The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1917-06-25
:. OUR BIGGEST FARM

One of the largest farms of the
county, if not the largest, has just
been opened for operation at Glib
son, on the reservation just south
west of Blackfoot six or eight miles.
/ 1t is lease or number of leases of
100 acres each. approximating some
thing like 1000 acres owned by In
dams, but now to be farmed for a
period of ten years by the Utah
Idaho Sugar company, the Indians
receiving rental of $3.50 per acre
plus five dollars worth of improve
ments per acre plus the clearing,
blowing, ditching and buildings in
cident to it's cultivation.
The work on these leases has just
beet commenced within the present
month, and there are now four trac-
tors and caterpiller at work and
another caterpillar coming. The four
tractors are of the Nilsson make, and
are known as the 24-36 type, which
means that they exert "a horse
power on the draw-bar or SO on the
belt when set for stationary work.
The Nilsson is made at Waukesha,
Wisconsin, weighs $500 pounds and
costs about $1,000 at Blackfoot. 1t
draws four 14-inch mouldboard
plows cutting from six to nine inches
deep, and plows about II acres in
10 hours, the operators say, using
about two gallons of coal oil per
acre. When the writer visited the
field two tractors were drawing
Twin Falls grubbers and two were
following with the gang discs plow-
| ing shallow, just to finish tearing out
the sage and to make dust mulch
to hold the moisture for future plow-
| ing after the brush is raked and
burned. Each gang of discs weighed
two tons, had six discs and cut a
strip of about seven feet. The gang
is so heavy that when it passes over
bush with it's sweeping side mo-
ton, the bush, having been already
partially cut loose by the grubber,
is simply swept aside. Then the
rakes put them in winnows and they
are burned.
The Nilsson tractor is sold by Sper-
ling & Hanna, state distributors who
informed the writer that one of these
machines has been in use at Nephi,
Utah, at the Utah-Idaho Sugar COM
pany's farm for year. One has
been in use here for several weeks,
and after having this experience with
them they ordered four Of them for
this new venture in farming. The
caterpiller was not in operation, but
we will report on it later.
Some Other Farms
M. Barclay, of Blackfoot, has Sc
cured some new leases recently in
addition to his other lease in connec-
ton with J. o. Morgan. Mr.. Bar
clay purchased Nilsson tractor and
1t was unloaded among others con-
shutting carload that reached here
Tuesday.
E, M, Kennedy and some associ-
ates are taking leases on about 1900
acres near Gibson, and Rich Brothers
and Austin Brothers association are
taking about 1000 acres Alto
gether something like 10000 acres
are being taken over in five and ten
year leases or are already under the
pillow within 10 miles of Blackfoot
on the southwest. The considera-
ton paid by the leasers on the five
year plan is to put the land in Gull
tivation and make IS worth of i'm
provements per acre during the
lease. They pay the annual water
rental to the department of the in
terror, amounting last year to 68
cents per acre, and that is the basis
II this years charges. .