A Review of the Resources and Industries of the State of Washington, 1909

STOCK RAISING.

The glory once enjoyed by this industry is rapidly changing color. Formerly, a predominating feature of the state was its big herds feeding gratuitously on government lands. This condition still exists to an extent, the forests being utilized, under regulations by the government, but the herds are limited.

Individual farms and small herds are now the order of the day and, incidentally, better breeds are developing. This is true of horses, cattle and sheep. The demand for horses is chiefly for the heavy draft animals for use in the logging camps and on the streets of the cities, and the demand is fairly well supplied, chiefly in eastern Washington.

Good cows and fat steers are always in demand, and Washington's market for them is not fully supplied from the home farms. The same is true regarding sheep and hogs. The phenomenal growth of the seaport towns on Puget Sound and the difficulty in clearing the lands in western Washington combine to make the consumption exceed the home grown supply, and many are imported from neighboring states.

There is abundant room for expansion in stock raising in the state. Conditions are admirable. Grass is abundant for pasturage, hay is a prolific crop, the climate is mild, no pests afflict the cattle, and the markets are at the door and always hungry.

THE DAIRY.

There are few states in the Union equal to Washington in its possession of natural conditions suited to make dairying profitable. In all of western Washington, in the western part of eastern Washington, and in both the northeastern and southeastern sections of the state, the climate and soil conspire to make ideal grazing. Particularly is this true in the western part of the state. All the grasses grow in luxuriance, and with proper care and forethought there may be secured almost twelve months of green feed annually. The crops best adapted for use as ensilage grow well, making large yields. Timothy, clover hay and alfalfa are the standbys for winter feed so far as the coarse feed is concerned, and while mill stuffs and all grains are high in price, so are correspondingly the products of the dairy. Butter ranges from 25 cents to 40 cents per pound, and milk sells in the coast cities for 10 cents per quart.

POULTRY.

Perhaps no part of agriculture is more profitable to the wise farmer than his barnyard fowls, and in Washington this is exceptionally true. Eggs retail in the coast towns at 25 cents to 60 cents per dozen. Turkeys at Thanksgiving time are worth from 25 cents to 30 cents per pound dressed, and other fowl in proportion. Conditions can be made as ideal for poultry raising in this state as anywhere, and with the market never satisfied, the poultry raiser has every essential to success in his favor.

BEE CULTURE.

Bee culture among the orchards and alfalfa fields of eastern Washington is a side line which should not be neglected by the farmer or horticulturist. Many are fully alert to the favorable conditions, and Washington honey is on sale in the late summer in most of the cities and towns until the supply is exhausted, and then that from other states comes in to meet the demand.

Pasturage for bees is also abundant in many parts of the western half of the state, and many a rancher among the forest trees has upon his table the products of his own apiary.

MANUFACTURING OTHER THAN LUMBER.

The State of Washington has natural products either within its own borders or nearby, to foster many manufacturing industries, besides those having lumber for their raw material.

In the Puget Sound basin are vast deposits of lime rock, which is manufactured into commercial lime, supplying the home market not only, but is being shipped also to foreign ports. These are chiefly on San Juan island.

Considerable granite of fine quality is used in building and cemetery structures, from quarries in Snohomish and Skagit counties. Sandstone is being used for building purposes and is of splendid texture. Onyx of great variety and beauty is extensively quarried in Stevens county. Marble of good quality is being sawed up to limited extent. Quarries in southeastern Alaska furnish rather a better quality and are more extensively worked.

Clays of great variety, including fire clays and those suitable for terra cotta, are abundant, and large factories in King county are turning out common and pressed brick of many colors and fine finish, vitrified brick for street paving, terra cotta, stoneware, drain tile, sewer pipe and other kindred products.

At Concrete, a town of 1,200 people in Skagit county, two factories, employing 500 men, are daily turning out 1,400 barrels of Portland cement of fine quality, which is finding ready market in all the large cities.

At Irondale, in Jefferson county, a large plant has been in operation turning out pig iron. It is now in process of being turned into a steel plant and within a few months will be turning out steel bars and pipes for sewer, gas and other purposes. The ores are obtained from Whatcom and Skagit counties, some bog iron in the immediate vicinity and additional ores from Vancouver island. More than a half million dollars has already been invested and this will probably reach a full million when the plant is in complete operation. Although iron ores are present in the state in large quantities, no other serious effort is being made to supply the state with home made pig iron or its products. Here is a vast field awaiting brains and capital. The above represent only a few of the many lines of manufacturing that have been successfully developed in Washington.

