93 



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). It is a 

 small tree, rarely exceediug 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 duriug 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 Eedwood 

 shingles are brought from the west, but iron and other kinds of jyve- 

 l)ared 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 

 camp fires, etc. 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 Eiver, 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 i)urposes 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 Boise City, the Territorial capital, is situated 

 near the southwest corner of the Territory. Snake Eiver forms its 

 boundary line at the southwest. The Boise Eiver divides the county 

 into two nearly equal i)arts. The southern portion consists of rolling 

 lands, too high for irrigation. The northern part is divided by the 

 Payette Eiver, 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 Boise Eiver. 



