IDAHO 



2912 



IDAHO 



and value of products, was hay and forage 

 plants of all sorts, of which clover and alfalfa 

 were the most valuable. The average yield 

 per acre is very high; only two states in the 

 Union, Arizona and Nevada, show a larger 

 production of hay per acre than Idaho. Since 

 1915 wheat has become the state's leading crop, 

 and a large proportion of it is winter wheat 

 raised by dry-farming methods, especially in 

 the eastern parts where the greatest fall of 

 rain occurs in the spring (see DRY FARMING). 

 In the broad and sheltered valleys nestling 

 among the mountains, apples, plums and 

 prunes, peaches and cherries are grown. 



state are both varied and extensive. It was 

 indeed the discovery of gold in 1860 in the 

 Coeur d'Alene district which started the first 

 great rush of settlers towards this region. But 

 at present the production of gold, although still 

 important, is greatly surpassed by that of other 

 metals, namely lead, silver, zinc and copper. 

 The center of the industry is still the Coeur 

 d'Alene district, where rich lead and silver ores 

 are found. These mines are in fact among the 

 richest in the world. Lead forms about sixty 

 per cent of the value of the mineral products 

 of the state, and Idaho and Missouri are the 

 foremost lead-producing states of the Union. 



ARROWROCK DAM SALMON RIVER DAM 



The Arrowrock dam and storage lake is eight miles above Boise. Its height is 349 feet, giving 

 it the distinction of being the highest dam in the world. The storage reservoir will hold enough 

 water to cover 245,000 acres to the depth of one foot. The Salmon River dam is 220 feet high; 

 along the top for its length of 500 feet is a carriage road. Its reservoir will hold sufficient water to 

 cover 260,000 acres to the depth of one foot. 



Stock Raising. The raising of live stock con- 

 stitutes one of the principal occupations of the 

 people, for in this state we still find great 

 areas, estimated at over 25,000,000 acres, util- 

 ized for grazing purposes. It is a common 

 thing to find in Idaho large ranches, some of 

 them exceeding 100,000 acres in extent. Nu- 

 merous herds of cattle roam over the plains 

 of Southern Idaho and in the sheltered valleys 

 in the north. The raising of cattle is, how- 

 ever, surpassed in importance by the raising 

 of sheep. Idaho, with its 3,000,000 sheep in 

 1915, ranked fourth in the Union as regards 

 production of wool. Boise is one of the most 

 important inland wool markets in the United 

 States. The sheep graze in the mountains 

 during the summer and are brought down in 

 the valleys and the plains in winter. 



Minerals. Mining is one of the leading 

 industries, and the mineral resources of the 



The yearly output of lead averages 350,000,000 

 pounds, valued at $14,000,000. Next in impor- 

 tance comes silver, with a yearly production 

 valued at $5,000,000 to $7,000,000. In the pro- 

 duction of silver Idaho ranks with Nevada, 

 Montana and Utah among the first four states 

 of the Union. Gold of the yearly value of 

 over $1,000,000 is extracted, mainly in the basin 

 of the Boise River, near the capital of the 

 state, and in that of the Snake River. Exten- 

 sive and rich copper fields have recently been 

 discovered and the production of copper is 

 yearly increasing in value. 



As the name Coeur d'Alene is mentioned 

 several times in this article, it is perhaps use- 

 ful to explain the meaning and origin of the 

 word. This is the name of a tribe of Indians, 

 and it is the French translation of the Indian 

 name, and means heart of an owl. It was the 

 name of a chief noted for his cruelty. 



