WASHINGTON 



61SS 



WASHINGTON 



Much of Eastern Washington is semiarid, 

 and except on the higher mountain slopes and 

 in the southeastern plain agriculture is impos- 

 sible without irrigation. The annual average 

 rainfall is sixteen inches. The summers are hot, 

 and the winters, though short, are severe. 

 There are few cloudy days, and the air is re- 

 markably clear. 



Agriculture. The moist, rich soil of Western 

 Washington is specially adapted to the growing 

 of grasses, oats, fruits, vegetables and hops, and 



irrigating systems. There are many private 

 canals fed by smaller rivers and mountain 

 streams; there are over 334,000 acres of irri- 

 gated land in the state. 



The greatest recent agricultural development 

 has been in fruit culture, and Washington is 

 becoming one of the Union's leading fruit- 

 growing states. There are thousands of or- 

 chards in the irrigated valleys east of the Cas- 

 cades, and their number is steadily increasing; 

 small fruits are raised extensively in Western 



OUTLINE MAP OF WASHINGTON 



Showing boundaries, navigable rivers, chief cities, mining centers and the highest point of land in 

 the state. 



in the fertile eastern plain great crops of hay 

 and wheat are raised. Whitman County, on 

 the eastern border of the state, where irrigation 

 is not necessary, in 1910 ranked fourth among 

 all counties in the United States in the value 

 of farm crops. Its chief product was wheat, 

 which is also the leading crop of the state, its 

 annual value exceeding $40,000,000. Hay is 

 the next crop in importance, and including the 

 native green grasses, timothy and clover and 

 alfalfa, its annual value exceeds $15,000,000. 

 Oats rank third among the state's cereal crops, 

 followed by barley, which is raised extensively 

 in the Columbia plain. The Yakima project, 

 watering over 140,000 acres, and the Okanogan 

 project, including 10,000 acres, are the principal 



Washington, and grapes are grown on the moun- 

 tain slopes. The annual apple crop exceeds 

 2,600,000 bushels, valued at about $5,900,000, 

 and ranks third in value among the crops of 

 the state. Plums and prunes, peaches and 

 cherries are also grown with much success. 



Live Stock. The grassy plateaus in the Cas- 

 cades are the summer pastures of large herds of 

 cattle and sheep, and the mild winters and rich 

 grasslands of Western Washington make stock 

 raising and dairying important in that section. 

 The state stock farms and creameries largely 

 supply the home markets. 



Forests. About seventy per cent of the total 

 area of the state, or 47,000 square miles, is 

 woodland. The finest forests of Douglas fir and 