TRANSPORTATION.

Commerce and transportation are two affinities, ever seeking each other. They have found on Puget Sound an ideal trysting place. Here the ships of the ocean reach immense placid waters, not duplicated on either side of the continent, and for this reason the railroads have come from the interior to meet them. From foreign ports all over the world ocean carriers are bringing in great loads of merchandise and passengers, and the railroads coming from the Atlantic coast across the entire continent bring like loads of merchandise and human freight, and here they are exchanged. Teas from China and Japan for cotton from Galveston and cotton goods from Massachusetts; rice and silk, hemp, matting, tin, copper and Japanese bric-a-brac are exchanged for grain, flour, fish, lumber, fruit, iron and steel ware, paper, tobacco, etc. Merchandise of all sorts from Asia, the Philippines, South America and Australia is here exchanged for different stuffs raised or made in every part of the American continent and some from Europe. This commerce, however, is in its infancy. The Northern Pacific and Great Northern railways have fattened on it for years. All their rivals have looked on with envious eyes till now a mad rush is on among them all for vantage ground. The Milwaukee, Canadian Pacific and Burlington systems already run their trains here, while the Union Pacific and others are rushing for terminals on Puget Sound tide water. And while thus racing for the great long haul prizes, they are incidentally giving to the state a complete system of transportation in all its parts and for all its multitudinous productions.

Of almost equal importance to the state is its great fleet of local steamers which ply its inland waters, and the numerous electric lines that are rapidly uniting its cities and villages and giving a new and cheap method of migration. From the city of Spokane and radiating in every direction, electric lines are in operation and more are in course of construction, bringing the most distant points of the great "Inland Empire" into close touch with its metropolis and great distributing center. On the west side the same thing is true, only in less degree. Between these two groups of transportation facilities, and the commerce which the union of rail and tidewater has created, the citizens of Washington have found innumerable opportunities of employment.

These opportunities are increasing and broadening every year with the continued development of the state and in multiplied and varied form they await the newcomer who possesses the ability to rise to the demands of the situation.

OPPORTUNITIES IN WASHINGTON.

Washington is a land of widely diverging natural conditions. Its topographical characteristics vary from the low southern exposures of the inland river valleys, where strawberries mature as early as April, to the mountain summits of the Cascades and Olympics, where winter reigns supreme the year round. Between these extremes may be found every range of climate known to the semi-tropical and temperate zones.

For the Homeseeker.

Our lands include those suitable for the successful raising both of the more tender, as well as the hardier fruits. Every grain, other than corn, yields splendid results, while the truck gardener, small fruit grower, dairyman, stock raiser and, in fact, every man who aims to secure a living and a competence from some form of farm industry will find, if he looks for it, a spot within the confines of this state that will meet his most exacting requirements.

To insure success in any of the above lines requires pluck, energy, stick-to-it-iveness, a determination to secure desired results, and some capital. But given these, the man who is looking to Washington as a favored location for the establishment of his household gods need have no fear of the outcome.

Land may be secured suitable for any of the different purposes mentioned, and with proper care it may be made to yield beyond the most sanguine expectations. A market is ready and waiting to absorb every class of product at profitable prices. Transportation facilities are already excellent and the millions now being expended in new railway construction through the state give some idea of what the future holds forth in this particular.

For the Business Man.

To the business man a new state, developing as is the State of Washington, naturally offers numerous and attractive opportunities. New communities are springing up along the lines of the Milwaukee, the Portland & Seattle, and other railways now in process of construction, each demanding its quota of commercial enterprises, while the older cities and towns are continually absorbing new additions to their population, thus paving the way for new business facilities.

For the Investor.

The investor will find an attractive field of action in Washington, and with the exercise of caution and prudence may anticipate far better returns than he has been accustomed to, without undue risk of the impairment of his capital. Raw lands, timber lands, improved farms, irrigated lands and city and town property are exhibiting a steady increase in value and undoubtedly will continue to do so for years to come. The capitalist may take his choice of any of these forms of investment, or he may turn to private, industrial or municipal securities which are constantly being offered on excellent terms and based upon unimpeachable assets.

For the Manufacturer.

