Semi-weekly herald., 1913-07-28

uAb IOL thS kV0A PoVSh AAAi 90 OoAo~
RADIO.
Seattle is a progressive town, pos
sibly too much so for the welfare of
the taxpayers. 1t boasts of the only
forty-two story building in the west,
but as twenty-five of these stories are
in the tower, Denver might just as
well claim as many storied building
in the Daniels and Fisher tower.
On those San Juan islands we saw
many open places in the woods where
there are fine little farms and great
berry country, especially Strawberries
and blackberries. Two rows, fifty
feet long of the latter produces all a
family can use. But the price-straw-
berries to cents box-all berries
in large square boxes. Raspberries,
two boxes for Is cents, and those large
black cherries 10 to Is cents per pound
all at retail.
The straits of Juan de Fuca is so
wide that land to the east is almost
invisible, but the Olympia's snowclad
peaks are plainly in view.
From near Victoria we have bet
ter view of the mountains than at
Seattle, further south.
Victoria is an old British city and
English in every respect, so much so
that the western Englisbman does
not like it as well as the modern COM
mercial city of Vancouver. The par
Lament buildings are good substan-
tial structures of stone, with a fine
museum of the far northland. These
are surrounded by well kept lawns
where some fine old holly trees grow.
The city has some fine hotels and
business blocks, but does not strike the
traveller as being modern or business
like. The banks are usually branches
of the Dominion institutions with a
capital stock running as high as s6,-
100000.
Shipping is great industry in this
part of the Dominion, being the west
ern terminus of the Canadian Pacific
railroad, which is almost the govern
ment and owner of the country. One
of the finest hotels belongs to the COM
pany as well as most of the ships.
Business is paralyzed here now on
account of the strike of the coal min
ers, so that it is expected the Pacific
ships from China and Australia will
have to coal at Seattle.
| see nothing to induce farmer to
go from the United States to western
Canada, unless he is living in the tor
rid belt visited about ten days ago.
1t is cool, almost cold, here at sea.
Colorado climate is more uniform, and
being dry, not So raw as here.
Land is dear in the northwest. In
Washington near the waters edge,
selling for $400 in the rough, the cost
of clearing is 5000 and after it is
cleared up it is only adapted to gar
den fruits.
/ notice that most of the fruit in
and Washington.
Il Returning to part of the country
did not write Of in my former letter
!, will dismiss Canada with brief con.
: sideration. / said that the world is
not very big, but Montana and Texas
! are. 49,
In Montana dry farming is not q
} brilliant success, except in restricted
districts, the climate being too dry
but with irrigation along the Yellow
stone and west, crops are splendid
and grazing is far superior to any
part of Washington or British Co.
lumbia, unless far east in the latter
Timber in Montana as in parts OF
Washington is beyond description,
trees sometimes seventeen feet in di.
ameter and standing so thick the for
est is almost impossible. The natives
claim they are 400 to 500 feet high
had nothing but the mountains with
which to compare the heighth, and as
these are seen in many places from
the sea level it was impossible to
gauge their size.
| The state of Washington has great
timber resources, but agriculture can
not be extensively carried on for many
years to come on the fertile lands, and
the dry belts are wooded to the wa
ter's edge. Where we saw a sign,
orchard tracts for sale, was in the
river bottom a few acres of tillable
soil, but where the switch was and
for many miles both ways was a lava
desert uninhabited and uninhabitable,
and this is but short distance from
| North Yakima
At Butte on the morning of the
14th the potatoes were frosted down.
Butte is typical mining and smelter
town, uninteresting otherwise.
The railroads are certainly progress
sive. If necessary to preserve grade
they trustle mountain or even buy
the most valuable property in the
city as the Milwaukee did in Spokane,
Il