Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1917-02-04
CRANDVIEW VALLEY
on Snake river, 40 miles south
of Boise, partly in Ada and part |

~ IN OWynee county. IL IS OH
the beaten track Of travel, being ap-
proximately rs miles from Mountain
home, the nearest railroad station. But
the comparatively recent application
Of water to nearly 10000 acres of the
extremely fertile land Of that section
has resulted in exceptional growth and
prosperity.
The portion Of the valley south Of
Snake river in Owyhee county is irri-
gated b the waters of Bruneau river
through the gravity canal Of the
Grandview irrigation district The
portion in Ada county is watered by
means Of the big electrical pumping
plant of the Snake River Irrigation
company, Carey act enterprise, which
pumps the water of Snake river upon
about 5000 acres of low Lying bench
land. Engineers are now working on
the plans for installing pumping plant
to water several thousand acres of ad-
ditional land situated above the grav-
ity canal on the Owyhee county side.
FINE SOIL AND CLIMATE.
The weather maps disclose that this
area is the center of the warmest and
driest section of Idaho. This fact COM
the source Of the progress of this re-
gion. 1t Is stock country par-excel-
lence. The immense yields of alfalfa
coupled with the mild winters of this
sheltered valley, and the adjacent stock
range in the Owyhee mountains, make
1t the winter quarters of hundreds of
thousands Of sheep that are brought in
from long distances for winter feeding
and early lambing. February lambs
marketed In late June or early July
bring top prices. Stock men in in
creasing~ numbers during recent years
are accordingly taking advantage of
the exceptional situation, to their own
profit and the profit OF the hay grow
ers.
LONG GROWING SEASON.
The growing season for alfalfa ex-
tends from March to October and nu-
merous authenticated instances are
recorded of production of 10 tons of
alfalfa hay per acre in three cuttings
with additional pasture. The Mckeeth
brothers. located below Grandview, ON
the Owyhee county side, have raised
over 10 tons per acre on one 4o-acre
tract for several years.
On the Ada county side Robert
Chattin. the well-known sheep man
Of Mountain Home. last year produced
8.39 tons per acre on 80 acres of COM
paratively new land. Eight tons of
hay per acre is coming to be consider
ed as only standard production. Dur
ing the past year the thousands of tons
of hay produced there was sold at an
average price of IS per ton and the
whole valley is now dotted with the
flocks that are consuming it, mean
while the farmers are busy buying
automobiles.
The center of this area is the thriv-
ing town of Grandview, which has a
prosperous bank, a good hotel and
two STORY concrete school building, be-
sides number of growing mercantile
establishments. Arrangements are
afoot for the building of "A bridge to
connect the two sides of Snake river
at this point, as the country has been
heretofore by having to
use the old fashioned ferry for the ex-
tensive travel and traffic.
RAILROAD CONNECTION.
Just at present this section is much
interested in the projected railroad
from Boise through the Twin Falls
country to Nevada, and in the propos-
ed Owyhee irrigation project, now I'M
der investigation, which proposes to
utilize the storage waters of the Bru-
neau river for the irrigation by gray
ity of about $4,000 acres of the higher
lying bench lands adjacent to Grand
view. The contamination of these
plans would, Of course, provide much
needed transportation facilities. This
while not essential to
the prosperity of the section along it's
present lines Of alfalfa and stock
growing. would open the way for
dairying, cheese factory and seed
growing which have heretofore been
neglected. Moreover, transportation
would give the outside world an oppor-
tunity to know more of this favored
country which, though lying at Bosses
doors, is little known except to those
directly interested.