To the manufacturer this state offers all the conditions that may be classed as prerequisite to success. Cheap electric power is available in nearly every community of any size in the state, while millions of horse power remain still undeveloped in the rivers and mountain streams. Raw material is here, in abundance, and the markets of the world are accessible through rail and water transportation. The principal manufactured products of the state consist of lumber and lumber products, flour, feed and various cereal foods, butter, cheese, evaporated milk, crackers and candy, baking powder, soda, fruit extracts, clothing, boots and shoes, baskets, bags, beer, ice, brick and other clay products, iron products, wagons and agricultural implements, turpentine, leather products, cordage, saws, boilers, asbestos, water pipes, tin cans, railway equipment, ships and boats, canned fruits and vegetables and a variety of other products. Desirable locations are frequently offered free to those who will establish manufacturing industries.

For the Wage Earner.

The wage earner who comes to this state sufficiently fortified to maintain himself and family for a period may usually expect to find satisfactory employment at good wages. Washington has never been exploited as a poor man's paradise, but there is a tremendous development in progress throughout the state in every line of industry and there is a steady demand for mechanics and laborers of all classes.

The foregoing is intended to present in brief form an outline of the opportunities that await the enterprising newcomer in this state. Success is being achieved in all of the various lines touched upon, by thousands who have located here in the past few years, and as yet the resources of the state have scarcely been touched. The future of Washington is big with promise, based upon results already achieved, and in that future the newcomer may expect to participate in proportion to the effort he expends.

WASHINGTON'S EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM.

The importance of a complete and well rounded public educational system has not been overlooked at any stage in the growth and development of this commonwealth. From kindergarten to university no link is wanting to supply the ambitious boy or girl with the very best training that modern educational experts have evolved.

The common school system of the state is based upon the theory that every child must be educated, and that the state must provide the facilities for the accomplishment of this purpose. This theory has been carried out so thoroughly and intelligently that there is scarcely a child in the state of school age who does not live within easy reach of a school house. Moreover, attendance is compulsory and no child is excused unless satisfactory reasons are presented to the proper authorities.

EDUCATIONAL ENDOWMENT.

Upon admission of Washington to statehood a land endowment was granted to the state by the federal government for common school purposes which in round numbers totals nearly two and one-half millions of acres. This land is offered for sale or lease by the state, through the office of the state land commissioner, and the proceeds constitute a permanent and irreducible fund to be invested for educational purposes.

In addition to the foregoing lands, the state university has an endowment of 100,000 acres; the agricultural college, 90,000 acres; the scientific school, 100,000 acres, and the state normal schools, 100,000 acres. As yet only a small portion of these lands has been disposed of. The expense of maintaining our schools, therefore, is met almost entirely by taxation.

HIGHER INSTITUTIONS.

The University of Washington occupies a campus of 350 acres, located entirely within the limits of the city of Seattle.

The buildings of the university consist of the administration building, science hall, chemistry building, engineering building, power house, dormitories for men and women, and other smaller buildings. In addition to the foregoing, the university will come into the possession of a number of commodious structures at the conclusion of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition. For the current year, the enrollment of students at the university is 1,838. The faculty consists of 115 members and for the ensuing biennial period the legislature appropriated the sum of $673,000 for the support of the institution.

The State College of Washington is located at Pullman, in Whitman county. This institution emphasizes technical and scientific education and in its agricultural departments has accomplished remarkable results. It is annually giving the state a number of highly trained experts in modern agricultural science, and the farming interests of the state have been greatly assisted by the work of the college. Instruction is given in civil engineering, mechanical and electrical engineering, geology, botany, chemistry, zoology, economic science and history, modern languages, domestic economy, besides the practical operation of a dairy farm and other branches of agricultural industry. The institution, in addition to its land endowment, receives annual assistance from the federal government and a biennial appropriation from the state legislature.

The state also maintains three normal schools, located respectively in the cities of Bellingham, Ellensburg and Cheney. These institutions have a combined attendance of about 850 and are the recruiting ground for securing instructors in the public schools.

At Vancouver is the State School for the Deaf and Blind. The defective youth of the state are cared for in a well equipped institution located at Medical Lake, in Spokane county, and at Chehalis is the state training school for incorrigibles.

LOGGED-OFF LANDS.

