The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-01-01

lock bark is also valuable for tanning red
sole leather, but there is no attempt made
yet to utilize the great quantities. The
county of King covers 1900 square miles,
of which 10000 acres is just in such lum-
Der. The state contains A, 796, l6O acres, of
which $3.50, 500 at the end of 1889 were
still unsurveyed, and all heavily covered
by timbef All these great forests, with
the exception of about 5000, 600 acres, are
awaiting settlement and can be utilized.
The presence of precious metals is well
known, but except in the Okanogan coun-
try only fugitive attempts have been made
to penetrate the dense forests in order to
reach them. Most of the streams running
down to the Sound show traces of gold,
and in alluvial soil where creeks formerly
ran it is no uncommon thing to find color.
Whether the deposits can be profitably
worked is entirely matter of conjecture.
The Puget Sound country is becoming
famous for its hops. At Snoqualmie is the
largest field in the world, covering 1850
acres, the production being 1900 to 1000
pounds per acre The Kent hop fields and
the Puyallup fields send their product to
England and Germany, the price this year
on the spot being 50 cents pound. This,
however has been an exceptional year, the
average price ranging from Is to % cents.
The yield last year was over 1000, 900
pounds. In New YORK state the usual yield
is 600 pounds to the acre, in England 900
pounds, here it reaches 1000 pounds, and
an instance of 1900 pounds is on record.
The fruits and vegetables are ofexcellent
quality. One reason, besides the alluvial
soil, is the humidity of the atmosphere.
During the summer months the great ex-
panse of waters affords moisture bv eyap-
Grafton and precipitation, and in the win
ter the temperature rarely falls below %
above zero. 1t may be said that ice is al
most unknown, and frost is very rare.
This latitude is, of course, above the citrus
belt, but all deciduous fruits do WELL All
the root vegetables, caulifiower, lettuce,
peas, etc, are of superior quality, and the
Irish potato is particularly fine The
whole of the products ara consumed, and
the Sound cities in addition import $2,0O0,-
600 worth annually of vegetables, fruit and
poultry from California, Nebraska and
Iowa, distance of 700 to 1 500 miles.
The state is divided into two parts by
the Cascade mountains; to the east it is
pastoral and agricultural, to the west it is
timber and mineral lands. Each has in its
way progressed at q ratio which can only
be appreciated by comparison with other
places. The eastern portion is devoted to
agriculture. The figures cannot be given
accurately, showing the total wheat crop
of Eastern Washington, but the increase
was so great this fall that the railroad fa-
cilities were utterly inadequate, and the
scar famine" in Washington was one of
the newspaper features throughout the
country for two months. In 1880 the en-
tire wheat crop was 100000 bushels. In
1889 it was so much greater that the state
exported 1,457,47s bushels, at value of
81, 1874 ,525. Besides this it grew 3,314,0OO
bushels of oats, 5000 bushels of barley,
and IL, 600 bushels of corn.
Spokane flour is shipped to Liverpool by
way of Cape Horn; but the Asiatic and
Oceanic market is sufficient to take all this
state can supply if a line of transit Pacific
ships can be induced to make the venture.
The wheat of this state does not make so
white a -four as the California wheat, but
it is of a more nutritious quality, the per-
centage of nitrogen being four to six per
cent. greater. An average from ten of the
chief wheat-producing states Of bushels to
the acre is as follows: