Wheat Growing in the Pacific States. 



largest average planted in the history of that State was in 

 1884, when a little over 3,250,000 acres were harvested for 

 grain. The smallest area harvested since 1870 was in 1898,. 

 when conditions were so unfavourable during the growing 

 season that a large proportion of the crop was totally 

 abandoned or cut for hay, and only 1,343,000 acres were 

 actually cut for grain. The yield varies considerably from 

 year to year, the average being 14*6 bushels per acre. 



Oregon has shown a steadily increasing wheat acreage 

 from 92,000 acres in 1865 to 1,174,000 acres in 1900. The 

 average yield is 177 bushels per acre, which, on a mean area 

 of 830,000 acres, gives a total annual production of nearly 

 15,000,000 bushels. 



In Washington, about 700,000 acres are now harvested 

 annually. The area in this State is subject to considerable 

 fluctuations. The yield is as high as 20*8 bushels per acre ; 

 this also giving an annual production of nearly 15,000,000 

 bushels. Idaho harvests on an average a little over 100,000 

 acres, but this area is now increasing, and amounted to nearly 

 150,000 acres in 1900. The average total production is 

 2,366,000 bushels, or a mean of 22*8 bushels per acre. 



The four Pacific States together have thus raised, on the 

 average of the past ten years, an annual crop of 65,000,000 

 bushels, from 4,344,000 acres. This area tends, however, to 

 increase, it having amounted to 5,287,000 acres in 1897, 

 and to 5,162,000 in 1900. The largest out-turn was nearly 

 81,000,000 bushels in 1899, while in 1900 with a much lower 

 yield per acre it amounted to 73,000,000 bushels. 



Transportation of the enormous quantity of wheat raised 

 in the Pacific Coast region has been reduced to a science, 

 and facilities are such that trains can be run from the wheat- 

 fields to tide-water at a very few hours'" notice, and a large 

 saving in the handling and warehouse requirements can be 

 made by loading ships directly from the cars. This method 

 of loading is largely practised in California, where elevators 

 as commonly used in the East are unknown, the greater 

 part of the grain being shipped in the identical sack in which 

 it was placed in the wheat-field. In Washington and 

 Oregon, however, the wheat, although brought to the 



