470 A ri'END IX . 



range, the glaciers of Mounts Hood and Jefferson, large beds of 

 lava on the slopes of the Cascade Mountains in various } laces 

 numerous hot springs along the east base of the Cascade Moun- 

 tains, and the sinking rivers of the great basin. — Agriculture 

 is the chief occupation of the people. The main agricultural 

 products are wheat, oats, potatoes, and apples. The climate 

 is too moist and cool for maize, peaches, melons, and sweet- 

 potatoes. A great obstacle in the way of the farmer in 

 Oregon is the fern, which giows in nearly all fields. There is 

 one woolen mill at Salem, the only large manufacturing estab- 

 lishment in the state. There are saw-mills to saw all the 

 timber required for home consumption, and grist-mills to 

 grind all the grain. — Oregon has little foreign commerce, and 

 that little is nearly all done by steamers with San Francisco 

 and Victoria, British Columbia. Some goods are sent to 

 British Columbia by land up the valley of the Columbia River 

 The chief exports of domestic produce are wheat, flour, 

 apples, cattle, pickled salmon, eggs, batter, and chickens. 

 The entrance of the Columbia River is so dangerous for sailing 

 vessels, and the price of coal is so high on this coast, that 

 freight to and from Oregon must always be expensive. Two 

 of the most notable roads in the State are the stage road from 

 Portland south to Yreka in California, and tlie road across the 

 Cascade Mountains from Portland to the Dalles. — Oregon has 

 no railroad or canal. There is no Federal fortification, arsenal, 

 navy-yard, or hospital in the State. There are small military 

 stations occupied by Federal troops at the Dalles, Yamhill, and 

 in Rogue River and Umpqua Valleys. The State has few pub- 

 lic institutions. The difficulty and expense of getting agri- 

 cultural produce to market, the Indian war of 1855, and the 

 refusal of the Federal government to pay the war debt, have 

 had a strong influence to prevent the growth of the State in 

 population and wealth, and to delay the establishment of 

 prominent public institutions. There are two colleges, seven 

 academies, and about three hundred common schools. There 

 i« a common-school fund consisting of the proceeds of lands 



