298 Transactions of the American Institute. 



.which the rise of the mountains commences, gradually at first, but 

 increases as you approach the summit of each. Two-thirds or three, 

 fourths, of this distance is covered with grass (bunch grass), sparse at 

 first, mixed with sage, grease-wood, and sand. The soil is light and 

 ashy, strongly impregnated with alkali, which in many places i& 

 incrusted on the surface from one-half to two inches in thickness. As. 

 you approach the mountains, the soil grows darker, the grass increases. 

 in quantity, the sage disappears at the " Foot Hills," thirty miles from 

 the Columbia. The soil is well adapted to the growth of small grain, 

 yielding from thirty to fifty bushels of wheat, and fifty to eighty of 

 oats and barley. Here is a luxuriant growth of bunch grass mixed 

 with the sun-flower and variety of other herbage. Corn yields well in 

 the narrow bottoms of the streams that flow from the mountains, 

 which are small and numerous. This place is well adapted to stock 

 raising, for in no place in America does stock do better than in the 

 valley of the Columbia, and is the only business that will succeed ; 

 the climate, the soil, the locality, all point out this business as the one 

 fitted to succeed, and farming should be made subsidiary to stock- 

 raising — to raise feed to keep them through a cold winter. When 

 this business is fully developed and all its advantages made availa- 

 ble, then will this region turn out large quantities of beef, mutton 

 and wool. Strictly speaking, we have but the wet and dry seasons. 

 The former sets in in April or part of May, when the wind becomes 

 settled in the north, and from this time till November we have but 

 few cloudy days and but little rain. In November, the wind changes 

 to the south, which blows from the equatorial regions to the poles ; 

 which comes loaded with moisture which it deposits along the north- 

 ern coast in the shape of rain, hail, or snow. A large share of this 

 falls west of the Cascade Mountains or in the mountains. This sets 

 free a large quantity of heat, which modifies this climate, and gives 

 us the same winter temperature as the southern States. But when 

 the wind changes to the north it universally brings cold, and if it con- 

 tinues long it is very cold, often bringing the thermometer below 

 zero, carrying the cold into Mexico ; but this is the exception, not 

 the rule. This winter we have had only two weeks of winter in 

 which it froze hard, but we had no snow. This closed up at Christ- 

 mas. Since then we have had but little frost. The grass is growing 

 slowly ; grain coming up. Sparrows are singing. Farmers are plough- 

 ing, and vegetation begins to show the signs of spring. All through 

 January, west of the Cascades, was constant rains. We had but little 

 rain, a good deal of cloudy -weather, with some sunshine, during 



