GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TEKEITORIES. 247 



wherever water can be obtained, and the land irrigated, the soil becomes 

 very fertile. The arable areas around Toqueville, and from there up 

 the river, are very limited, but about Washington and St. George they are 

 more extensive, and the entire Santa Clara Valley, for fifteen or twenty 

 miles in length and two or three miles in width, can be cultivated. And 

 one or two canals are being cut along the Eio Virgin which will add con- 

 siderably to the cultivable area. This section, on account of its semi- 

 tropical climate, is considered by the Mormons of great importance, for 

 they look to this for their supply of cotton, raisins, oranges, and other 

 products, which cannot be grown in the Salt Lake Valley. 



In regard to the vast region east of the Wahsatch range, and south 

 of the Uintah Mountains belonging to the Eio Colorado district, I know 

 but very little. 



Strawberry Creek, a tributary of Uintah Eiver, runs through a very 

 pretty valley for twenty or twenty-five miles, which averages seven or 

 eight miles in width. The greater portion of this area can be irrigated, 

 and would produce good crops of such things as are adapted to the climate, 

 which, on account of elevation and the proximity of mountains, is cold. 



The Uintah Valley is more extensive, and has in it some very good 

 land, a large portion of which may be rendered suitable for culture by 

 irrigation, for which purpose the supply of water is ample. 



CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS. 



Within the Territory of Utah every grade of climate, from tbe cold 

 regions of the snowy Sierras to the semi-tropical region of the south- 

 ern plains, is to be found, but the central portion, where the greater part 

 of the cultivable land is situated, has a mild climate, which, as before 

 remarked, corresponds very nearly with that of the Middle States. As 

 we go north and northeast, ascending the mountain valleys, the climate 

 increases rapidly in severity, and the growing seasons become shorter. 

 As a general thing the annual fall of snow in the valleys is small, seldom 

 more than a few inches in depth, and it remains on the ground but few 

 hours, or days at farthest. In the vicinity of the higher mountains 

 there are occasional frosts that injure the crops. 



Wheat, oats, potatoes, and fruit are the principal productions, which 

 not only grow readily and yield abundant crops, but of the very best 

 quality, the soil being naturally adapted to their culture. Something 

 over one million bushels of wheat was raised in the Territory in 1866, 

 but what the ratio of increase has been since that time I am unable to 

 say, but it has not been in proportion to the breadth of land sown, as 

 the grasshoppers have been very destructive for the past three years. 

 Not only have they injured the growing wheat, oats, &c, but, where the 

 ground has been replanted in something else, they have, in some in- 

 stances, cut it down for the sixth time in one season. The average 

 yield per acre, of favorable seasons, is from twenty- two to twenty-six 

 bushels, but in certain localities it will reach much higher figures. 



Cache, San Pete, and Utah Counties are the principal wheat-growing 

 sections, not because they produce more to the acre, but because more 

 acres have been cultivated in this cereal in these counties than any 

 others. I did not have an opportunity of examining carefully the differ- 

 ent specimens of wheat grown in the Territory, but, judging by the 

 bread made from it, I presume it to be superior in some respects. It is 

 probable that the flavor and lightness of the bread are partly due to the 

 alkali with which the soil of the valleys is more or less impregnated. 



As is generally the case throughout the Eocky Mountain regions, oats 



