Part 4

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. [Page 38] 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 [Page 39] 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.

[Page 40] 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 [Page 41] 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.

[Page 42] 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.

[Page 43] 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.

[Page 44] 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, [Page 45] 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.

[Page 46] 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.

[Page 47] 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 [Page 48] 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.