THE STATUS IN COLUMBIA BASIN 385 



central part of Idaho, western Montana, and extends 

 into British Columbia. It includes the section often 

 called the Inland Empire, which alone covers some 

 one hundred and fifty thousand square miles. The 

 chief dry-farm crop of this region is wheat ; in fact, 

 western Washington or the "Palouse country" is 

 famous for its wheat-producing powers. The other 

 grains, potatoes, roots, and vegetables are also grown 

 without irrigation. In the parts of this dry-farm 

 district where the rainfall is the highest, fruits of 

 many kinds and of a high quality are grown without 

 irrigation. It is estimated that at least two million 

 acres are being dry-farmed in this district. Dry- 

 farming is fully established in the Columbia River 

 Basin. One farmer is reported to have raised in one 

 year on his own farm two hundred and fifty thousand 

 bushels of wheat. In one section of the district 

 where the rainfall for the last few years has been only 

 about ten or eleven inches, wheat has been produced 

 successfully. This corroborates the experience of 

 California, that wheat may really be grown in local- 

 ities where the annual rainfall is not above ten inches. 

 The most modern methods of dry-farming are fol- 

 lowed by the farmers of the Columbia River Basin, 

 but little attention has been given to soil-fertility, 

 since soils that have been farmed for a generation 

 still appear to retain their high productive powers. 

 Undoubtedly, however, in this district, as in Cali- 

 fornia, the question of soil-fertility will be an impor- 



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