Milford chronicle., 1924-08-15

To me, one of the most interestins
things we did was to visit a salmon
hatchery and cannery. The hatchery
is owned and operated by the State
of Oregon. 1t produces ninety pei
cent Of the salmon yearly caught II
the Columbia River and if it were
not for it, the salmon would have
been extinct many years ago. It is
great industry and in 1923, five
million dollars were realized from
this one industry. 1t is the Onlv riv.
er IN the United States where they
are allowed to use the salmon wheels
and they are tcving to do away with
them new.
Inc season closes August 25tb and
from then until sometime in Sen+e,,,
per the spawn is taken and placed in
ulnerent pools at the hatchery wbero
they are cared for until the fish arc
sufficient size to be put back into
Ine IlVer' Some of the fish weigh as
much as ninety pounds. At the can
merry they are washed, cleaned and
heads cut off. They are then passeJ
on TO others who scrape and clean
them thoroughly under running wa-
Ter. Then they are cut into cntIe+s
and fitted into cans. These are Mac.
ed on runWays which carry them To
M De steamed, capped and soldered.
They are then ready to- be labeled
and boxed. All of the work is done
by the Chinese.
we came to Seattle next and to me
II IS most attractive city. The citv
Is twenty-eight miles long and com
pIetely surrounded by water. On one
side is Lake Washington, Union Bav
Lake Union and on the other Puget
Sound. These are connected by a
canal and locks. These locks were
built by the government at a cost of
seven million dollars and are tbe
second largest in the world; the lar
gest being at Panama. We went
through these locks and it was the
first time I had ever done ANYTHING
of the kind. We went from Lake
Washington to Puget Sound where
the water is much lower and there
was a drop of twenty feet. These
locks are sixty feet wide and will
take boat 7SO feet long; while we
were told, the Panam locks are eigh-
ty feet wide and will take a boat
1000 feet in length.
Seattle is the largest seaport on
the Pacific Coast, being two and one
half days nearer the Orient and Alas
ka. This means a lot in the shipping
world. The harbor at Seattle could
hold all of the fighting craft of the
world at one time. AS we landed we
saw a fire boat which is ready at all
times and can pump thirty-six tons
of water a minute.
We left Seattle by boat and came
to Victoria. 1t was a very pleasant
trip although very cool, but we
found a sheltered spot on deck and
sat there the entire trip.
The flowers in Victoria are the
most beautiful we have seen as this
is just the height of the season. Yes
terday, we took a ride to Saanich
the second largest in
the world. OF course, we have the
largest in California-you have to go
some to beat the good old U. S. A.
Then we visited the Bertchart Gar
lens. l never imagined that so many
flowers could grow in one
place. 1 can't begin to describe the
oolors and varieties. There are fif-
cen acres all planted in hundreds of |
different kind of flowers, all one |
mass of bloom. 1t is a private estate |
md the public is allowed to visit and |
20 all around it. If you see any
lowers you would like, you are al
owed to pick one and take it to
he seed house where you may pur-
,hase the seed. I bought several
packages so next Spring just watch
ny garden.
We leave today at 2:15 for Van
,ouver so I imagine this will be the
asst letter I'll be able to write. About
me week after this reaches you, I'll
De arriving. Time surely flies and it
Ioesn't seem anytime since we start
d on this marvellous trip.
Most sincerely yours,
ELIZABETH.