The problem of making a home and providing a competency for old age upon the lands in western Washington is somewhat different and more difficult than doing the same upon the prairie lands of the east. As they come to the hands of the would-be tiller of the soil, they present a forbidding and disagreeable aspect. The loggers have left them with considerable standing timber, with the tops of the giants of the forests lying where they fell, scattered over the land and covering it with an almost impenetrable mass of great limbs and brush and dead logs. If seen in the summer, there is added the view of a mass of green vegetation, rank and to a large extent covering up the mass of dead stuff left by the loggers with the huge stumps sticking up through it all, mute monuments of the lost wealth of the forest. In some instances this is somewhat relieved by the fact that, either by accident or design, the fire has been there and swept through it all, leaving nothing but blackened and smouldering emblems of its prior greatness. In this case, however, only the lighter part of the refuse has been destroyed. The great stumps of fir and cedar are there still, blackened and perhaps with their dead hearts burned out. Great and small decaying logs are there, some too wet to burn, some with the bark alone burned off, and some with the dead centers burned out, scattered about or piled in crisscross masses as they had fallen during the ages of the forest's growth. In either case it looks different from the smooth surface of the sagebrush plains about to be converted into irrigated farms or the clean face of the prairie lands covered with grass and ready and longing for the plow. But with all their forbidding aspects, black with a portentous cloud of hard labor and long waiting, their known hidden wealth lures on the hardy pioneer to the task. He throws off his coat, rolls up his sleeves, gathers together his tools, and with the indomitable courage of the Anglo-Saxon tackles the problem, works and fights and rests by turns till within a few years he finds himself triumphant. Eventually, beneath his own orchard trees laden with fruit, and in the comfort and delight of his big home fireplace, he contemplates the rewards of his struggle, as he sees his cows complacently chewing their cuds in his green pastures and listens to the neigh of his fat horses, and at his table, laden with all the bounty of his rich lands, thanks his Maker for the successful completion of a hard struggle and the enjoyment it has brought to him and his family.

MODERN METHODS.

Having thus presented the picture in perspective, we will now work out some of the details which help to rob it of its difficulty and add to its attractiveness. If the lands have not been burned off, and in many instances where this has been done, the rancher will find a lot of cedar logs, perhaps partially burned, and possibly long black stubs that it will be wise to save. Cut into proper lengths and put into piles for preservation, they will make his raw material for fencing, barns, etc. The cedar is straight-grained, splits easy, and true, and to the rancher is very valuable, taking the place of sawed lumber for a great many farm purposes. Having carefully saved the cedar, the rancher will fire his clearing, thus getting rid of a large share of the logger's waste with practically no labor. To the task of disposing of the remaining logs and stumps he will bring modern tools and methods into action. The axe and shovel and hand lever have given place to gunpowder, the donkey engine, derrick and winch. Stump powder puts all the big stumps into pieces easily. The modern stump-puller lifts out the smaller stumps with ease. The donkey engine and derrick pull together and pile the stumps and logs into great heaps, and once more the friendly fire helps out; and while the dusky woodlands are lighted up with passing glory the rancher sleeps to wake up and find his fields almost ready for his plow, nor has the task had half the hard labor nor consumed half the time that years ago would have been expended in clearing the same amount of oak and maple and hickory land in the valley of the Mississippi. It should be said, however, that what is gained in time and saved in labor costs money. The expense of clearing the logged-off land by these modern methods and tools will run from $40 to $150 per acre, dependent upon various conditions, number and size of stumps, etc.

There are in western Washington thousands of acres which are being pastured and tilled, from which the large stumps have not been removed. In these instances the same methods can be used, handling all the small logs and stumps and litter, and after the first burning, carefully repiling and burning the refuse and then seeding to grass. In the ashes and loose soil, grass seed readily starts, and a single season will suffice to provide fairly good pasturage, which will annually grow better.

COST OF LABOR AND MATERIAL.

The following table, taken from the report of a government inspector, will give an idea of the cost of the different materials and labor used in clearing logged-off land:

Cost of removing stumps from 1 foot to 4 feet in diameter from 120 acres of land in 1907:

The average cost of the removal of each stump is shown below:

The average cost of the materials used was as follows: Powder, per pound, 8 cents; fuse, per 100 feet, 43 cents; caps, per 100, 65 cents.

There are probably two and one-third million acres of logged-off lands in the state, of which only half a million are under tillage or pasturage. The same report shows the distribution of these lands as follows:

There are a great many acres of these lands that can be slicked up and burned over and prepared for seeding, not disturbing the stumps, at an expense of about $10 per acre. Thus treated, good pasturage can be secured cheaply. In time some of the stumps will rot out and be easily removed. When the stumps are not too thick, the lands can be successfully prepared and planted to orchards without removing the stumps, and their unsightly appearance can be turned into a thing of beauty and great profit by planting evergreen blackberries and loganberries about them, using the stumps for trellises. These berries in the climate of western Washington are wonderfully prolific and find a greedy market.

