IRRIGATION IN WASHINGTON. 



JOEL SHOMAKER. 



The state of Washington occupies the northwest corner of the 

 United States and comprises an area of 69,994 square miles, or about 

 fifty million acres. No similar division has such unlimited water ex- 

 panse, of ocean, lakes and rivers, there being not less than fifty rivers 

 in and on the borders of the state, making a shore line of 1800 miles. 

 The Cascade mountains, trending north and south, divide the state into 

 two sections the western having an abundance of rainfall at all sea- 

 sons, the eastern the land of irrigation. Between these natural divisions 

 are some of the most lofty and picturesque mountain peaks in the world. 

 The altitude reached by Mt. Rainier is 14,444 feet while Adams, Baker 

 and St. Helen's average about 10,000 feet above sea level. The rainfall 

 along the coast and throughout Western Washington ranges from 60 to 

 100 inches annually, while east of the Cascades, it runs from 9 to 25 

 inches, varying with location and altitude. 



Washington was admitted as a state Nov. 11, 1889, and in 1890 had 

 a population of 347,788, of which 1,602 were colored, chiefly Mongolians 

 residing in coast cities. Wheat and oats are the principal farm crops of 

 the state in general, .but the growing of hops, fruits and vegetables, in- 

 creases every year and smaller areas are being cultivated as the large 

 ranch and range farms are giving way to the modern intensive methods 

 of soil tillage. The hop yield is probably 10 million pounds yearly, the 

 average being about 1600 pounds per acre. Some hop raisers harvest 

 over a ton from an acre and get from ten to twenty-five cents a pound 

 for the crop. The prices fluctuate with all other business and the grade 

 generally determines the value. Wheat averages 40 bushels or more per 

 acre, with barley and oats proportionate crops. Truck farmers and 

 gardeners claim 10 tons of grapes, 5 tons of strawberries or blackberries, 

 or 3 tons of raspberries, with other fruits similarly productive, the crop 

 of an acre. These products sell at from $200 to $600, according to the 

 market demands, earliness of picking and neatness in packing. 



Eastern Washington is frequently referred to as "The Inland Em- 

 pire," and is noted as the great wheat growing region of the rich north- 

 west. The wheat capacity of this rich lava soil section is estimated at 

 200 million bushels annually, and some farmers boast of threshing 75 

 bushels from an acre. Much of the grain is grown by the dry farming 

 method, the farmers depending upon early rains, dews and sub surface 

 water to furnish sufficient moisture for maturing the cereals. But the 

 practical application of soil moisture, through irrigation, is the potent 

 force that will certainly be employed in the fertile Columbia River Basin 



