these industries, stimulated as they must be in the future, will consume the products of additional thousands of farms, giving the producers home markets and remunerative prices." The seasons of Western Washington are really only two, wet and dry, influenced by the semiannual monsoons. From November to May the southwest winds prevail, bringing heavy showers, from May to November the cool and dry northwest winds give slight rain-falls and a moderate temperature. The winters are never severe; only on one occasion during the last twelve years snow fell to the depth of two feet.

The population of the Territory does not much exceed twenty thou sand.

NEVADA.

The arable lands of Nevada, of which there are considerable quantities not taken up, are principally in the river valleys, some of which are very extensive and extremely fertile. The valleys of the Humboldt, Carson, and Walker rivers contain in the aggregate about three-quarters of a million acres of good tillable land. This amount may be largely increased by irrigation, for which ample and convenient facilities exist. Like the mountain country in several others of the States and Territories, Nevada contains large grazing tracts on the hills and mountain sides. The chief crops are grain, hay, and vegetables. Springs are numerous and water is abundant in all parts of the State. The climate is mild in summer, cold, but not severe in winter, the atmosphere being dry and salubrious. The route of the Pacific railroad traverses the valley of the Humboldt for more than two hundred miles.

It is not probable that an opportunity will long exist of taking up the best agricultural and grazing lands which may be now had in this prosperous and wealthy State.

IDAHO.

The surface of the Territory consists of mountain and table land, and river valleys of great producing capacity. In the sheltered valleys, which are numerous, the climate is mild and affords sustenance and protection for cattle and sheep at all seasons. The greater number of these valleys are still unoccupied except by inconsiderable settlements. The Territory is well watered. Good water-powers are numerous. In the vicinity of the arable lands timber is scarce. Large tracts are susceptible of irrigation by means of canals and ditches, and under such circumstances produce the finest crops belonging to that latitude.

The present population is over 25,000, generally distributed in the neighborhoods of the more promising mining districts.

ΜΟΝΤΑΝΑ.

The cultivable lands of Montana, like the other portions of the mountain country, consist of table lands, mountain slopes, and rich alluvial bottom or river valleys. The table lands, which are very extensive, require irrigation in order to realize their utmost production, and water for this purpose is convenient and plentiful. Wheat, rye, oats, barley, &c., yield abundantly. Cattle and sheep can be kept nearly all winter without other feed than they can obtain from the natural pasturage.

The surveyor general of the Territory estimates that fully one-third of the territorial area is susceptible of cultivation, 5,760,000 of which

are valley lands. He refers to the fact that the Jesuits, in commencing to cultivate the soil in the Bitter Root Valley, about twenty-five years ago, could raise scarcely anything; but continued experiment developed the proper course to be pursued, and the grounds in that region, which at one time refused to yield, are now prolific with splendid crops, the incoming settlers having profited by the experience of their predecessors. The yield of wheat throughout the Territory is up to the average per acre of any other State or Territory.

Timber is abundant on the mountains. Wood sufficient for fencing purposes and for fuel may be obtained on much of the tillable lands. Granite, limestone, slate, and fire-clay exist in abundance Brown coal, or lignite, is found in great quantity on the banks of the Missouri and Yellowstone Rivers.

WYOMING.

This Territory is a rectangular tract recently detached from the Terri tory of Dakota. It extends from the forty-first to the forty-fifth degree of latitude north and south, and from the twenty-seventh to the thirtythird meridian of longitude east and west, with a sort of pan-handle projecting from its northwest corner and extending along the mountain ranges almost to the thirty-sixth degree of longitude.

The public surveys have not been commenced in the Territory, and reliable information in regard to the character of its public lands is lim ited. The general features of the Territory will doubtless be found to correspond in the main with those of Montana and Colorado.

UTAH.

The Territory of Utah was not created a land district until July 16, 1868, and no public lands therefore have been sold. The surveyed lands, however, amount to something over two millions and a half acres, and surveying operations have been resumed, including the regions where actual settlements have been made.

The completion of the Union Pacific railroad, which passes through the Territory, has given an unwonted impetus to settlement here as in the other new States and Territories which it traverses. Utah, then a much larger political division than at present, was first settled in the year 1847 by the Mormons, who have demonstrated that agriculture can be made in that region a very remunerative pursuit, and that the parched mountain valleys may be made by artificial means to "blossom as the rose." By means of irrigating canals, the cereals, especially wheat, oats, and barley, yield from fifty to sixty bushels per acre; wheat has produced even as high as ninety bushels to the acre, and a case is given where, in the vicinity of Great Salt Lake, three and a half acres of land produced a hundred and eighty bushels of wheat from a single bushel of seed. In the southwestern valleys of the Territory, cotton, sorghum, and corn are raised with success. Garden vegetables and a great variety of large and small fruits yield abundantly. The settlements for the most part are along the Wasatch Mountains, on the western slope, from the northern to the southern limits of the Territory, wherever water is easily obtainable for purposes of irrigation along the alluvial belt, which varies in width from one mile to ten.

