1904 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



219 



The average size of irrigated farms 

 in this section of the state is 40 acres. 

 The average value per acre of irrigated 

 land, according to the last census, is 

 $58. The value of farm property per 

 farm is $2,060, including buildings, im- 

 plements, machinery, and live stock. 

 The gross income per farm, not includ- 

 ing products fed to live stock, in 1900, 

 was $1,224. 



Using the above unit averages, the 

 result of the successful completion of 

 this great irrigation project may be 

 briefly summed up as follows : 



New farms . 



Increase in irrigated land, in acres. 



Value of new farms at $58 per 



acre ... 

 Value of farm property, including 



live stock . 



Total increase in farm values 

 Total gross annual income from 



new farms . 



5,5oo 

 272,000 



$15,776,000 



12,430,000 

 28,206,000 



6,732,000 



The Boise- Payette project alone will 

 add 42 per cent to the value of farm 

 property and 37 per cent to the gross 

 income from farms in Idaho. A project 

 that promises such immense returns de- 

 serves the close attention of the people. 



SOME FEATURES OF THE SWISS FOREST 



SERVICE. 



BY 



AUSTIN GARY, 



FORESTER TO THE BERLIN MILLS COMPANY. 



PASSING acquaintance for three 

 weeks with Swiss forests and for- 

 est officers affords slight basis for criti- 

 cism or even for exposition. It can not 

 fail, however, to breed in any intelligent 

 traveler a hearty respect for the Swiss 

 service and its achievements. 



Switzerland and Holland are two 

 countries which should be peculiarly 

 honored for the use they have made of 

 naturally small resources. While the 

 Hollanders have been reclaiming great 

 areas of productive land from the sea, 

 the Swiss with equal persistence and 

 equal genius have been making the very 

 best of their naturally broken and un- 

 productive country. In this work the 

 foresters have had an important share. 

 New woods have been planted and old 

 ones put into productive shape. Moun- 

 tain torrents have been so controlled 

 that they can do no damage either on 

 the slopes above or the fields below. 

 Safety has been secured to the people 

 from landslips and avalanches, and con- 

 siderable area added to the productive 

 surface of the country. This work has 

 exercised not only a high degree of 

 technical skill, but it has furthermore, 

 in the free political condition of the 



country, involved education of the peo- 

 ple and many forms of cooperation be- 

 tween the general government, the can- 

 tons, the towns, and interested parties. 

 It is in view of these last facts especially 

 that what has been accomplished by the 

 Swiss should be an encouragement to 

 us in America. 



What a difference in the aspect of a 

 country is wrought by an intelligent and 

 progressive people ! One has to go no 

 farther than Italy and Greece to see 

 what the results of national poverty, 

 weakness, and disunion may be. The 

 Swiss, on the other hand, seem to be 

 steeped in the ideals of national progress 

 and cooperation. In their situation, in- 

 deed, forestry is a prime necessity. 

 With 28 per cent of the area of the 

 country entirely unproductive and the 

 main industries of the people agricult- 

 ural and pastoral, the 20 per cent that 

 they can spare for forest is not enough, 

 even under good management, to supply 

 the needs of the country for timber. 

 The price of all qualities of wood is very 

 high, and 16,000,000 francs' worth is 

 annually imported from Austria and 

 Germany. 



From the simplest point of view, there- 