COMPENSATIONS.

There are several facts about making farms out of logged-off lands which should not be lost sight of, because they largely compensate for the labor spent in the undertaking. One of these is that the problem of fuel is solved for a lifetime and for the coming generation. Five acres can be left untouched as a reserve and in a remarkably few years it will re-forest itself.

The growth of trees under the humid atmosphere of western Washington is astonishing, and a very few years will suffice to provide one with a wood lot to last a generation. Meanwhile some of the fir logs and alder and maple trees will be preserved from the fire and piled up to provide fuel for the years until the wood lot furnishes a fresh green supply.

Then, too, as has already been suggested, the fence question, no small item in a prairie country, is satisfactorily answered with no expenditure but for labor. The cedar logs, splitting with ease, can be turned into rails or boards or posts—preferably the former—and the rails put on top of each other between two posts fastened together at the top make as good a hog-tight and cattle-proof fence as can be desired, and these rails will last in the fence for a century. For the house, doubtless more satisfaction can be had by patronizing the nearest saw-mill, although many houses made out of split cedar timbers and boards are in the state, proofs at once of the usefulness of this timber and the hardihood and ingenuity of the rancher. But for the barn and stable, pig-stye, hennery, chicken-coop and fruit boxes, and a great many other things, the rancher patronizes his reserve log pile instead of the lumber yard, and saves time and labor in so doing. Another fact which compensates the rancher in western Washington in the struggle for a home which will provide a safe and generous support in his old age is that during all the labor and waiting he is enjoying a delightful climate, in which no blizzard drives him from his work. No cyclone endangers his life and fortune. No snakes lurk in the underbrush. No clouds of dust blind his eyes. No sultry summer suns make him gasp for breath, and no intense cold freezes his face or feet. He can work if he wishes as many days as there are in the year, and know that every stroke of his axe or mattock is a part of his capital safely invested that will pay back an annual dividend for a lifetime. No soil will respond to his energy more quickly or more generously.

There is one more possible compensation. Fir logs and stumps and roots and bark are all full of pitch. Factories are now in operation that are turning this wood into charcoal and saving and refining all the by-products, particularly turpentine, wood alcohol, pitch and tar. These factories are successful and paying dividends, but are on a large scale and permanently located. It is probable that some genius will soon evolve a movable plant, capable of serving the same purpose, which can go from one ranch to another. When this is done, it will be found that the refuse left by the logger is worth several times more than the cost of getting it off the land with powder and fire, and, instead of being a burden upon the land of $100 per acre, will become a matter of merchandise to be sold for much more and removed from the land with no expense to the owner.

As a final word, it should be remembered that, after these lands are put under good tillage, every acre can be made to return more than the cost of clearing annually. Western Washington has never been able to produce enough to feed its wonderfully increasing population. Meats, vegetables, fruits, poultry, eggs, etc., are all constantly coming in from outside to supply the markets. This condition keeps prices high. It has been so for twenty years, and will be for twenty years to come. From $100 to $500 per acre per year can be had from fruits and vegetables. The same can be realized from poultry, nor will the dairy fall far behind when the scrub cow is abandoned and a choice thoroughbred animal takes its place and the soil is intensely tilled and fertilized.

The logged-off lands when first looked at are black and big labor and difficulties. When the problem is intelligently understood—undertaken with comprehension and some capital and plenty of grit—the solution is easy and the rewards ample and gratifying.

IRRIGATION IN WASHINGTON.

The lands which require irrigation in the state are chiefly the lower lands in the valleys of the rivers east of the Cascade mountains.

The winds from the Pacific, though heavily laden with moisture, are forced to surrender the greater portion to western Washington, as they meet the cold heights of the mountain ranges. The mountains themselves receive a very heavy fall of snow in winter, which fills the lakes and sources of the rivers on the eastern side, providing a large amount of water available for irrigation purposes, for lands not too far distant. Within fifty miles from the mountain peaks there is a drop of about 4,000 feet. The sides of the valleys in the main are gradual slopes. These conditions make irrigation very feasible. Its wonderful results have been seen and the process of irrigation has found a wide field within the past few years.

THE IRRIGATION AREA.

