Industries.

Wheat is its great staple crop, and the last year out of a crop acreage of 275,000 gave to the world nearly 6,000,000 bushels, an average of upwards of 20 bushels to the acre.  When this average is compared with that of the wheat fields of the Mississippi valley, it is no wonder that the value of its realty has increased for the purposes of taxation more than 300 per cent. in the past six years.  Horses, cattle, hogs and sheep are to a limited extent raised on the farms, and are important adjuncts to its prosperity.

[Page 47] principal cities and towns.

Ritzville is the county seat, and has a city hall, electric lights and water system, flour and feed mills, and is the chief distributing center of the county.

Lind will be one of the important points on the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway, now building across the county.

Washtucna also is to have another outlet for its wheat over the Portland & Seattle railway, projected and building.  All these towns have good schools, churches, warehouses, mercantile establishments, and all enjoy an abundance of prosperity from the marketing of the crops.

ASOTIN COUNTY

Location.

Asotin county occupies the extreme southeastern corner of the state, being separated from Idaho on the east by the Snake river and from Oregon on the south by the state boundary.  Its population is about 7,500, its area 640 square miles.

It takes in a portion of the Blue mountains, from which numerous small streams furnish abundant water for all domestic farm purposes and for irrigating quite a large area of lands, which makes the county ideal for the stock-raiser and fruit-grower.

Industries.

The irrigation of the low lands has had a wonderful effect in stimulating the fruit industry, and resulted in a great advance in land values, particularly about Clarkston and Cloverland, while the cool water of the mountain streams and their grassy slopes make the dairy business especially profitable.  General farming, however, is still the standby of the bulk of the population.  At Clarkston the lands irrigated and planted to orchards have reached in many instances a value of $1,000 per acre, the waters being taken out of Asotin creek.  About Cloverland, waters from George creek have wrought almost an equal increase in values.  Cloverland is on a plateau about 2,500 feet above sea level, and the lands irrigated and planted to winter apples are paying handsome dividends to their fortunate owners.  On ordinary farm lands wheat yields 25 to 50 bushels per acre and barley from 40 to 60 bushels per acre.

Transportation.

The transportation is limited to the power of steamboats on the Snake river and the Oregon Railroad & Navigation railway, which is reached at Lewiston, across the river from Clarkston.