NORTH AMERICAN STATES 



NORTH AMERICAN STATES 2259 



3,000 to 4,000 feet. The protection is very good and 

 fruit of fine quality is grown. Approximately 3,000 

 acres are in fruit at the present time. 



Almost all kinds of fruit of excellent quality are grown 

 in the Payette district. However, at the present time, 

 apples and prunes are the leaders in importance from a 

 commercial standpoint. Blackcap raspberries are also 

 of some importance commercially. Almost all kinds of 

 apples grow well. The Arkansas Black is one of the 

 best money-makers, with the Rome Beauty a close 

 second. The acreage in Jonathans is large. 



Pears are not grown extensively at the present time 

 in the Payette Valley. Very fine peaches are grown, also 

 all kinds of cherries, Italian prunes, plums and prac- 

 tically all of the small-fruits and American grapes. 



The "Emmett bench," being farther up the Payette 

 River valley, presents conditions slightly different. 

 The protection is better and there is a longer growing 

 season. In this section, all American varieties of grapes 

 mature well and are of excellent quality. In favored 

 situations, the European varieties, especially the 

 Malaga, Sweetwater, Cornichon, Muscat and Thomp- 

 son Seedless, are grown. The Tokay is also grown, 

 although it does not always mature properly. 



The Boise Valley district includes the entire Boise 

 Valley with Boise at one end and Parma at the other. 

 It is about 35 miles long and varies in width from 

 2 to 10 miles. While fruit is raised in the entire valley, 

 most of the commercial orchards are found in the 

 country around the towns of Boise, Eagle and Star, 

 Parma, Collister and Middleton on the north side of the 

 River, and Meridian, Nampa, Caldwell and Roswell on 

 the south side. There are approximately 25,000 acres 

 and it is the second largest fruit district in Idaho. While 

 many varieties of apples do excellently in this district, 

 the Rome, according to many of the growers, is the most 

 profitable. However, the growers are almost unanimous 

 in agreeing that the Italian prune is the leading money- 

 maker in the Boise Valley at the present time. The 

 sloping ground nearer the mountain ranges is best 

 adapted to the growing of peaches, sweet cherries and 

 grapes commercially. In the lower elevations, there is 

 great danger of frost. Sour cherries succeed well in the 

 level, open country. Berries of all kinds succeed well 

 and there is seldom a failure, although strawberries are 

 sometimes affected by a late spring frost. The soils of 

 the Boise Valley are very rich. The elevation varies 

 from 2,000 to 3,000 feet. The annual precipitation is 

 from 10 to 15 inches. Irrigation is depended upon to 

 mature crops grown in the valley. 



The Snake River Canon district consists of: (a) The 

 Homedale section, which includes Indian Cove, Central 

 Cove, Sunnyside, Fargo and Peaceful valleys. All of 

 these are coves along the Snake River. This section is 

 well adapted to fruit as the climate is excellent for fruit- 

 growing purposes. However, trees should not be 

 planted on the adobe land on the floor of the river 

 valley. There are about 2,000 acres in this section, 

 which are distributed along the Snake River for 30 

 miles. (6) The Upper Snake River Canon section 

 which consists of Grand View, Medbury Valley, Glenns 

 Ferry, King Hill, Swiss Valley, Hagerman Valley, 

 Crystal Springs, Niagara Springs and Blue Lakes. 

 This is approximately 100 miles long and is a narrow 

 canon varying in width from 1 to 4 miles. The fruit 

 is planted in spots. 



The entire district is located directly along the Snake 

 River. The hills or canon walls on each side of the river 

 afford an excellent protection, although there is a wide 

 variation. At Blue Lakes, the canon walls of the river 

 are very steep and about 800 feet high, while in the 

 Homedale section, the valley is much wider and the 

 hills not nearly so abrupt nor high. This entire area 

 has a mild climate and long growing season, well 

 adapted to the growing of fruits, and there are localities 

 where even tender fruits, such as European grapes, are 



grown successfully. Apples thrive well and are grown 

 commercially. Peaches, sweet cherries, grapes, and the 

 like, have the advantage of a good local market, due 

 largely to the fact that they ripen earlier than those 

 grown outside of the canon district. Sour cherries are 

 excellent and sweet varieties succeed well. Prunes, 

 plums, strawberries and all of the small-fruits grow well 

 and produce abundantly. 



The Twin Falls district includes: (a) The territory 

 known as the North Side Twin Falls section and the 

 surrounding country where the conditions are similar, 

 especially the vicinity around the towns of Ticeska, 

 Bliss, Jerome, Gooding, Wendell, Shoshone and Rich- 

 field. In this entire section, there are approximately 

 6,000 acres in fruit. (6) The South Side Twin Falls 

 section, especially the area surrounding the towns of 

 Hansen, Kimberly, Twin Falls, Filer, Buhl, Minidoka, 

 and Burley. Minidoka and Burley are located on the 

 Minidoka project and at the present time very little 

 fruit is grown in this vicinity. In this section there are 

 about 19,000 acres in fruit, (c) The Salmon Tract is a 

 flat, irrigated country located to the east of Salmon 

 River and watered by the Salmon River and Deep 

 Creek. There are approximately 3,000 acres in fruit. 



The average elevation of this district is rather high, 

 varying from 3,500 to 4,500 feet. The soil is a clay loam 

 and is excellent for the production of fruit. Throughout 

 the entire district, irrigation must be practised in 

 order to produce crops. Peaches and American grapes 

 are grown to a limited extent, although these are much 

 later than those grown in the canon district nearby. 

 Few sweet cherries are grown. Apples are the leading 

 commercial fruit, although sour cherries, prunes, plums 

 and all the small-fruits will grow to perfection. Occa- 

 sionally a late frost affects the berries. This district is 

 still very young from a horticultural standpoint as most 

 of the land was first irrigated about ten years ago. 



The Blackfoot and Idaho Falls district consists of a 

 strip of land running from Blackfoot through Idaho 

 Falls and on to St. Anthony, being approximately 

 80 miles long and 30 miles wide. The average eleva- 

 tion is about 4,700 feet. There is a gradual rise in 

 elevation from Blackfoot to St. Anthony of about 

 13 feet to the mile. In general, the soil is excellent. 

 The area planted to fruit in this district is small com- 

 pared with some of the other fruit districts of Idaho. 

 There are some favored localities where commercial 

 plantings have been made. Sour cherries, dewberries, 

 blackberries and blackcap raspberries are grown on a 

 small scale. Prunes and plums succeed well while straw- 

 berries, red raspberries, gooseberries and currants grow 

 to perfection. 



Public-service agencies for horticulture. 



The University of Idaho was established in 1889, by 

 an act of the Territorial Legislature, at Moscow. The 

 College of Agriculture was established in 1891, by order 

 of the Board of Regents, as one of the colleges of the 

 University. The horticultural staff consists of four 

 members. 



The Experiment Station is a regularly constituted 

 department of the University, and was also established 

 in 1891. The gardens and orchards, consisting of 45 

 acres, give ample room for all research work, which 

 is being carried on at the present time. Since the estab- 

 lishment of the Experiment Station, twenty-seven 

 bulletins and circulars have been published, having a 

 direct bearing upon horticultural subjects. 



The Extension Department of the University was 

 established in 1912, with headquarters at Boise. 



The Horticultural laws of the state of Idaho provide 

 for a State Horticultural Inspector, whose jurisdiction 

 shall extend throughout the state. To render more 

 efficient service, the state has been divided into fourteen 

 districts, a deputy horticultural inspector being placed 

 in charge of each district. 



