the fruits and cereals
will come into their own in time and furnish much of its wealth.

TRANSPORTATION.

Two railroads reach the center of the northern half of the county,
terminating at Republic, the county seat. These railroads have
pushed in here after the precious metals mined in the vicinity.

The Columbia river is navigable most of its course on the county
boundary, barring some obstructions which the national government
will remove and thus open up to river navigation to the ocean the
fruits of toil in Ferry county.

CITIES AND TOWNS.

REPUBLIC, the county seat, is the only large town in the county,
and has a population of about 1,250 people.

It is the distributing point for supplies for the mines and ships
out much ore for the smelters.

Ferry county altogether offers exceptional opportunities for the
homeseeker in a variety of occupations, as already indicated.

FRANKLIN COUNTY

Franklin county occupies the basin formed by the junction of the
Columbia and Snake rivers, being bounded east, south and west by
them. The southern portion of the county is scarcely 300 feet above
sea level, and the soil is fine and sandy. The northern part of
the county is somewhat higher and composed of successive benches
till they reach an altitude of 1,000 feet. It is only a few years
since these lands were all considered barren and useless. Yet in
1906 these bench lands in this county added 1,500,000 bushels of
wheat to the world's supply and in the following season nearly
doubled that output.

There are no forests, the land being covered with bunchgrass and
sagebrush.

IRRIGATION.

Along the rivers some farmers have irrigated small parcels of land
by pumping water, but the bulk of the irrigable lands are awaiting
the action of the U. S. Reclamation Service, which it is thought
will ultimately be engaged in an extensive irrigation problem to
reclaim thousands of acres now arid and barren. The warm climate
of these low Bandy lands has already been proven to be immensely
advantageous to the gardener and fruit-grower, and the lands wonderfully
productive when the magic influence of plenty of water renders the
sources of plant life soluble.

The wheat crops now being produced come from the bench lands without
irrigation.

TRANSPORTATION.

The Northern Pacific railway passes diagonally through the county
and crosses the Columbia river near Pasco. The Oregon Railroad &
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Navigation railway taps the w