Not only the Yakima valley, where this method of farming had its beginning in the state, but many other places, are now being made productive which were once thought wholly worthless on account of their aridity. Among these are the Wenatchee valley, the Entiat, the Methow, the Chelan, and the Okanogan—all on the slope of the Cascades. The immediate low lands of the Columbia and Snake rivers and considerable of the narrow valleys of the small streams emptying into them have in many instances been irrigated.

WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT.

The work of reclaiming the arid lands has been wonderfully accelerated and widened in scope by the national government. The projects of the reclamation service now include practically all of the available waters of the Yakima valley for irrigating the lands therein. In Yakima county alone there are probably 260,000 acres now under ditch, and probably 50,000 more will be reclaimed this season. This is probably not more than half the lands in the county capable of irrigation. The fact that the general government is in control of these projects insures as wide and just a distribution of the available waters as possible. The cost of irrigation, which is from $50 to $60 per acre, is paid by the owners of the land in ten annual payments. There is also an annual charge for maintaining the canals from $1.25 to $1.50 per acre. These projects of the government cover the lands in Benton and Kittitas counties also—both of these counties being in the Yakima valley. The government is also engaged in managing an extensive project in the southern part of Okanogan county, where probably 50,000 acres will be reclaimed.

There is a large acreage in Franklin and Walla Walla counties, about the junctions of the Snake and Columbia rivers, to which Pasco is central, which is arid. The government has once turned this project down, but is now reconsidering it, and it is reported that these lands will soon be put under ditch by the joint action of the government and the Northern Pacific railway, which owns a large portion of the lands.

Meanwhile private enterprises are reclaiming extensive tracts in Klickitat county, and in fact nearly all the counties bordering on the Columbia and Snake rivers in eastern Washington. It is probable that there are more lands capable of irrigation in the state than can be irrigated with available waters. This fact adds to the importance of the question of what to do with arid lands when no water can be put upon them.

METHODS OF IRRIGATION.

There are three methods in use in supplying water to the arid lands. The first and the one most generally adopted for obvious reasons is the gravity system. The waters are impounded in lakes or artificial reservoirs and carried thence in large main canals, winding about the hills so as to secure a low uniform grade. Once established, no other force is needed but the usual flow of the water.

Another method resorted to when the gravity system is impossible is to pump the water from the big rivers into smaller reservoirs leading to the canals, the pumps being kept busy only during the months in which the water is needed. This method is quite successful, but requires a somewhat larger annual expenditure. It is being used in some extensive projects, the water being taken out of the Columbia river.

The third method is in securing the water by means of artesian wells. This method is naturally limited to small areas, the projects being undertaken by individual private owners. Several spots have been found in the arid belt where this method is successful.

SOILS.

The soils over the entire areas of eastern Washington on the arid lands is a volcanic ash mixed with disintegrated basaltic rocks and some humus, varying in depth and in the amount of sand it contains. The low lands are usually more sandy and warmer and earlier in season. The depth of this soil is in some places 80 feet and generally so deep as to insure great permanency to its fertility. It readily absorbs and holds moisture, and is admirably adapted to artificial watering. In some spots there is an injurious surplus of alkali. It is generally covered with sagebrush and has the appearance of sterility, but upon cultivation under irrigation, produces wonderful results in quantity and quality of grains and grasses and fruits and vegetables.

GRAINS.

Wheat, oats and corn are successfully grown, but not in large acreage, because larger profits can be realized from other crops.

HOPS AND POTATOES.

Hops, for example, which can be produced at a cost of 7-1/2 cents per pound, yield from 1,500 to 2,000 pounds per acre, and potatoes, yielding from 300 to 500 bushels per acre, and receiving the highest market price, are both more profitable than wheat or oats.

ALFALFA.

Alfalfa, yielding from eight to ten tons per acre, and commanding from $6.00 to $12.00 per ton, is a very profitable crop. Much wheat and oats are cut when in the milk and sold for hay, and yield better returns than when matured and threshed.

FRUITS.

The smaller fruits are very profitable under irrigation, yielding from $300 to $500 net per acre, while apples, pears, peaches, grapes, etc., often far exceed these figures, sometimes yielding as much as $1,000 per acre net.

DAIRYING.

Dairying is extensively followed on the irrigated lands, particularly in Kittitas county, where the cool atmosphere is very favorable, and the farmers find that turning timothy and clover, alfalfa and grain hay into butter fat is more profitable than wheat-raising.

PREPARATION OF LAND.

