PRODUCT OF IRRIGATED LAND 

 Hauling Sugar Beets to Factory, near Billings, Mont, 



IRRIGATED LAND OPPORTUNITIES 



By G. E, BROWNE 



THE net profit of $500 to $1,000 per 

 acre on fruit lands, and $50 to 

 $75 per acre on alfalfa, rye, oats, 

 and winter wheat lands, seems impos- 

 sible. It looks more impossible when 

 one travels for hundreds of miles 

 throughout the western states and sees 

 nothing- but sage-brush lands sur- 

 rounded by hills and mountains. The 

 fact of the matter is, this land is worth- 

 less unless water can be applied. There 

 are many hundreds of thousands of 

 acres of irrigated lands that are settled 

 upon, and many thousand acres that 

 are being developed at the present time. 

 There are also thousands of acres that 

 will eventually be irrigated, but there 

 are vast tracts that never can be, due 

 to the fact that some land is not profit- 

 able to put water on, owing to the lay 

 of the land, the rocks, and oftentimes 

 the undesirable slopes. However, this 

 latter class is also desirable, as it is 

 exceptionally good in most cases for 

 sheep and cattle grazing, and when 

 these territories are located near irri- 

 gated tracts, the tendency is to keep 

 the cattle close to where feed can be 

 bought. 



How can any person make a mistake 

 by investing in irrigated lands? The 

 average forty-acre tract in any irri- 

 gated district will yield as large a profit 



as 160 acres in the eastern or middle- 

 west states. Most of the land being 

 opened in Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, 

 and Montana can be bought for $35 

 per acre with water rights, and the 

 buyer has from four to eight years to 

 pay for the same. This is virgin soil, 

 and the sage brush signifies that the 

 land has never been robbed of any 

 strength. The soil is exceptionally deep 

 in the best irrigated tracts, and in two 

 years with almost any crop, this land 

 will pay for itself. With a small 

 amount of money, any person can be- 

 come independent in this new country, 

 where the climate is ideal, and where 

 there are more opportunities to the 

 square yard than to the square mile in 

 the East or Middle West. While fruit 

 raising in the above-named territory 

 has not been developed to as high a 

 state, the possibilities are undeniable. 

 It has been proven that all kinds of 

 fruits except the citrus species thrive 

 in the Northwest, and yield prolifically. 

 At the present time the irrigated lands 

 that have been put on the market re- 

 cently, and settled, are put into alfalfa 

 and grains, although there are many 

 settlers who are also putting some of 

 their acreage into orchard. 



The Yakima, Wenatchee, and Hood 

 River districts, and also the districts 



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