FARMING AREAS AND PRODUCTS. 31 



750 to 950 meters (2,500 to 3,100 feet), and affords a considerable quan- 

 tity of arable land. This lies sometimes on the long and easy slopes of 

 the spurs, and again on the bench lands which occur here and there. 

 A growth of yellow pine (Pinus ponderom), red fir ( Pseudotsuga taxifolia), 

 white fir (Abies concolor), and tamarack (Larix occidentalis) covers this 

 area, which therefore requires clearing before it can be put under cultiva- 

 tion. The summer frosts are not severe over this tract, and in conse- 

 quence large quantities of garden produce, as well as some fruit — apples, 

 plums, and cherries — are raised. 



The slack-water portion of the Cow d'Alene valley is practically 

 identical with the same part of the St. -Joseph valley, though not nearly 

 so extensive. The products are the same, and it is liable to summer 

 frosts and to overflows in the spring, which latter of late years appear 

 to be greater than formerly. 



The South Fork of the Cceur d'Alene is closely occupied and culti- 

 vated in most of its available portions as far up as the town of Wallace. 

 The timber in the bottom lands is nearly all gone, and the greater part 

 of the land has been utilized for agricultural purposes. The products 

 are hay, potatoes, and garden vegetables. Owing to its configuration, 

 that of a rectangular area opening to the west, it enjoys a rather greater 

 degree of freedom from summer frosts than do the other sections of the 

 Cceur d'Alenes. 



As already noted, the agricultural areas in the !N T orth Fork basin are 

 very limited. The products are hay and garden vegetables in insuffi- 

 cient quantities to supply even the local demand. 



The produce — hay, vegetables, fruit, etc. — of the farming districts of 

 the Cceur d'Alene, the South Fork, and the St. Joseph valleys is mostly 

 consumed at home, the mining camps when in operation furnishing a 

 ready market. This local produce can not be shipped any considera- 

 ble distance without coming in competition with the products of the 

 plains region of Washington, which can furnish all sorts of farm prod- 

 uce in unlimited quantities and at much lower prices. As, therefore, 

 the home demand will always be the principal outlet for the surplus of 

 the Couir d'Alene farms, and as this of necessity will be limited for a 

 long time to come, additional farms opened in the timber and among 

 the mountains at great labor and expense will simply add an undue 

 amount of competition to an already fully stocked market. 



GRAZING LANDS. 



The grazing capacities of the Coeur d'Alenes are small. The forests 

 at low elevations are singularly deficient in species of grasses, and 

 those that occur are very limited in quantity and innutritions in 

 quality. The thick layer of decaying pine needles which is present 

 everywhere in the unburned portions of the timber seems to be inim- 

 ical to a growth of grass. The dense canopy of interlacing branches 

 that allows but a small amount of heat and light to filter through 



