95 



thrifty youug- Fir (red) aud Cottonwood. :sro forest fires liave occurred 

 for a number of years. On a few timber-culture claims trees are grown 

 with the aid of irrigation, 



BOISE COUNTY. 

 (Total area, 2,500 square miles; estimated forest area, 1,100 square miles.) 



Boise county is situated in the central southwestern portion of the 

 Territory. It has a rolling surface, and is watered by tributaries of the 

 Payette and Boise Rivers. Long Valley, about 75 by 15 miles in ex- 

 tent, and Garden Valley, also of large size, contain rich farming lands. 

 There are wide tracts of grazing land in different parts of the county. 



Some of the finest timber in the Territory grows here, covering from 

 one-half to two-thirds of the area of the county. The predominant 

 species are Yellow and Black Pine, Red Fir, and Balsam. 



CASSIA COUNTY. 

 (Total area, 4,300 square miles; estimated forest area, 100 square miles.) 



This county occupies a central position upon the southern border of 

 the Territory. Snake River bounds it on the north, and it is watered 

 by tributaries of the same stream. The surface of the county gradually 

 rises from the Snake River south to the Utah line, where it be- 

 comes rough and mountainous, but intersi)ersGd with numerous valleys 

 of greater or less extent. It is essentially a stock-growing county, and 

 as such ranks among the first in the Territory. 



The winter climate is cold and changeable. The amount of snow-fall 

 in the valleys is not very heavy, but immense quantities accumulate in 

 the mountains, which afford .vast stores of moisture for the growing 

 crops when the hot days of summer come. There is a great deal of rain 

 in the valleys during the winter season, or from about the 1st of !N"o- 

 vember to the middle of April. During the remainder of the year rain 

 seldom falls, except occasionally a shower about the 1st of July. Con- 

 sequently no crops can ordinarily be raised without irrigation. 



The forest area is very limited and confined almost wholly to the 

 mountains of the southern portion. Yellow and Black Pine and Balsam 

 Fir are the principal timber trees. Good sawing timber, however, is 

 getting scarce, although there is plenty of an inferior quality to furnish 

 the county with rough lumber for a long time to come. The supply for 

 fuel is inexhaustible. Cedar grows abundantly on the low mountains, 

 and there are large bodies of Pine of small growth farther up on the 

 mountains and in the canyons. There is some Mountain Mahogany and 

 Nut or Piiion Pine, both of which make superior fuel. 



CUSTER COUNTY. 



(Total area, 5,800 square miles; estimated forest aroa, 1,900 square miles. 



This county is centrally located in the Territory. It is broken by 

 many low mountain ranges. The Salmon River, pursuing a zigzag 



