Our Best Cabbage Seeds. 
Where and How they are Produced. 
SOME NOTES ON A WONDERFUL COUNTRY. 
T1IE HOLLAND OF AMERICA. 
A glance at the map of the United 
States will show in the extreme north¬ 
western corner of the Union what might 
be called an immense irregular inland sea, 
known as Puget Sound. The extreme 
length of this sheet of wa'er is about one 
hundred and forty miles, lying as it does 
between the 47tli and 49th degrees of north 
latitude. The city of Olympia, the capital 
of the Territory of Washington, is situated 
at the head of this Sound on the 47th par¬ 
allel, and other rapidly growing towns are 
beautifully located along the shores, the 
town of Whatcom being at the other end 
nearly on the 49th parallel, which was the 
extreme northern boundry of Uncle Sam’s 
dominions before the addition of Alaska. 
It would be supposed that this country, 
being nearly 300 miles farther north than 
the extre i.e northern portion of either the 
states of New York or Vermont, would be 
so nearly an unending winter as to be very 
undesirable as a place of abode for man. 
But such is not the case. The Ocean cur¬ 
rents which strike that coast from the 
•south-west, constantly bring wdth the - *^ a 
mild climatic influence which effectually 
destroys even the rigors of a Pennsylvania 
wdnter; and as far inland as the Cascade 
Range the country is protected to a won¬ 
derful degree, the ground seldom' freezing, 
snow seldom falling in quantity sufficient 
to whiten the landscape. And yet in plain 
view stands old Mt. Baker -whose summit 
perpetually glistens with ice and snow; 
and a direct line of travel eastward 
through Montana, Dakota and Minnesota 
would encounter high mountainous lands, 
where old winter reigns supreme for a 
.great portion of the year. 
A person is apt to look upon and judge 
new country with a view to its adapt¬ 
ability to his own particular calling, and 
we suppose by reason of our great interest 
in gardening and seed-growing we were led 
pome fifteen years ago to ascertain the fact 
that no other section in the Union was so 
well adapted to the perfect development of 
vegetables and the formation of grain and 
seed crofsas the Puget Sound country. 
The Sound being immediately connected 
with the ocean is affected by the daily ebb 
and flow of the ocean tides, and as may 
be well known, the tide rises several feet 
higher in winter than it does in summer. 
This leaves along the borders of the Sound 
extensive tracts which are annually cov¬ 
ered with several feet of water in high tide 
in winter, but which are only level mud 
flats in summer. But the impregnation of 
salts from the sea water in winter is de¬ 
structive to the vegetation unless kept off 
for a couple of years and thus the land be 
allowed to freshen. 
Some twelve years ago a brother of the 
writer, in company with some neighboring 
friends, decided to locate in this favored 
spot and engage in the growing of grain 
and seeds. The risks and expense of such 
an undertaking may be imagined when it 
is stated that it was necessary not only to 
leave a pleasant eastern home and bid 
good bye to the friendships and acquaint¬ 
ances of a life time, but to travel continu¬ 
ously over three thousand Yniles of railroad 
to San Francisco, from whence an ocean 
voyage of 500 miles brought the explorers 
to their promised land which they found 
very sparsely settled save by the native 
Indians who lead quiet lazy lives and de¬ 
pend principally upon the fish and game, 
with which the country abounds, for their 
sustenance. Away from the immediate 
vicinity of the Sound the whole country 
is very heavily wooded with some of the 
largest and finest timber to be found in 
the world. Millions of acres of these tim¬ 
ber lands are good, but it will require many 
years to clear them up and dispose of the 
immense cedar stumps. So the tide lands 
are first taken as they are free from stick 
or stone and very rich, but to make them 
available, it was necessary to throw up 
several miles of dykes with a spade or 
shovel which, of course, is a long and la¬ 
borious job. They are required to be about 
six feet in height and of strength enough 
to withstand the pressure of old ocean and 
keep the salt water from overflowing the 
land at high tide. When this great task 
was accomplished extensive farms were 
