IRRIGATION IN IDAHO. 



PROSPECTIVE SETTLERS. 

 BY JOEL SHOMAKER. 



The story of irrigation and the possibilities of soil culture in Idaho 

 seem like a fairy tale, and the truthful writer must always expect many 

 doubtful readers, who might imagine him a land agent, picturing paper 

 castles in the desert. This little "Gem of the Mountains" possesses some 

 most remarkable agricultural characteristics visible to the homeseeker, 

 tourist and investor. It contains 84,890 square miles of area, inside of 

 which there are 600,000 acres covered by numerous crystal mountain 

 lakes. The Snake river is fully 1.000 miles in length, within and along 

 the borders of the State, and is navigable for probably 200 miles. This, 

 with the Boise, Payette, Weiser, Kootenai, Clark Fork, Clearwater, St. 

 Joseph and other rivers and streams constitute the natural water supply 

 from the perpetual reservoirs of the mountains. 



In 1890 the census enumerators returned 6,654 farms in the 18 county 

 divisions, with 217,005 acres under cultivation. The general land office 

 reports for June 30, 1895, show that 206,519 acres had been taken as or- 

 iginal homestead entries; the railroad selections amounted to 52,042 

 acres; and the total disposed of under homestead acts, timber culture 

 acts, located with agricultural college scrip and military bounty war- 

 rants, and selected by the state and railroads amounted to 339,328 acres. 

 Some of the best informed residents think the area irrigated at present 

 will reach at least 500,000 acres. The official figures give Idaho a popula- 

 tion of 84, 385 of which all but 201 are white citizens. The number of far- 

 mers increases every year by immigration from the western states and 

 all sections of the east where irrigation is studied by those seeking new 

 homes. It is estimated by authorities competent to approximate the 

 area, that the state contains 16,000,000 acres of agricultural lands in the 

 several valleys, at an altitude of less than 5,000 feet above sea level. 



Many of the irrigation canals of Idaho are farmers' co-operative con- 

 cerns constructed without bonding or other indebtedness, and incorpor- 

 ated under the. general state laws. The average first costof water rights 

 in these canals has been in the past about $1.75 and the expense of clean- 

 ing the land preparatory to irrigation $10 an acre. A farm then with 

 perpetual water right and ready for cultivation would be about $15 an 

 acre outlay for a good "place to make a place" in this state. There are 

 numerous small ditches and many large canals, costing more or less than 

 this amount, and the value of the land after reclamation is proportionate 



