366 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



dieted by the AGE that we have not yet learned 

 its true value. The editor of this journal has al- 

 ways been of the opinion that the fibrous stalks 

 would give us something of great commercial value 

 when properly cured and treated. 



Ties 

 Down 

 Sandy 

 Soil 



Ranchmen near Wendell, Idaho, 

 who have streaks of sandy soil on 

 their holdings, have had good suc- 

 cess this year in getting good stands 

 of rye. This crop planted in 1912 

 made a good start and this spring 

 the sandy soil showed heavy foliage. When rye 

 is once set in sandy soil it thrives so that when 

 the grain is cut, leaving a long stubble, there is 

 good protection against the winds. Some of the 

 ranchers sow alfalfa in the rye stubble and thereby 

 secure double protection, as when the alfalfa is well 

 set the subject of sand drift is no longer a problem. 



The telephone is playing an im- 

 Telephone portant part in fighting forest fires. 

 Aids The Government is spending large 



Forest sums in extending lines where they 



Service will prove of greatest value. 



The appropriation this year for 

 work of this character is to provide the present 

 forces with additional wires and lines of telephone 

 in all directions through the Government pre- 

 serves. 



The cost of providing these necessary safe- 

 guards will be saved many times over by the pre- 

 vention of the spread of fires which may be easily 

 stamped out in their inception. 



Montana and Idaho people are great- 

 Short Line ly interested in the construction of a 

 to the connecting line of railroad from 



Pacific Rogerson, Idaho, on the Oregon 



Coast Short Line, to Wells, Nevada, on the 



Union Pacific. This is the most im- 

 portant piece of railway construction that has been 

 undertaken in the West in many years. It will 

 shorten the haul from Butte, Mont., to San Fran- 

 cisco by 700 miles, and afford an easy outlet for the 

 products of all the vast country south of Butte and 

 north of the Nevada boundary. 



As at present situated the people of Montana 

 and Idaho can only reach the Pacific coast by way 

 of Portland, Ore., unless a long detour is made via 

 Ogden, Utah, to reach the Union Pacific. This is 

 direct enough so far as the people of the Twin 

 Falls country are concerned, but there are others, 

 lots of them, who must be considered. 



The freight business over the new cut-off prom- 



ises to be enormous. A saving of 700 miles in the 

 haul will be a big inducement to shippers. It means 

 a great impetus to the fruit-growing industry, espe- 

 cially apples, as the crop may be sent direct to San 

 Francisco and from there distributed all over the 

 world. China, Japan and the western coast of 

 South America will be within handy reach, and the 

 opening of the Panama canal will make the eastern 

 countries of South America and the eastern part of 

 this nation likewise accessible. 



Surveyors are already at work mapping out the 

 route from Rogerson to Wells, and it is the inten- 

 tion of the railway managers to expedite the con- 

 struction. 



Gooding, Minidoka and Lincoln 

 Tri-County counties have formed a Tri-County 

 Fair at Fair Association and will give the 



Jerome, first annual fair and street carnival 



Idaho at Jerome, Idaho, October 1, 2 and 3. 



The men in charge of the work are 

 Thomas Jaycox, president; E. G. Gauss, vice-presi- 

 dent ; J. M. Hale, secretary, and P. R. Kartzke, 

 treasurer. These men are all practical hustlers and 

 under their management the fair promises to be a 

 big thing for southern Idaho. 



Liberal subscriptions have been made by the 

 people of Jerome and other interested localities, and 

 the work of compiling a satisfactory premium list 

 has been started. It is promised that the prizes will 

 be unusually numerous and attractive. 



The street carnival, which is to be a feature of 

 the fair, will be amusing and entertaining. 



That there are thousands of acres in 

 Opportunity Idaho, Oregon and Washington ex- 

 For cellently adapted to grape culture, is 



Grape the opinion of Mr. A. Angermayer, 



Culture a European and American vineyard 



and wine expert. 



He states that farm and horticultural journals 

 generally print extended articles about the loss and 

 enormous waste of all kinds of unripe, overripe, in- 

 ferior and spoiled fruits, caused by wind storms, 

 harvesting, packing and many other causes. Mr. 

 Angermayer also says that conferences are held 

 throughout the West and Northwest to discuss the 

 problem of how to reduce this annual loss by utiliz- 

 ing unsalable fruit by canning or exportation, but 

 so far no reasonable solution has been arrived at. 

 In further conversation, the gentleman stated that 

 few people of the Northwest are aware of the fact 

 that in scientific table grape and wine grape culture 

 there is no waste possible and he asks why people 

 in several of the best adapted districts of the North- 



