, 1889-10-24


record is broken; the crop is more near
~ Il failure than was ever before known.
IL will average but from fifteen to
twenty-five bushels an acre, instead of
from thirty to thirty five, as usual.
The failure Is due to drouth this SUM
mer and lack of snow. last winter; in.
deed, for two years the snowfall has
been below the average. Here are some
figures given me, not by real estate
men, but by farmers who have no de-
sire to sell out: The kincad farm of
200 acres last year averaged htty-sevon
bushels to the acre. Four acres of IL
averaged sixty-seyen bushels. Another
quarter section we saw with ninety
acres in wheat Last year 1t averaged
seventy-six bushels to the acre; this
year II will average about half that.
And there Is no weayil, chinch-bug, nor
"rain in harvest"
The leisurely way in which farmers do
their harvesting here Is {; new feature.
The wheat never shells nor lodges, 1t
Just stands there and behave itself unit!
the farmer is ready to cut 1t. ! am told
that 1t is no uncommon thing to see the
headers running through November, oc.
casionally until Christmas. A clergy
man. whose parishioners are largely
farmers, told me that once, ON account
of sickness and other unavoidable delay,
he knew ola
WHEAT FIELD BEING CUT IN MARCH
and making good yield. OF course
these are exceptional cases, as usually
the wheat Is cut, threshed, and sent to
market before October, but on pinch
the farmer may count on six months in
which to SOW his grain and six months
to harvest it, The chaif clings tight to
the kernel, so that it does not shell, and
there is little dew and no rain to iniure
II. "Grown wheat Is practically un.
known here, and so everywhere we have
good bread.
A Dakota friend told me this incident
illustrating the fact that farmers here
need not rush their harvesting. He WAS
in "a dry goods store in the Palouse
country when IA farmer came in. The
merchant said to him: "Why don't
you bring me that wood you promisedW
II am in the midst of harvesting" was
the farmers reply. But can you not
stop long enough to bring me the woodP
| need it," said the merchant. "lt won't
take you more than week or ten days
"Well," said the farmer, ~ can stop
that long to bring 1t, and he did. Just
imagine, If you can Il Dakota or Mime
sofa farmer stopping his wheat harvest n
week or ten days to haul woodV' ex-
claimed the Dakota man. But this
Washington farmer did it, and his crop
did not suffer thereby.
lt lNilll'IN IlNlt tUdt tIltlT
farms yield Just as well when wheat Is
sown consecutively year after year, but
don't quite believe 1t, and this year 3 eX.
periencc with its partial failure of crop
is teaching them lesson. ] notice that
many farmers are striving to secure twice
the amount of land they wish to crop
each year, sowing half of it one year
and the summer following the rest. They
give rs the principal reason for this that
they have not time between harvest and
fall sowing to plough the land, and this
Is undoubtedly part OF the reason but
wheat sowed on last years summer fall
low has this year yielded fair crop in
spite OF the drouth.
SUMNER FALLowING
is the only means they have of enrich
ing the ground, as clover does not grow
here to be plowed under Neither does
corn grow, nor any of our grasses.
Yet | saw literally thousands of horses
during days ride, and almost aS many
cattle. What do they live on? Bunch
grass the year round, and it keeps them
fat and healthy. All the steep hillsides
where wheat cannot grow-remcmber it
grows best on top of the hills-arc COW
cred with it, but it is SO near the color of
the ashes-colored soil you cannot SEQ it,
at least where the cattle and horses are
feeding. From the car window they
Sctiu w pc just BiuDHilip III tnt ulrt. Az
one OF the long stoppages for which wheat
trains are famous friend left the cars
and went over into the field to see what
they were eating, but he came back no
wiser than when he went, for he said he
could not see anything q civilized horse
would eat. But eating they evidently
were to their hearts content. A farmer
told me he had 1000 head of horses
ready for market that had never had
lorktul of fodder in their lives, yet those
| saw, which he said were fair speci.
mems of the whole drove, were well con-
ditioned. Great fields of tho bunch
grass are fenced oil for winter use, the
stock are kept out of them till Noyom-
Der or December, then turned IN and
here find their winter living. Such
| fields now present Il contrast to those
where the stock are pasturing by being
covered with tho tufts of bunch grass,
| shrivclcd and dry, yet full of nutriment,
Much stock is now
FEEDING IN TIE sruBBLE FIELDS,
where careless cutting leaves them many
n corner of standing grain, though not
much shells out IN the lavesting.
This trip through the grain fields
brings us back to Spokane, To which a
large proportion Of them are tributary.
| beautiful for situation" the city GER
tainly is, from every side on which you
approach it, except. perhaps from the
east, that approach giving the least
pleasant impression. Spokane river, by
fur the most beautiful stream | have
seen in East Washington, winds around
II in great sweeping curves which makes
the Seattle road 20 nine miles to make
an approach of three. Part of the dis
! tance IL flows through q canyon 260 feet
deep, its banks rise in benches or terraces,
each with its own peculiar vegetation.
Pine trees are the predominant feature;
but near the water are variety of de-
ciduous trees and shrubs that are now
bright with autumnal tints. Not far
below the town comes in Hangnan's
creek, worthy of better name than a
tragedy of Indian warfare has fastened
upon it.
The city lies on both sides of the river,
the north side being the newer, and
destined, probably, to be the iavorite
residence portion. Yet the south side
shows on tho highlands street after street
OF elegant residences, surrounded by
beautiful lawns, q sight most grateful to
eyes tired with the everlasting glare OF
the parchcd fields beyond. These lawns
prove that only water is needed to make
water grow ON these seeming ash heaps.
Yet this grass doesn't grow any faster
than does the city. Its growth and the
consequent increase in price of real
estate is simply marvellous. For exam
pie: a lady school teacher came here
three or four years ago who had succeed
ed in saving
THOUSAND DOLLARS
She invested $3.50 of it with some friends
In town lots. Just four months after
ward these lots were sold and her share
of the price was S476O-$40lO in four
months, without turning my hand
over" as she remarked when telling me
the incident Now her $1,000 has grown
to SIS, 900.
Another instance: A gentleman came
here without dollar nine years ago. A
man lad taken up 100 acres In what is