Large quantities of cotton are raised on the Rio Virgen and Colorado, and grazing and wool-growing are successfully carried on along the headwaters of the Green River. There are cotton, woolen, grist, and

saw mills in the Territory. It is stated that experiments in raising flax, and the mulberry tree, and in rearing the silk-worm, have been successful.

The Commissioner of the General Land Office, in his report for 1868, says that valuable tracts, either for grazing or farming purposes, remain unoccupied, and calls attention to the advantages of settlement here: "Aside from centrality of position, may be mentioned the existence of flouring mills, manufacturing establishments, shops, stores, and markets in every important locality, with supplies of horses, mules, and improved breeds of cattle, sheep, and hogs, thus furnishing to immigrants many facilities not found in less populous sections."

The population of the Territory is estimated at 120,000.

HOMESTEADS UNDER ACT OF CONGRESS.

By act of Congress, approved June 21, 1866, the public lands lying in the States of Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Florida, are open only to settlement as homesteads according to provisions of former enactments relating thereto; with the restriction, however, that until the expiration of two years from and after the passage of the act no entry should be made for more than a half-quarter of a section, or eighty acres. The object in the main, perhaps, was to encourage the freedmen to occupy these vacant lands. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 526,077 acres were taken up under the provisions of the act, and in the year preceding an aggregate of 264,480 acres. There yet remain undisposed of in those States 6,790,996 acres in Alabama, 11,574,430 in Arkansas, 17,424,438 in Florida, 6,582,841 in Louisiana, and 4,828,069 in Mississippi.

It must not be supposed that because these are comparatively old States, the best lands have been taken up. While it is perhaps difficult, if not altogether impossible, to secure lands in the vicinity of cities or large towns, or in near proximity to present lines of commercial communication, very desirable tracts may be obtained in sections not remote. Moreover, the construction of railroads in that part of the country promises to be undertaken with an energy commensurate with their importance in the development of the rich regions now lying fallow on account of distance from leading markets. What the iron rail has done for the plains and prairies and outlying regions of the West and further North, it may confidently be expected to do for the South, with its wealth of soil, salubrious climate, inviting natural scenery, and affluent products. The era of substantial progress for the South may indeed be said to have commenced with the termination of the war, which, obliterating the system of compulsory labor, and the monopoly of production by great landed proprietors, opened up the avenues of competition to all classes of citizens. The division of lands into smaller tracts has promoted a more systematic and thorough, and consequently more profitable mode of farming and planting. Evidences of a highly remunerative production must attract that immigration which is the invigorating life of States. The characteristics of soil, climate, and productions of the homestead land States of the South are so nearly similar, and are so generally understood, that it is not necessary to speak of them respectively at any length.

Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Louisiana are the leading cottonproducing States of the Union. They each possess remarkable agricultural and economic advantages. The soil, fertile and varied, produces the principal cereals and a variety of fruits and vegetables, in

addition to cotton, sugar, tobacco, and rice. Numerous streams, lakes, and bayous afford easy means of intercommunication. Timber of a superior kind for building purposes and for fuel is abundant. The great success which has attended experiments in the growing of mulberry trees and the rearing of silk-worms augurs the introduction into those States of that important branch of industry.

Alabama furnishes superior grazing lands in the northern districts, and, in that section, a soil well adapted to the cultivation of wheat, maize, rye, oats, &c. In this State coal, iron, and valuable minerals exist in considerable quantities. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1868, 124,085 acres were taken up under the homestead act of 1866. In the same time 102,824 acres were entered by homestead settlers in Mississippi.

In the lower portion of Louisiana there are fertile prairies which yield good crops of wheat, barley, and Indian corn, some cereals yielding two crops annually. There are 50,000 acres of swamp land in this State which may be reclaimed by drainage and embankments, accounted as produc tive as any within its boundaries. There are 6,500,000 acres of railroad lands in Louisiana, which may be bought at low rates.

