WEST SHORE.
280
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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.