Evening star., 1909-09-02
FIRST YEAR SETTLERS
Many in Snake River Section
Sowing First Crops.
CLEARING OUT SAGE BRUSH
Idaho Presents Ideal Conditions for
the Agriculturist.
FARMERS OWN THEIR HOMES
Iowans Form Large Part Of Popula-
ton in Twin Falls Tract.
Progress Rapid.
CLEARING OUT SAGE BRUSH
OWN THEIR HOMES
EY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.


Special Correspondence of The Star and the
Chicago Record Herald.
TWIN FALLS. Idaho. August "a. 1903
This is the first year Of most of the
settlers on the north side Of the Snake
river. They have spent the spring and
summer clearing away sage brush and
planting alfalfa, oats. potatoes and other
crops. Alfalfa is not only a very prolt-
able but convenient crop. 1t gives the
farmer feed for his stock a few weeks
after it Is planted. He can cut three
crops a year and then turn In the hogs
TO forage upon the stubble.
Almost everybody is setting out apple
trees confident that this will be IA
nous "apple belt" like Hood River valley
in Oregon and Payette valley. little
farther north in Idaho. Mormon settlers
on Goose creek have been shipping apples
OF a very fine quality for fifteen years or
more. and Mr.. Perrine, who has LOGO
acres of orchard down in the bottom of
the Snake River canyon. as told you
yesterday. has taken every prize he ever
went after at an exposition or a fair
The people who are coming in here now
bring their families. household furniture,
farming implements and. very often.
horses COWS. pigs and chickens from the
east. They are building substantial and
comfortable houses. mostly OF the nunea-
J.
shack of the homesteader. There Is
scarcely a house any farm in this sec
tion that cost less than $500. and some
cost $4,000. many $1,000 The average
per dwelling is about S1.20O.
Cultivate Their Own Farms.
The land is owned by the people who
live upon it, and ii is nearly all under
cultivation This Is a ''one-man farm
country. and although eighty acres is
the unit, the great majority OF the In
comers cultivate forty acres or less,
which is not entirely matter of choice.
but in Il great measure, is due to the
inability to obtain help. 1t is so easy
for man to get Il farm of his own that
lie will not work for other people. except
at bricklaying. carpeuterins and otner
trades. which many of the farmers follow
if they happen to be located near Il town.
The demand for labor in the building
trades especially has caused many of the
new settlers to seek work In the towns
as we'll as cultivate their little farms.
carpenter stonemason or brickiayer can
command So day. Perhaps | ought to
reverse the statement and say that every
mechanic. lawyer, doctor and printer has
farm.
In order to educate this class of settlers,
and eastern farmers. as well. the water
company has employed Eugene Grnbb of
Carbondale. Col. regent of the agricui-
tural college of that state. and proprietor
of the largest potato farm in the world,
10 go about among those who are unac-
customed to irrigation and leach them
how to cultivate their farms. He is called
a consulting agriculturalist.' and spends
all his time giving free advice and counsel
about piOwing and cuitlvating. the KIND
of seed to use. and how to plant II. He
tells the farmers what to do and what
TO avoid doing. and warns them against
the perils of irrigation. which are as
many and as dangerous as those of dry
farming.
Easy to Ruin a Crop.
\ man can ruin a crop by giving it too
much water just as easily as he can by
letting it die of thirst. Enthusiasts come
here with their own ideas and attempt
foolish things. Mr.. Grubb is on the look
out particularly for that class of settlers,
and tries to cool them down before they
fail. because the land company realizes
that a few failures. from whatever cause
will do great damage to their interests
even though IL is the man and not the
land that Is to blame.
Mr. Grubb is an admirable man for his
work. He has had thirty years experience
i'll irrigating farms in Colorado; he has
charge of the government experimental
stock farm at Fort Collins, which wrote
about last spring, and for several years
has been in the business of breeding
potatoes and shipping the seed to differ
ent parts of the country. He handles his
seed potatoes as tenderly as mother
handles a new baby, wraps them In tissue
paper like peaches and oranges, and
ships them in fancy boxes.
The land company has established two
demonstration farms. In charge of ex-
pert irrigators, as object lessons for the
instruction of farmers. They are not ex-
perimental farms like those conducted by
the government at various places, but are
practical examples of what an irrigated
farm should be. And under Mr.. Grubb
the company has six irrigation experts.
who travel about the tract from farm to
farm. to see what is going on. and to
show inexperienced settlers how to get
the most for their labor. and make the
best use of the water.
Those who are interested in what Is
going on out here viii have an opportuni-
ty 10 make a personal inspection. for the
railway companies will sell colonists and
lomeseekers' tickets at very low rates
from Chicago. ST. Louis and other Mis-
sissppi river points between September
IL and October 10. and they are prepar-
ing 10 handle the largest rush of travel
that ever known in this part of the
country Every eastern farmer who can
spare the time and the money ought to
come and see what is being done. wheth-
cr ne decides to move out here or not. 1t
will he an Interesting journey Ii will
broaden his horizon: ii will give him new
ideas of life as we'll afford novel
experience.
Settlers Mainly From Iowa.
The largest number of settlers on the
Twin Falls tract are from Iowa. mostly
young people, the overflow of the farms
OF that state. / have found number OF
men who sold their farms in Iowa at
and sIaSa l-yritr tod /