THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



349 



Shoshone, Idaho 



Steady Growth of City Augurs Well for Future Retail 

 Interests Thrive Building Activity is Proof of De- 

 velopmentNew Industries Are Forming Climate 

 Conduces Good Health Notes on Crops and Re- 

 sources. 



Every point in southern Idaho, and particularly the town 

 of Shoshone, teems with possibilities for energetic and pro- 

 gressive people, Shoshone, located in the very heart of the 

 irrigation area of Southern Idaho, is the pioneer town of this 

 section. It is one of the few places that are not of the "boom" 

 variety. 



The moment that the process of reclamation, under the 

 Carey Act, of the arid lands of Lincoln and adjoining coun- 

 ties was well under way, Shoshone began a forward move- 

 ment which bids fair to make it the leading town of southern 

 Idaho. All lines of business are rapidly increasing, and today 

 it is more prosperous than ever in its past history. 



New buildings, both for business and residence purposes, 

 are constantly in the course of construction, cement walks 

 are being laid in almost every portion of the city, new addi- 

 tions and acreage tracts are being platted and sold so steadily 

 that there is every indication of a continued and increased 

 growth. 



There are two national banks, and a promise of a third 

 one, which are rated the most substantial institutions in the 

 state. Two first class hotels ; three large lumber yards ; two 

 drug stores ; several large mercantile establishments ; one 

 newspaper ; and numerous other industries make up a prosper- 

 ous and progressive village. Its two elegant schools, with a 

 $25,000 High School building under way, four churches, court 

 house and other public buildings compare favorably with those 

 of many cities several times its size. 



With added electrical power soon to be supplied in un- 

 limited quantities, other factories will be built and join in 

 the procession to reap the benefits of a suitably located and 

 prosperous city. Shoshone is favored with both an abundant 

 water supply and a good electric lighting system. Local 

 parties are establishing a brick yard and a cement block 

 factory, while negotiations are under way for a flouring mill, 

 elevator, and a steam laundry. 



There is nothing fictitious in the term "Sunny Southern 

 Idaho," for sunshine is the predominating feature. The total 

 rainfall is lessjtan fifteen inches, and this comes during the 

 winter months^ The noon-day temperature of summer is 

 offset by the e||treme dryness of the air, and one does not 

 suffer from disjpmfort that is felt at even eighty degrees in 

 the humid climate of the eastern and southern states. The 

 nights are invariably cool, which is a sufficient statement to 

 attract many from the Mississippi valley and the middle west. 

 Seldom, if ever, does the mercury fall below the zero point 

 in the winter time, and it is never cold enough to interfere 

 with outdoor work. 



Nowhere in this latitude is there a more agreeable climate 

 to be found, nor one where good health is more unvarying 

 than here. Pecular to the locality is the absence of cyclones, 

 blizzards, hail, and thunder storms. The great continental 

 divide lies along the north of us and not only protects south- 

 ern Idaho from the Arctic winds, to which most northern 



states are subjected, but there the snow-capped peaks of these 

 mountains furnish an inexhaustible and never failing water 

 supply for the reclamation of the fertile sage brush lands. 



At no place in the west can be found a more productive 

 soil than that land which is tributary to Shoshone. It is a 

 rich and fertile volcanic ash, free from alkali, with a slight 

 admixture of sand, which makes it easily irrigable and much 

 more adaptable to sub-irrigation than the heavier, or clay, 

 soil. By actual analysis it is three and one half to four times 

 more productive than the soil of Iowa or Illinois. 



Besides cereals and vegetables, 'rye, clover, timothy, red- 

 top, and fruits, such as pears, prunes and plums, are grown 

 with ease. Currants, raspberries and all fruits give enormous 

 yields. Strawberries are especially productive throughout 

 a season lasting from the last of May to the middle of 

 September. Apples, however, are the banner fruit crop of 

 this section, as they so mature under the everlasting sunshine 

 as to put on the reddest blush, and from the climatic condi- 

 tions derive such a hardiness and firmness that after winter 

 in cold storage, or even ordinary cellar storage, they emerge 

 as firm and sound and crisp as the ordinary eastern apple at 

 Christmas time. The eastern Jonathan apple does well to 

 last until New Year, while the Jonathan of southern Idaho- 

 is in its prime in the month of March. 



To the eastern farmer it will appear as an exaggeration 

 to assert that 95 per cent of the butter used in the state of 

 Idaho is shipped in from neighboring states. Neither has 

 the supply of poultry and eggs for the local market ever been 

 furnished from within its borders. These facts present a 

 condition which the small farmer who is seeking for great 

 profits cannot afford to overlook. 



Another source of immense profit is the raising of hogs. 

 They thrive to perfection when pastured on the alfalfa, which 

 grows so readily and abundantly in this state, and there is no 

 better finishing food for them than sugar beets and sugar 

 beet pulp. 



Southern Idaho in general and Lincoln County in par- 

 ticular is especially well adapted, both in soil and climate, 

 to the growing of sugar beets. For highest yield in sugar it 

 is necessary to have the cool nights to facilitate the formation 

 of saccharine matter during the growth of the beet. Also, the 

 absence of alkali in the soil is an important factor in the 

 successful and profitable handling of the beets at the factory, 

 and the crystallization of the sugar in the finishing processes. 

 It is predicted that in the near future Idaho will be one 

 of the largest sugar producing states in America. Experi- 

 mental crops here have yielded 22 tons of beets to the acre, 

 showing by analysis to contain 19.7 per cent saccharine matter, 

 while in other states the percentage is from 15 to 17. The 

 Idaho Sugar Company have a standing offer of $4.50 per ton 

 for beets grown on the Twin Falls South Side Tract, and 

 this county being bisected by the main line of the railroad, 

 is easily able to compete with any market. In addition to 

 this there is every prospect of a sugar beet factory being 

 established at Shoshone, the benefit of which to the farmers of 

 the surrounding locality can be readily estimated. 



One of the most remunerative occupations which has 

 been overlooked in southern Idaho is the raising of bees. The 

 broad fields of alfalfa furnish these busy little workers with 

 an abundance of the best possible material for making a very 

 high-grade honey. One apairy, located a few miles from Sho- 

 shone, with less than a hundred swarms, yielded last year 

 to the owner a profit of $3,500. This is only an illustration 

 of what can.be accomplished in this line of work. 



For those who are in poor health, there is no better place 



