The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1910-01-21
THE WEST LOOKED
AT IN CHICAGO
Observations of Idahoans at
the Land Show---Eastern-
ers Became Rubbernecks
Causes of "Land-Hunger"
Continued from page u

red or yellow applet went away ad
hitting that the quality went will
the size and color and surprised tt
see that the exhibitors always found
other apples to replace those sold
Some seemed to think the entire
crop of the northwest must be OF
exhibition.
! We went to the land show to learn
to see what other parts of Idaho and
the northwest had to offer and to set
tie in our own minds the possibility
of our section of country rivaling the
best of other portions. We tarried
to answer the questions of the many
eager ones wishing to know the pos
sibilities the opportunities for them
We found the name of our home
state a magic pass word, key to
open endless questions.
''1daho?-yes, we hear lots about
ldaho-but, what have you got out
there for us?" We heard this senti-
ment more than once from all sorts
and conditions of people. The golden
west was never so a,luring, even in
the days when the forty-niners made
their perilous journey over the
Rockies but then, only men made the
journey with the hope of filling their
pockets with gold then returning to
a life of ease in the east, now, whole
families wish to travel westward, and
while there may be no objection on
their part to filling their pockets with
gold, the main object is home of
their own in growing country
Land hungry expresses the feeling
especially among those whose daily
grind takes them cityward.
One would hardly think that Chi
cago, busy Chicago, with it's myriads
of play houses, it's many kinds of
entertainments, it's varied social life,
everything to attract and distract at
tenion would have cared for dis
play of farm producs-the plebeian
potato, grain and grasses, but the
fact remains that Chicago flocked to
the Land Show. and gazed with as
awe struck eyes as is usually attribu-
ted to the rural visitors when he. first
sees the Masonic Temple, Marshal
Fields, or the Board of Trade. And
it was an attractive sight. Tier on
tier of the most beautiful apples the
world can produce met the eye on
every side, grains and grasses in
abundance and-potatoes. We never
supposed that potatoes could elicit
much enthusiasm but they he'd front
rank at the Land Show-an admiring
crowd always before them-almost
an incredulous crowd that wanted to
know if that was the way potatoes
grew in Tdaho-"Yea, verify" was
our reply land even better"
Few monstrosities were shown, just
ordinary size, with the main atten-
tion given to uniformity and smooth
ness.
We found Idaho represented not
alone at the land shown Evanston
the fancy apples at several stores
we're Idaho apples selling at top mar
ket prices. sixty cents per Cozen, and
rs cents per peck, for medium sized
Jonathans, and this because they
were free from worms and blemishes.
At Centralia, in the southern
Illinois fruit section, we again found
Idaho apples taking first rank the
only choice apples in the show win
dows.
Idaho potatoes upon the market and
in the cellar of our friends and the
quality said to be second to none, not
even the famous Greeley Colorado,
product
Our investigations led us to several
conclusions-the best exhibits at the |
Land Show and elsewhere were made |
by organized growers and their pro-
ducts were uniformly packed and |
bore the label of the locality and |
grower. The brand of many fruit |
growers associations is guarantee |
Of the contents of the package and |
an advertisement of tn locality in
which a choice product may be OBJ
aimed. Wichita dealers handle train
oads of Idaho potatoes and the pur-
,hasers for South Water street COM
mission houses in Chicago go into
every, corner of the U. s. where good
apples grow, buy up the apples, pack
hem themselves. and put them in
,Old storage until the price is right;
md there is always time when the
,rice is right on apples that are sound
Ind will keep. We found these same
lealers shipping Idaho apples to Eng
and and other European countries
where the wealthy are glad to pay
he cost of transportation and pro-
luction in order to enjoy so choice a
)roduct
We found that even in the most
avored centers of apple production,
here are off years and entire crops
Killed by frosts, and that nearly
everywhere there is the fight with in
ects and fungous diseases, but that
areful growers are overcoming all
opposition and good fruit land is the
most valuable land today, outside
he great cities. We talked with
men who insist that there is big
nonev in apple orchards even when
$4,000 per acre is paid for an or
hard in bearing, and we finally con-
luded that the vicinity of Blackfoot :
nd the American Falls Tract con-
aims as good soil and as good CT
nate as much freedom from crop fail
re on account of unfavorable sea-
ons as some. perhaps any of the
lore advertised tracts. What is need I
d here is more interest in placing
ur products before the purchasing
ublic in the most attractive ways. We
cunt ourselves among those who
hight have added something to the
daho portion of the land show, but,