The Somerset reporter., 1895-10-17
For The Reporter.
First Impressions of A Young
State.

FIRST Impressions of n Young
That the extreme northwestern
portion of a great country should be
somewhat different from the extreme
northeastern, is 10 be expected. Fur
thermore, Washington il one of the
youngest of the United States, while our
own state of Maine formed part of one
of the original thirteen. The mind then,
Is prepared for differences, and first inn
pressions lose in part, the element Of
surprise but gain IN distnctness.
First of all are the "immehstiesn so
characteristic Of everything Western.
The state of Washington is itself large,
Puget Sound being reached only after
almost eighteen hours ride on an ex-
press train. after crossing the eastern
boundary. The total area is not TO be
con sidered as available. however. The
basalt plains of the interior stretch
away for mile after mile, fertile but arid.
These are unlike the prairies to the east,
the soil having been derived In great part
fromthe disintegration Of old lava flows,
and the bold contours of the projecting
basaltic lodges constitute a characteristic
type of topography. Irrigation is solv-
ing the problem in many sections. not
ably the Wenatchee and Yakima valleys,
but it will be many years before irriga-
Jon will convert all the deserts into
gardens. Where the land is cultivated
The size of the ranches is noticeable. In
Il way, Eastern Washington is simply
continuation of Montana, and The letter
portions OF the DakotAs Grain-grow-
ing aud stock-raising constitute the
ranehers occupation, with generous re-
tur. but with poor markets and low
prices.
In the western part of the state, IN The
Puget Sound country, the ranches are
smaller. he dense vegetation covering
every foot of the land makes il work
of years for one man To clear few
acres. once cleared, The and i fertil-
and well watered. No need of irriga-
ton here. for the rains of western
Washington are beyond description.
The rainy season resembles the winter
which ArteMa, Ward attributed II
Maine. for the mud Is apt To dry up i
littIe in Washington during July ami
August. But. it j. His abundance 81
rain a. well as The mild temperature
during the winter months. that makes
the climate Of this region very favor
able to agriculture. Along the sound.
the rose. and fuchia- remain in the
gardens the year around. and afe ii
bloom The greater part Of the Yeat
There afc somc seeming iucongruties
for corn does not ripeH we'll enough -
u,ahe it IA good hsid cop, and tomalpe.
are somewhat difficult 10 rai,c.
Washington, future IS intimately
CONNECTED with Fruit and berre-. ! a
kina peaches have already earned IA rep
utatioD. WhiIe the apples. pear, aud Pluns
of thr sound country cannot De eXcelleG
he first impression gained Of Wash
iugfnn was most favorable one. for back
in July the Great Northern was serving
on its west bound trains luscious straw
berries from Washington. 1t Is fact that
in the markets of the east considerable
fruit from Washington is sold as Caliior-
mia fruit. such deception, however, Is
to the advantage of the consumer, since
in flavor the product of this more tenn
perate climate is superior to that grown
under the hot sun of California. Ore
gon, too, comes in as guilty party,
but effort is now being made to ship
and sell Washington fruit as Washington
product. At present, there is little
market for the fruit and even that Is
difficult of access to many ranches.
so 1t is that the rancher and his family
have to furnish a home market, or, as
one old German said, Grimes is goOt;
we sells notings, so eats every tings.
One thrifty housewife had bartered
butter for sugar and thus been able to
preserve 2l2 quarts of fruit, as we'll as
dry several bushels of prunes, all for
home consumption.
Washington, however, claims atten
ton, not simply as al agricultural state.
The forests which extend westward
from the summit of the Cascades, can
not fail to impress one. The fir aud
cedar here grow to an immense size,
and the amount of lumber that can be
cut on an acre surprises one who is
familiar with only the spruce forests of
Maine, or the pine woods of Michigan.
The three states, Maine, Michigan and
Washington, seem to mark the three
principal stages of the lumberman's
progress; and, indeed in the last state,
the veteran lumberman has always served
his apprenticeship, as estate o Manner
or a Michigander." Although many
thousand feet of lumber may be cut per
acre, the owner of the timber possesses
no bonanza, since the price paid for
stumpage is very low, from fifty cents
to one dollar thousand feet. One
pioneer, whose homestead is on one of
the largest rivers, Melted only six
hundred dollars from the three million
feet OF prime fir that was cut from his
claim. 1t truly seems crime to de-
stroy the forests at such price. There
is difference between raising crops, and
harvesting this crop, which has been
centuries In growing; the one is pro-
duction of wealth, the other is consump-
ton.
At present it is the shngle mills that
are eating most rapidly into the forests,
unless we except the destructive forest
fires. The prices paid for single bolts
are hardly of the nature of compensa-
ton, yet hard times keep the supply up
to the demand. One dollar and half
for cord of bolts delivered on the river
banks barely pays the small operator
for his labor, but he needs the money
and his magnificent cedar trees are
sacrificed. With the selling price at
$l.10 for "clears" and only eighty five
nnntc FOR infprinr uradpa tha sbiuulp