ARID WASHINGTON AND OREGON 



dust during the dry season, and wind and dust constitute 

 the disagreeable features of an otherwise delightful cli- 

 mate. There is probably no healthier region, nor one 

 better adapted to people suffering with throat and lung 

 troubles, than arid Washington. 



The products comprise everything that grows in the 

 temperate zone, including the tender fruits, which are 

 here of great beauty and high flavor. The localities 

 where the Yakima, Snake, and Wenatchee rivers empty 

 into the Columbia furnish the earliest products, the sea- 

 son being fully a month more advanced than in the 

 humid parts of the State. For this reason rare oppor- 

 tunities are offered in the way of market-gardening, 

 which is an important consideration, as enabling settlers 

 to obtain an income before their trees come into bearing. 



The markets open to the small farmers who settle upon 

 the irrigated lands of eastern Washington are extremely 

 fortunate. They include the rich and growing mining 

 districts of northern Idaho, of Montana, and of British 

 Columbia, as well as home markets in the northern and 

 western parts of the State. Nature has rather severely 

 limited the district which can produce the early fruits, 

 small fruits, and vegetables, while these mining regions 

 must always be large consumers, and can never hope to 

 supply themselves with early products. The improve- 

 ment of railroad facilities will enhance these advantages. 

 Strawberries, raspberries, cherries, pears, peaches, prunes, 

 and apples, as well as all vegetables, find ready sale at 

 high prices in these markets. The dairy .industry is also 

 profitable. 



Settlement on the irrigated lands of eastern Wash ing- 

 ton has only begun, and is still far behind canal-build- 



189 



