WEST SHORE. 280 mm- vz fi iv-4 Pi Washington, which to still the greatest producer of any single locality, though the largest single field is in the Snoqualmie valley. Nearly every river bottom in the Puget sound region, as well as between that and the Columbia river, has a large acreage in hops. They are also raised in the highest perfection on the irrigated valley lands of the Yakima country, east of the Cascades. In Oregon the Willamette river bottoms, and those of many of its tributaries, have a large acreage of this profitable vine. The yield In Washington this year was 3" 000 bales, or 5,920,000 pounds. Oregon produced about 20,000 bales. The crop is picked chiefly by Indians in Washington, as shown in the illustration of a picking scene In the Puyallup valley. , , i i Wheat is still the great staple crop of the northwest. It is an ideal wheat country, al though climatic conditions are varied. In the great Willamette valley the mild climate is favorable to winter plowing and seed- n 6) 11 9 , V I M It' . ' i . .1 f h it X i ing, and the copi ous rains supply moisture to last during the entire summer. Snow sel dom falls on It and freezing weather is more rare. East of the mountains the great plain in Ore gon and Washing ton produced not less than 30,000, 000 bushels the present year. Here the winters are colder, but snow amply protects the grain. The valleys of Idaho and Mon tana also produce the finest wheat in quantity, though Borne sections require irrigation, the expense of which is more than repaid by the grateful soil. One feature of farming In this country is es pecially noticeable. Whatever crop the farmer raises he is almost certain to bar vest safely. From June to September scarcely a drop of rain falls, and bay and grain may be harvested leisurely and in security. Grain Is usually dry enough to be threshed in the field as soon as cut. Salmon fishing and preserving consti tute an Industry approximating f4,000, 000 annually in the value of the output. The Chinook salmon of the Columbia river has made a name in the markets of the world that gives it the lead. So great has been the catch for the past ten vears that the fish are noticeably de creasing In'number, and a hatchery has been started for artificial propagation. List year 6,000,000 fish were hatched, and this year 4,000,000. Next sea ion this will be more than doubled. It is expected that in this way the supply of fish can be maintained and even increased. Salmon are also caught and canned in all the bays along the coast and in Puget sound. Farther north, in Fraser river and along the coast of British Columbia, the business is also carried on ; and the past two years the streams ol distant Alaska have been called upon for a large quantity. The shipment of fresh salmon from the Columbia river and Puget sound to Chicago, New York and other eastern market is becoming an extensive business. Mining Is an important Industry In all the northwestern states, and is the leading one in Idaho and Montana. The latter state standi at the head In mineral production in the United States. Mining is divided into two general classes, quarts and placer. In the latter are Included all forms of working over dirt containing gold, the result of the action of glaciers and the elements upon quarts ledges through the ages. The most extensive method of placer mining la the hydraullo, where a heavy stream of water is turned with great force upon the bank of dirt, causing it to disintegrate and mingle with the water, by which it is carried through the sluice boxes that catch the precious metal as it passes along. In early years placer mining was the only kind followed. Later the original quarts veins themselves attracted attention, and quarti mining came to be the leading industry The quarts mining districts the most famous are thoieol Butte, Helena, Phlllpaburgh, Virginia City, Castle and Neihart, in Montana; Cceurd'Alene Wood river, Blackfoot, Silver City, Salmon City, Boise basin and Mineral, in Idaho; Colvllle, Okanogan and along the Cascades, in Washington; Pine creek, Powder river, John Dy river, Santlam and the Kogue river country, in Oregon. New discoveries art constantly being made, and a greater nnmber of paying mines are being devel oped yearly. All the Indication! point to the northwest leading the entire nnion in the mining industry for many years to come. The Inducements the Pacific northwest has to olhr to capital for Investment in these and numerous other Industries are very great and should command attention. 1, k CATTLE aOl'ND-VP. 2. Bl'HKK, A MININO TOWN III IDAHO.