THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



211 



Prosperity and contentment are the words which 

 best describe the marvelous achievements in the Inland 

 Empire of the Northwest, where the pioneers and those 

 who followed have, within the last few years, wrested 

 from the sage-brush country, long looked upon as abso- 

 lutely worthless, a crop-producing, home-supporting 

 area of inexhaustible fertility, greater in extent than 



ing country; it is a confirmed success from commercial 

 and financial viewpoints, and the influence of its far- 

 reaching horizons and its true perspective are potential 

 in character molding and building. There is inspira- 

 tion in the vastness of this westerness, where men and 

 women and children breathe optimism and grow mental 



Box Canyon, Fend d'Oreille River. 



all the cultivated lands in New England and capable 

 of supporting a larger rural population. 



' Out of the arid waste sprung wonderful orchards, 

 vineyards, berry fields, truck gardens and fields of golden 

 grain and waving grasses; towns and 

 villages peopled with a happy and 

 optimistic population, comfortable 

 homes in the country inhabited by a 

 satisfied yet energetic husbandry; 

 banks, literally bulging with the 

 wealth of their depositors, and rail- 

 roads and commercial and industrial 

 enterprises telling of the march of 

 progress into what was the desert 

 wilds less than two decades ago. 



This wonderful transformation 

 is due to irrigation, the science of 

 supplying moisture, bringing to the 

 soil the waters from streams which 

 constantly corrode the mountains 

 and foothills, giving out the new life 

 principles in the form of alluvium 

 from the decaying rocks and vegeta- 

 tion of the uplands. 



The economic value of irriga- 

 tion, whether by national project or 

 private enterprise, cannot be meas- 

 ured in dollars and cents. It is no 

 longer an experiment in this grow- 



Terminal Station, Spokane. 



breadth and strength in contemplating scenery, declared 

 by seasoned travelers to have no counterpart in the 

 world. The development of the country will provide a 

 safety valve against the impending dangers of conges- 

 tion in the cities of the East. 



It has been demonstrated that under irrigation 

 western land will produce paying crops of anything 

 which grows in the temperate zone. The products are 

 noted for their brilliant coloring, unusual size and ex- 

 cellent flavor, and they command the markets of the 

 world. Vegetables in almost endless variety and the 

 choicest vine and tree fruits follow each other in rota- 



Spokane Club, 'Spokane. 



