, 1888-01-12
cuget aarna Warm lands.

i general impression has long pre-
vailed, even among many of our own
people at home, aad it has been as
sidUIusly disseminated abroad, that
the Puget Sound country is valueless,
except a = source OF supply OF lum-
hsr and coal. Nothing could be
further from the truth, nor a greater
injustice TO this great section OF our
common country, embracing 10000
square miles or land, and the richest
new country iu ali she world in the
varied elements and resources 0i
wealth. That PuSet Sound Is not
without some agricultural preten-
sions, let some Of her staple crops
bgay testimony. Let the attention o!
the -lScptic he called - consider 10!
= moment, her 3O0J to 1909 acres
| planted to hops, yielding annually
6,g1O,0tO pounds, worth at the price
average selling price for tie last four
teen years Us cents per pOund) 81
! ituO,00J 4 year Consider, also, her
1900 acreage Of oats, on the dyked
| flats Of the SwinOmish and Samish,
producing annually 10000 tons, worth
! not less than S250,O0O Consider toe,
not to be minute. her not less than
| 10000 acres Of meadow. producing IL
! fodder md pasture the equivalent .ot
| 100 900 tons OF cured hay, worth at
present retail city quotations, -, I5o,-
| 900.
OUR FIR LANDS OIL UPLAND PLATEAUs.
BY far the greater portion Of the
Puget Sound country, us OF all West,
ern Washington, consists of rolling
upIands. covered with dense growths
of timber, chiefly yellow, red and
white fir and cedar, though plentl-
fully sprink!ei throughout with
ether growths, as cotton woods. as
pens, naples, willow, dcgwood, hazel
cherry, etc, besides u variety Of de
Iicious berry and wild fruit produc-
ing shrubs and vines, as well as
many beautiful Towering shrubs and
plants. These lands. though fertile
and productive, are not considered
so desirable by agriculturists as the
river alluvions, which are of febulous
fertility aud inexhaustible as to du'
rability, being kept up by annua
overhows of the rivers, like the opu-
lent cornfclds of the Little Miam
bottom In Ohio, or the eyer-Teaewing
valley in Egypt, which, during
countless ages has been kept peren-
nal by the unfailing revival tribute
brought down to it by "old Father
Nile'' from the mountains of tht
moon.
These uplands, besides being more
difficElt and expensive 10 clear, are
more or less rocky, gravelly or sandy
and are not on an average of so rict
a soil as the river bottoms. They
also require more or less manurins
and irrigating during the two o.
three lriest months. in order to raist
successfully any OF all Finds of crops
Yet, even the poorest OF them, whlI
cleared, seem to produce clover aGC
other forage grasses most luxuriant
ly, and also the finest growths o
fruit even without much pains being
taken with them. They also prodUc,
The finest favored potatoes, and ar
the best adapted to peas and beans
us well as tobacco and some othe
crops. 1t is observed that the fir up
lands steadily grow richer and NOR
tractable, year by year, with workin:
and cultivation. The clay, of whicl
they are largely composed, by con
slant turning and pulverizing, ab
sorbes elements of fertility from th
air, the rain and the frost.
However, the uplands being roll
ing, arc numerously intersperse,
at very short distanc1s with ricl
sWales or park-like intervales, vary
ing in extent from one or two TO sew
eral hundred acres, and having a sol
of splendid black loan aud well wa
tered. Coursing through the up
lands, also at every few rods, ar
streams, little or big, of deliciuu
spring water, and each of thes
water courses usually have q black
soiled alluvial valley Of its own.