9
$ Irrigation The rainfall Is slight. whil
O the water at possession of the settler
! days the early settlers used this waite
s TRaD g ss 5 fos PgoR o.
veins But es TIE }ngd fSst i hase ~oa
!. new .Eldorado at their very feet. on
which they had entirely ;Ssn rcna
v returns than the alluvial streams whie
r they had been bucking against coul'
= ever return. And hence the dawn Of If
s. riga ton In Idaho.
:, AMERICANS QUIT EUROPE
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