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The Red or Yellow Fir grows on both the low and high mountains; 
the heart of the wood is quite red in color. The Mountain Mahogany 
is common in the Owyhee Mountains (southwestern Idaho). Itis a 
small tree, rarely exceeding 20 feet in height, of irregular growth; has 
a hard, brittle wood and handsome grain. It is a favorite wood for 
canes and is much used for fuel. 
Pine and Fir are largely used in the manufacture of charcoal. 
There are saw-mills at Lewiston, Coeur d’Alene Lake, Spokane, and 
other points in the Territory. It is estimated that the amount of lum- 
ber manufactured during the year 1886 was 50,000,000 square feet, and 
that an equal amount of timber was used for fencing and fuel. Much 
of the lumber was exported. The importations of lumber, estimated 
at 9,000,000 square feet during the year 1886, were mostly cross-ties and 
timber for railway uses, which consisted mainly of Fir from Oregon and 
Washington. 
The bulk of the shingles used are of native Pine. Some Redwood 
shingles are brought from the west, but iron and other kinds of pre- 
pared roofing are largely supplanting wooden shingles. 
Territorial laws have recently been enacted imposing penalties for 
the willful or careless setting of forest fires, or failure to extinguish 
eamp fires, ete. Also by legal enactment an annual “ Arbor Day” has 
been designated for the planting of trees throughout the Territory. 
Except in a small portion of the Territory north of Salmon River, ir- 
rigation is necessary in the cultivation of crops. The conservation of 
the mountain streams is of great importance. Millions of acres of land 
suitable for agricultural purposes can be made productive only by sys- 
tems of irrigation, and these should be encouraged and promoted by a 
liberal policy on the part of the Government. 
The people of the Territory earnestly desire the continuance of the 
desert land act, under which vast tracts of arid land may be reclaimed 
and made valuable. In many of the counties irrigation companies have 
been organized and large canals and auxiliary ditches constructed. 
. ADA COUNTY. 
Total area, 3,500 square miles; estimated forest area, 50 square.miles. 
This county, in which is Boisé City, the Territorial capital, is situated 
near the southwest corner of the Territory. Snake River forms its 
boundary line at the southwest. The Boisé River divides the county 
into two nearly equal parts. The southern portion consists of rolling 
lands, too high for irrigation. The northern part is divided by the 
Payette River, and has many narrow and fertile valleys. 
The only timber in the county is a narrow belt of Pine and Fir on 
the mountains of its eastern border, and a growth of Cotton-wood and 
Willow along the Boisé River. 

