THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Nature has lavished her richest gifts upon 

 Wonderful wonderful Washington. There is no land 

 Washington, and water area of its size in the world 



more perfectly adapted to the highest de- 

 velopment of the human race. Geographical location, 

 climate, topography, navigable waters abounding in fish, 

 mountains stored with base and precious metals, rich 

 deposits of coal, limitless supplies of water for power, 

 irrigation and drinking purposes, forests of giant tim- 

 ber, productive soil suitable to the luxuriant growth of 

 almost everything that man requires ; these are' some of 

 the conditions, advantages and resources that make 

 Washington an empire in itself, and destine it to become 

 populous and among the foremost sections of the world 

 in commerce, trade and industry. The diversity of 

 Washington's resources causes, men to marvel at the 

 prodigality of nature. Vermont has her marble, Pennsyl- 

 vania her coal, Niagara her cataract, Michigan her tim- 

 ber and ores, the great Mississippi valley its productive 

 soil, Colorado her precious metals, Montana her copper, 

 California her orchards and vineyards, Newfoundland 

 her fisheries, New York her command of an ocean's 

 commerce, but Washington has in profusion each and 

 all of the resources and opportunities, one or more of 

 which have made these sections famous, but which are 

 nowhere else found in combination. Among the states 

 of the Union are some which thrive upon agriculture; 

 others are industrial commonwealths devoted to manu- 

 facturing; others are distinguished by their commercial 

 and maritime activities; in some fisheries are a source of 

 wealth; forests have y elded their timber to the wealth- 

 producing activities of others; mines of coal, iron, cop- 

 per, lead, gold and silver have been developed in many 

 almost uninhabitable regions; sheep and cattle graze on 

 many a plain or hillside where water is none too abun- 

 dant, and where the winter's snow and cold are hard to 

 endure. Washington yields more bushels of wheat to 

 the acre than any other State in the Union. The fleeces 

 of Washington sheep are the heaviest grown in this coun- 

 try. The apples, peaches, prunes, berries, grapes and 

 other fruits and vegetables are the most luscious that are 

 produced anywhere. The forests of Washington yield 

 the largest timber found in the world, excepting only the 

 vanishing redwood of California. Washington has the 

 richest coal deposits this side of Pennsylvania. Cop- 

 per, iron, gold, silver, marble, granite, sandstone are 

 found in abundance. Salmon, cod, halibut, cod, 

 sole, herring and a great variety of ocean fish 

 mountain trout, crabs, oysters, clams, shrimp, 

 abound in the waters of the State. The great 

 inland sea, the land-locked harbor of Puget Sound with 

 its sufficient depth for the greatest vessels afloat, and 

 with many spacious harbors, commands the shortest 

 ocean route between the United States and the Orient, 

 and insures to Washington the maritime supremacy of 

 the Pacific. Cheap and abundant power for manufac- 



turing, and a great diversity of raw materials, have al- 

 ready made Washington a great industrial common- 

 wealth. The climate of Washington is the most equable 

 and salubrious in the United States. Neither extreme 

 heat nor cold is ever experienced west of the Cascade 

 mountains, and Eastern Washington has mild winters 

 and comfortable summers. The scenery of Washing- 

 ton is sublime. The loftiest mountain peak in the 

 United States, exclusive of Alaska, towers to a height 

 of nearly three miles within sixty miles of tidewater. 

 The Olympic peninsula is rugged and mountainous. 

 Nature's beauties are nowhere displayed more effectively. 

 Washington has everything to make life comfortable 

 and people happy in legitimate pursuits. There is no 

 limit to the possibilities of its development. Its ocean 

 commerce reaches to the ends of the earth. The great 

 transcontinental railways of the country have either 

 extended to Puget Sound or are determined to do so. 

 Puget Sound is the gateway to Alaska and the Orient. 

 The population of Washington in 1860, the first 

 census that was taken after the creation of Washington 

 Territory, was 11,594. In 1870 the population had in- 

 creased to 23,955. In 1880 there were 75,116 people in 

 the State. In 1890 the population was 349,390; in 

 1900, 518,103. The population of the State has in- 

 creased with great rapidity since 1900, and is now esti- 

 mated by the State Statistician at 825,000. Large and 

 rapidly growing cities have sprung up. Seattle, Taco- 

 ma, Spokane, Bellingham, Everett, Walla Walla, North 

 Yakima, and the capital, Olympia, are the leading cities 

 of the State. Aberdeen, Vancouver, Ballard, Puyallup, 

 Ellensburg, Colfax and many other towns are growing 

 rapidly and will develop into important and populous 

 communities. The area of Washington is 69,180 square 

 miles, of which 66,880 square miles is land surface and 

 2,300 square miles water surface. As yet, however, not- 

 withstanding its growth in population from 11,594 to 

 825,000 in forty-five years, with 750,000 increase in the 

 last twenty-five years, the development of Washington 

 has only just begun. The surface has only been scratched 

 here and there. The next twenty-five years will witness 

 a marvelous increase. The great factors in the growth 

 of Washington will be irrigation, manufacturing from 

 the native products of the soil, the forests, the mines 

 and the waters, and railway and ocean commerce, by 

 which Washington is in direct touch with all parts of 

 the world. Washington is the State of Opportunity. 

 It invites the farmer, the miner, the fisherman, the 

 stock raiser, the manufacturer, the trader, the capitalist, 

 the transportation companies, to enter its field of limit- 

 less activity. It has rewards in store for every kind 

 of honest and intelligent effort. 



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: Send $2.50 for The Irrigation Age 



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1 year, and The Primer of Irrigation 



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