THE NEW PLYMOUTH. 



79 



pily to the Plymouth Colony undertaking, since the 

 Payette Valley has been chosen, like the one in which 

 the scene of her story was laid, with the most careful 

 thought of the prosperity and happiness of settlers. 



LOCATION OF THE VALLEY. 



The Payette Valley is located in the extreme south- 

 western portion of Idaho, close to the boundary of 

 Oregon. It is about 400 miles from the Pacific Ocean. 

 It is sixty miles from the capital at Boise, and many 

 important mining camps are located within a short 



First Year's Crop on Irrigated Land in a Payette Hop Yard. 



distance in the surrounding mountains. The Payette 

 River flows through one of those narrow and pic- 

 turesque valleys which serve to develop the most 

 pleasing aspects of rural life in the arid region. The 

 valley is about thirty miles long and four miles wide 

 at the place chosen for the colony. 



About 5,000 acres of land have been selected and 

 contracted for from various individuals, at the rate of 

 $20 per acre, with an additional charge of $3 per acre 

 for that part of the land cleared of sage brush and 

 ready for immediate cultivation. This price includes 

 a perpetual water right for irrigating the land. 



The soil of the Payette Valley is very deep and 

 rich, and adapted to perfect drainage. It contains 

 the aggregated and condensed richness of the vast 

 areas of vegetable growth that have been accumu- 

 lating for ages on the mountain sides. An analysis 

 shows it to be pre-eminently rich in all the mineral 

 and vegetable elements, and therefore favorable to 

 the growth of cereals, vegetables, fruits and every- 

 thing else which it is desirable to include in a scheme 

 of diversified farming. The natural growth is sage 

 brush, which is recognized as the certain evidence of 

 rich soil. In the Payette Valley the sage brush growth 

 attains extraordinary proportions, and the fertility 

 which this fact foretold to early observers has been 

 fully realized by actual experience. 



HOW THE VALLEY IS WATERED. 



The Payette River is a perennial stream of noble 

 proportions. It is fed by the melting snows of the 

 Sawtooth mountains, and has a very large drainage 

 area. The average flow of the stream is over 3,000 

 cubic feet per second, or sufficient to irrigate 150,000 

 acres of land, while not more than 60,000 acres can 

 ever call upon it for water. This is a matter of the 



most vital importance to the settler. He knows that 

 there can never be a question about his water supply. 

 A substantial canal has been built at a cost of about 

 $400.000 to cover the best lands. This canal is some 

 forty miles long, having an average width of twenty- 

 five feet, and an average depth of five and a half 

 feet. 



PRODUCTS OF THE VALLEY. 



When it is said that the Payette Valley is in the 

 milder portion. of the temperate zone, with an alti- 

 tude of 2,300 feet above the sea level ; that the soil is 

 rich, deep and kindly; that the water supply is un- 

 failing, and that there is entire freedom from hail- 

 storms and destructive winds, it does not need to be 

 added that all the vegetables, cereals, grasses, small 

 fruits and orchard fruits, together with all the meat 

 products and those of the dairy, can be successfully 

 grown. The valley, is famous, however, for its prunes, 

 pears and apples. 



PROFITS OF THE FARM AND ORCHARD. 



Under the industrial system which it is proposed to 

 adopt at Plymouth, each colonist will first aim to ob- 

 tain a prosperous living from the soil. It is impossi- 

 ble to estimate the average profit per acre upon the 

 surplus product beyond the living. This profit will 

 vary much with the skill and enterprise of individu- 

 als. It will vary also with the class of crops pro- 

 duced. It will vary still again with the use to which 

 this crop is put. For instance, the Payette Valley 

 produces from four to nine tons of alfalfa per acre, 

 and six tons is a fair average. It sells in the stack at 

 all the way from $5 to $12 per ton. Taking the Ipwer 

 price and the average yield as the basis of an esti- 

 mate, it is seen that alfalfa raised for sale in the stack 

 would bring $30 per acre. But one farmer who put 

 ten acres into alfalfa and fed it to hogs last season, 

 fattening them on grain for which he paid $250, real- 

 ized $960 for his hogs. Deducting the price paid for 

 the grain leaves a net price of about $700, or $70 per 

 acre for alfalfa raised for the purpose of feeding to 

 hogs. David Gorrie, of Payette, sold his prunes for 

 1% cents per pound, and they netted him $250 per 

 acre. Apples sell for 3 cents per pound, and six- 

 year-old trees average 200 pounds each, earning $300 

 per acre. While it is likely that the largest ultimate 

 profits will come from the orchards, it is equally cer- 

 tain that the first profits will come from tomatoes, 

 sweet corn, peas, beans, cucumbers and other vege- 

 tables, which will be disposed of at the colony's can- 

 nery. 



A MARKET AT HOME. 



It fortunately happens to day that each of the arid 

 States is importing very large quantities of things 

 it ought to produce at home. This is so because 

 mining, the range stock industry, and the growth of 

 railroad towns have kept in advance of diversified ag- 

 riculture. Thus it will be very easy to select a num- 

 ber of surplus crops which can be disposed of profit- 

 ably in the large and growing home markets. It will 

 be many years before colonies organized on the Ply- 

 mouth plan ship very largely to distant markets, al- 

 though certain crops of very superior quality will nat- 

 urally seek markets, near or far, which can afford to 

 pay the highest prices. 



THE COST OF STARTING. 



The amount of money required to start a home in Ply- 

 mouth Colony is also largely dependent upon the in- 



