THE CRUDE STRENGTH OF IDAHO 



resent eastern capital. Large private canals have also 

 been constructed in the lower valleys, the products of 

 which have already been referred to. These are in south- 

 western Idaho near the border of Oregon. Land is usually 

 more costly here than in the upper country, owing to the 

 more favorable climatic conditions and the better oppor- 

 tunities for small-farming. Prices range from forty to 

 one hundred dollars per acre as a rule. Farther down 

 on the Snake, in what is known as the " Lewiston Coun- 

 try," land which has recently been reclaimed from the 

 desert is held at one hundred dollars per acre. It is ex- 

 pected that a choice fruit district will be developed in 

 this locality, and cherries are put forward as the favorite 

 crop. 



While the chief agricultural and horticultural districts 

 lie along the Snake river and its important tributaries, 

 the mountains of central Idaho are full of picturesque, 

 well-watered valleys. In some of these settlement has 

 been made for a generation, and the products are sold in 

 surrounding mining towns and stock ranches. The Nez 

 Perce Indian reservation is also a fertile and promising 

 country, though the Indians have been located in sever- 

 alty on some of the most desirable lands which would 

 otherwise be open to settlers. A considerable locality in 

 the northern part of the State, known as the "Palouse 

 Country," is farmed in grain without irrigation. The 

 same is true of the Gammas Prairie, in one of the central 

 counties. But Idaho is substantially an arid region, 

 and its characteristic institutions are growing up where 

 irrigation has been supplied. The ultimate develop- 

 ment of its diversified resources will give it ;i many-sided 

 economic life. 



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