COST OF PRODUCTION OF APPLES, PAYETTE VALLEY, IDAHO. 5 



In 1881 the first irrigation project was started. (See PL II.) 

 Prior to this time the farming industry was confined largely to 

 raising horses and cattle and growing grain for home consumption. 



The history of the orchard industry in the Payette region dates 

 from the early eighties, but it was not until about 1895 that commer- 

 cial plantings of prunes and apples were made. Most of the planting 

 has been done since 1900. During the last four or five years the 

 planting of apples has fallen off, but prunes still are being planted in 

 commercial quantities. 



The early orchards were largely home orchards and were made 

 up of many varieties, including Wolf River, Lawver, Ben Davis, 

 Baldwin, and many other old varieties. The later orchards are made 

 up largely of Jonathan and Winesap, which are the principal com- 

 mercial varieties of the valley to-day. Mining towns, such as Butte 



Fig. 3.— A small ranch near Fruitland showing the type of diversified farming practiced. 



and Anaconda, together with the smaller settlements located nearer 

 Payette, offered the best markets for the products of the valley in 

 early years, but with a growth of the industry more distant markets 

 were sought. 



Many of the owners of the older bearing orchards are those who 

 "bought the land at comparatively low prices and developed it them- 

 selves. Homesteads could have been taken up in the valley as late 

 as 1895. Much of the younger acreage of apples and a few of the 

 older tracts are held by a class of newcomers who have settled in 

 the valley during the last few years. Owing to frosts and occasional 

 years of poor prices, many growers have been disappointed some- 

 what in the apple industry. Taking into consideration the agri- 

 cultural experience of the region, it would seem that specialized 

 fruit growing does not promise to become relatively as important 

 as in some regions»which by virtue of their location, soil, and climate 

 are better adapted to the production of high-grade apples. 