There is a good deal of this arid land which will have to be freed from the sagebrush and smoothed over before it will be fit for irrigation. This expense, together with building headgates and lateral ditches, building flumes and seeding to alfalfa, will cost from $15.00 to $20.00 per acre, depending upon the character of the surface, the size of the sagebrush, and amount of flumes, etc. Some, however, very smooth lands can be prepared for seeding at less expense.

DISPOSITION OF CROPS.

The hay crops are in large part sold on the ground and fed to cattle and sheep which have summered in the mountain ranges and are carried through the winters on the farms in the valleys. What is left after supplying this demand is baled and shipped by rail to the markets on Puget sound, Portland or Spokane. The Sound country is also the chief purchaser of the fruits, although many winter apples, on account of their superior quality, are shipped to eastern markets.

Potatoes and other vegetables usually go west, although an occasional season finds the eastern market depleted, and then the shipments go to the best market.

Hops are sold to be delivered at railroad stations and go east, many even to Europe.

VALUE OF LANDS.

The irrigated lands are yearly appreciating in value, mindless of the large acreage annually added to the supply. This is largely due to the fact that they are bought up and held for speculative purposes. However, there are still many farms in the hands of first purchasers from the government, and others still to be had directly from the government and others from the Northern Pacific company, not yet under ditches, which may ultimately be reclaimed. These latter can be had from $7.00 to $25.00 per acre. The lands already under ditch, or which will soon be irrigated certainly, are held from $50 to $100 raw and from $125 to $200 with water rights paid for. Much land is on the market, already planted or to be planted to orchards, and cared for, for a term of years until the orchards are in bearing, which can be purchased on easy terms, ranging in price from $200 to $500 per acre.

TRANSPORTATION.

Nearness to transportation is a valuable factor in determining the price of lands—whether under irrigation or otherwise. The lands being irrigated in eastern Washington are, for the most part, adjacent to competing railways and water craft on both the Columbia and Snake rivers. Projects are in contemplation by the government and state to remove all obstructions from the Columbia river and give a great navigable stream from Kettle Falls to the mouth of the river. This will add to the shipping facilities by increasing the number of boats which will ply the river and be of great help to all farmers holding lands adjacent. Numerous trolley lines are already running in many directions—and more are projected—among the irrigated farms connecting with the cities of Spokane, North Yakima, and Walla Walla. These add greatly to the facility and cheapness of transportation.

CLIMATE.

The character of the climate is well suggested by the crops which can be harvested. They include peaches, apricots, grapes, figs, tomatoes, peanuts, sweet potatoes, and other things which require a warm summer and warm soil. Very little moisture comes upon the land in the summer. The winters are moderately cold, with some snow, which is joyfully hailed by the farmers, for all moisture is quickly absorbed by the soil and held for summer's use. The spring season is two or three weeks earlier than in the Puget sound basin. Moderate winds prevail during the summer months, coming from the east and west by turns, and prevent excessive sultry weather.

OCCUPATIONS.

Aside from the ordinary agricultural pursuits suggested by the foregoing, which includes grain-growing, horticulture, dairying and truck gardening, should be mentioned stock-raising, particularly of sheep, many thousands of which are yearly wintered in the valleys and summered on the ranges. Bee culture and poultry-raising are also both becoming important.

In closing, it should be said that the activity of the government and private investors together has given a great impetus to the settlement of these arid lands, and the population is rapidly increasing, being made up of a miscellaneous assortment of Uncle Sam's energetic, wideawake, industrious citizens, building homes and making fortunes more rapidly, probably, than in any other part of irrigated regions in his domain.

The doors are open, too, for the newcomers, for ten times the population now there can well be made prosperous.

THE COUNTIES AND MORE IMPORTANT CITIES AND TOWNS OF WASHINGTON

ADAMS COUNTY

LOCATION.

Adams county is in the center of southeastern Washington, cut out of the once great desert plateau, covered with sage brush. It has developed into one of the most important food-producing counties of the state. It has a population of about 13,000 and covers 1,908 square miles of territory.

CLIMATE.

Its climate is not different from that of the balance of the district in which it is situated, and, although some days in winter are severely cold and some in summer hot, its dry atmosphere softens the asperity of its cold, and its generous crop yields are full compensation for the heat of the summer's sun. Its mean temperature ranges from 30 degrees to 40 degrees in winter and from 50 to 74 degrees in summer. Its usual coldest days are 20 degrees to 25 degrees and its hottest ranging above 100 degrees. Its rain and snow give about 12 inches of water. It has one small stream, a tributary of the Palouse river.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway cutting the county diagonally from northeast to southwest and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway across its southeast corner and near its south and west borders furnish good facilities for handling its generous wheat crops. To these are soon to be added the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul, the Portland & Seattle, and the North Coast roads, giving the county very superior railroad facilities.

