Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1880.djvu/79

Rh The governor alludes to the great destruction of timber in the pine forests around the Black Hills by fires started during the dry season either by carelessness or with criminal intent, and recommends that measures be taken for the protection of the government timber, and that an agent be appointed to sell the same for mining and building purposes. He suggests that a small sum expended in protecting the timber will save millions of feet annually, and that unless something is done to this end mining operations will soon be checked by scarcity of timber. He also suggests that the laws now in force are not adequate for the protection of the sections donated by Congress for educational purposes.

The Territory of Dakota having no penitentiary, it has been necessary to transport its convicts to Detroit, Mich., for imprisonment at an expense of nearly $10,000 yearly to the people of the Territory. It is estimated that $40,000 will build a penitentiary of sufficient capacity for the present requirement of the Territory. The penitentiaries in other Territories have been built at the expense of the general government, and the propriety of making an appropriation for the building of one in Dakota is submitted for the consideration of Congress.

The financial condition of the Territory has improved so that it is expected that at the close of the present year it will be free from debt.

The governor of Idaho reports that about one-third of the 55,000,000 acres in the Territory may be considered suitable for agriculture and grazing, besides about one-fifth which might be reclaimed by irrigation. About one-sixth of the Territory is timber land, one-eighth mineral lands, and the balance is mostly arid, being destitute of mineral, timber, or vegetation of any kind.

The soil is generally sandy, with an intermixture of loam in the valleys. In its varied and beautiful scenery, Idaho is perhaps unsurpassed by any State or Territory in the country. Among the wonders in natural scenery may be mentioned the great Shoshone Falls of Snake River, one of the greatest cataracts in the world, equal in height and volume to Niagara.

About one-third of the population are engaged in farming and stock-raising. The past year has been a remunerative one to farmers; good crops have been raised, and good prices have been obtained therefor. Only in the northwestern portion of the Territory is the rainfall during the growing season sufficient, however, to insure good crops without irrigation. The governor states that when sufficient moisture is had, either from rains or irrigation, the yield of all kinds of grain (except corn) and of vegetables is unsurpassed in quantity and quality. Wheat, he states, yields readily an average of 40 bushels per acre. Oats average 60 to 70 bushels, and barley 30 to 40 bushels.