The fruits of the tropics flourish luxuriantly on the soil of Florida. Its rich alluvial bottoms produce large crops of sugar and rice. It has been said that the area in this State suitable for the culture of cotton is amply sufficient to supply the demands of the United States for that commodity. Possessing a coast line of one thousand miles, it furnishes from its dense forests ship-building timber of good quality. Public land in great abun dance may be had in the State. Rapid settlement along the coast is being made by persons intent upon the culture of fruits. Florida, with an area of over 59,000 square miles, has a population estimated at a little over 160,000.

Arkansas is divided into two sections by the Ozark Mountains. While that region lying upon the north possesses a climate and furnishes productions analogous to those of the northern States, that lying upon the south displays the general characteristics of the cotton States. The staple productions of the State are Indian corn, cotton, and live stock, and considerable crops of wheat, oats, and tobacco. The White River Valley is sought by those who cultivate the cereals and raise herds. To the west of the great forests of the Arkansas is "one of the most productive regions on the continent for corn, cotton, and tobacco." In the valley of the Red River cotton is the staple product. The valley of the Ouachita is extremely fertile and inviting. The valley of the Mississippi is, for the most part, low and marshy, and subject in places to inundation. These lands, however, will be eventually reclaimed by drainage, and the protection of levees, since Congress has given to States the control of such tracts.

MANNER OF ACQUIRING TITLE TO PUBLIC LANDS.

The following directions for acquiring title to the public lands are communicated by the Commissioner of the General Land Office:

There are two classes of public lands; the one class at $1 25 per acre, which is designated as minimum, and the other at $2 50 per acre, or double minimum.

Title may be acquired by purchase, at public sale, or by ordinary "private entry," and by virtue of the pre-emption and homestead laws. 1. At public sale, where lands are "offered" at public auction to the highest bidder, either pursuant to proclamation by the President or

public notice given in accordance with directions from the General Land Office.

2. By private entry or location. The lands of this class liable to disposal are those which have been offered at public sale, and thereafter remain unsold, and which have not been subsequently reserved, or otherwise withdrawn from market. In this class of offered and unreserved public lands the following steps may be taken to acquire title:

Cash purchases.-The applicant must present a written application to the register for the district in which the land desired is situated, describing the tract he wishes to purchase, giving its area. Thereupon the register, if the tract is vacant, will so certify to the receiver, stating the price; and the applicant must then pay the amount of the purchase money. The receiver will then issue to the purchaser a duplicate receipt, and at the close of the month the register and receiver will make returns of the sale to the General Land Office, from whence, when the proceedings are found regular, a patent, or complete title, will be issued; and on surrender of the duplicate receipt such patent will be delivered, at the option of the patentee, either by the Commissioner at Washington or by the register at the district land office.

Location with warrants.-Application must be made as in cash cases, but must be accompanied by a warrant duly assigned as the consideration for the land; yet where the tract is $2 50 per acre, the party, in addition to the surrendered warrant, must pay in cash $1 25 per acre, as the warrant is in satisfaction of only so many acres at $1 25 per acre as are contained in the tract located. A duplicate certificate of location will then be furnished the party, to be held until the patent is delivered, as in cases of cash sales.

Agricultural College Scrip.-This scrip is applicable to lands not mineral, which may be subject to private entry at $1 25 per acre, yet is restricted to a technical "quarter section;" that is, lands embraced by the quarter section lines indicated on the official plats of survey, or it may be located on a part of a "quarter section," where such part is taken as in full for a quarter; but it cannot be applied to different subdivisions to make an area equivalent to a quarter section. The manner of proceed ing to acquire title with this class of paper is the same as in cash and warrant cases, the fees to be paid being the same as on warrants. The location of this scrip is restricted to three sections in each township of land.

Pre-emptions to the extent of one quarter section.-These may be made under the general pre-emption laws, upon "offered" and "unoffered " land; and in certain States and Territories west of the Mississippi, including that part of Minnesota east of the river, may have legal inception by actual settlement upon unsurveyed land, although in such cases no definitive proceedings can be had as to the completion of title until after the surveys are officially returned to the district land office.

The act of March 3, 1853, extends the pre-emption for one quarter, or one hundred and sixty acres, at $2 50 per acre to every "alternate" United States or reserved section along the line of railroads.

The act of March 27, 1854, protects the right of settlers on sections along the line of railroads where settlement existed prior to withdrawal, and in such cases allows the tract to be taken by pre-emption at $1 25 per acre.

Where the tract is "offered" the party must file with the district land office his declaratory statement as to the fact of his settlement within thirty days from the date of said settlement, and within one year from that date, must appear before the register and receiver and make proof of