INDUSTRIES.

Wheat is its great staple crop, and the last year out of a crop acreage of 275,000 gave to the world nearly 6,000,000 bushels, an average of upwards of 20 bushels to the acre. When this average is compared with that of the wheat fields of the Mississippi valley, it is no wonder that the value of its realty has increased for the purposes of taxation more than 300 per cent. in the past six years. Horses, cattle, hogs and sheep are to a limited extent raised on the farms, and are important adjuncts to its prosperity.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Ritzville is the county seat, and has a city hall, electric lights and water system, flour and feed mills, and is the chief distributing center of the county.

Lind will be one of the important points on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, now building across the county.

Washtucna also is to have another outlet for its wheat over the Portland & Seattle railway, projected and building. All these towns have good schools, churches, warehouses, mercantile establishments, and all enjoy an abundance of prosperity from the marketing of the crops.

ASOTIN COUNTY

LOCATION.

Asotin county occupies the extreme southeastern corner of the state, being separated from Idaho on the east by the Snake river and from Oregon on the south by the state boundary. Its population is about 7,500, its area 640 square miles.

It takes in a portion of the Blue mountains, from which numerous small streams furnish abundant water for all domestic farm purposes and for irrigating quite a large area of lands, which makes the county ideal for the stock-raiser and fruit-grower.

INDUSTRIES.

The irrigation of the low lands has had a wonderful effect in stimulating the fruit industry, and resulted in a great advance in land values, particularly about Clarkston and Cloverland, while the cool water of the mountain streams and their grassy slopes make the dairy business especially profitable. General farming, however, is still the standby of the bulk of the population. At Clarkston the lands irrigated and planted to orchards have reached in many instances a value of $1,000 per acre, the waters being taken out of Asotin creek. About Cloverland, waters from George creek have wrought almost an equal increase in values. Cloverland is on a plateau about 2,500 feet above sea level, and the lands irrigated and planted to winter apples are paying handsome dividends to their fortunate owners. On ordinary farm lands wheat yields 25 to 50 bushels per acre and barley from 40 to 60 bushels per acre.

TRANSPORTATION.

The transportation is limited to the power of steamboats on the Snake river and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway, which is reached at Lewiston, across the river from Clarkston.

PRINCIPAL CITIES AND TOWNS.

Asotin, the county seat, situated about seven miles south of Clarkston, on the Snake river, has about 1,500 people within its borders. It has a flour mill, warehouses, churches, schools, public library, light and water systems, and is a prosperous, thriving town.

Clarkston, an important commercial center, is situated on the flats of the Snake river, in the northeast part of the county. Its population somewhat exceeds that of Asotin. It has all the business institutions of a thriving town, is the main distributing point for a large area, and is rapidly growing.

Cloverland, Craigie and Anatone are thriving smaller towns.

BENTON COUNTY

Benton county is bounded north, east and south by the Columbia river and west by Yakima and Klickitat counties. It has an area of 1,600 square miles and a population of about 9,000 people.

TOPOGRAPHY.

The Yakima river traverses the center of the county in a very crooked course, through the valley of which the Northern Pacific railroad winds its way to the top of the Cascades. Both north and south of the valley of the Yakima are extensive hill and plateau lands, which are being rapidly utilized for general farming. The valley lands are arid and useless without irrigating water.

IRRIGATION.

Extensive irrigation projects are in successful operation and projected to bring a very large portion of the valley lands into successful use, for these lands, when irrigated, are of unsurpassed fertility. Lands capable of irrigation have rapidly risen in value during the past few years because of the immense yields of all crops under irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway through its center, the Portland & Seattle around its southern and eastern border and the North Coast coming into the Yakima valley from the northeast and the southeast, together with the shipping on the Columbia river, give abundant means of marketing its products, while several local electric roads are projected to connect its towns and help to open up the newly developed portions of the county.

IMPORTANT INDUSTRIES.

General farming on the uplands, truck-gardening and fruit-raising on the irrigated lower lands are the chief occupations. On account of the great fertility of the volcanic soils and the early springs, Benton county is able to supply the large towns with fruits and vegetables some two weeks earlier than most other sections, giving it quite an advantage in prices. The county is rapidly growing in population and prosperity.