APPENDIX. 473 
range, the glaciers of Mounts Hood and Jefferson, large beds of 
lava on the slopes of the Cascade Mountains in various places 
numerous hot springs along the east base of the Cascade Moun- 
tains, and the sinking rivers of the great basin.—Agriculture 
is the chief occupation of the people. The main agricultural 
products are wheat, oats, potatoes, and apples. The climate 
is too moist and cool for maize, peaches, melons, and sweet- 
potatoes. A great obstacle in the way of the farmer in 
Oregon is the fern, which grows in nearly all fields. There is 
one woolen mill at Salem, the only large manufacturing estab- 
lishment in the state. There are saw-mills to saw all the 
timber required for-home consumption, and grist-mills to 
grind all the grain.—Oregon has little foreign commerce, and 
that little is nearly all done by steamers with San Francisco 
and Victoria, British Columbia. Some goods are sent to 
British Columbia by land up the valley of the Columbia River 
The chief exports of domestic produce are wheat, flour, 
apples, cattle, pickled salmon, eggs, butter, and chickens. 
The entrance of the Columbia River is so dangerous for sailing 
vessels, and the price of coal is so. high on this coast, that 
freight to and from Oregon must always be expensive. Two 
of the most notable roads in the State are the stage road from 
Portland south to Yreka in California, and the road across the 
Cascade Mountains from Portland to the Dalles—Oregon has 
no railroad or canal. There is no Federal fortification, arsenal, 
navy-yard, or hospital in the State. There are small military 
stations occupied by Federal troops at the Dalles, Yamhill, and 
in Rogue River and Umpqua Valleys. The State has few pub- 
lic institutions. The difficulty and expense of getting agri- 
cultural produce to market, the Indian war of 1855, and the 
refusal of the Federal government to pay the war debt, have 
had a strong influence to prevent the growth of the State in 
population and wealth, and to delay the establishment of 
prominent public institutions. There are two colleges, seven 
acidemies, and about three hundred common schools. There 
is a vommon-school fund consisting of the proceeds of lands 
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