n ice-packed boxes, fresh from the waters,
to all parts of the nation. Of these fish, many salmon, halibut
and cod are caught in Alaskan waters and brought into this state
to be cured and prepared for the market.

The salmon are chiefly packed in tin cans after being cooked; the
cod are handled as are the eastern cod, dried and salted. The business
of handling the smelts, herring, etc., is in its infancy, as is
also that of the shellfish.

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The propagation of oysters, both native and eastern, is assuming
great importance in many places in the state. In Shoalwater bay,
Willipa bay, Grays harbor, and many of the bays and inlets of Puget
Sound, oysters are being successfully grown. In some instances
oyster farms are paying as much as $1,000 per acre. The state has
sold many thousand acres of submerged lands for this purpose. It
has also reserved several thousand acres of natural oyster beds,
from which the seed oysters are annually sold at a cheap price to
the oyster farmers, who plant them upon their own lands and market
them when full grown.

The native oysters are much smaller than the eastern oysters and
of a distinct flavor, but command the same prices in the market.

AGRICULTURE.

Cereals.

The largest and most important industry in the state is without
doubt the cultivation of the soil. The great variety of the soils
and climatic conditions has made the state, in different parts,
admirably adapted to a large variety of farm products. Vast fields of
wheat cover a large proportion of the uplands of eastern Washington,
the average yield of which is greater than that of any other state
in the Union.

The diked lands of western Washington produce oats at the rate
of 100 to 125 bushels per acre. In some counties in southeastern
Washington barley is more profitable than any other cereal, on
account of the large yield and superior quality.

Corn is successfully raised in some of the irrigated lands, but is
not as profitable as some other crops and hence is not an important
factor in Washington's grain supply. Rye, buckwheat, and flax, are
successfully grown in many localities. In western Washington,
particularly, peas form an important ration for stock food and
are extensively raised for seed, excelling in quality the peas of
most other states.

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Hops.

Hops are a large staple product in many counties of the state.
They are of excellent quality, and the yield is large and their
cultivat