Polk County has every thing to make it rich and prosperous. All of its prairie and level land, and much of its upland, produces large crops of wheat, barley, and oats. Perhaps four-fifths of the whole county might be turned to grain-raising. It is an excellent fruit-growing region, producing apples, pears, plums, cherries, quinces, and small fruits in perfection. Every garden vegetable produced on this soil is excellent. The grain that docs not do well as a crop, is Indian corn; the fruits that fail as a crop are peaches, grapes, apricots, and the like tender varieties. These may be raised in certain localities, but are not sure every year, like the first-mentioned kinds. Eastern Oregon, which is not exposed to the sea-wind and fogs that give to the Wallamet Valley its cool nights and copious moisture, must furnish Western Oregon with Indian corn and peaches.
From the rolling surface of this county, it is evident that good water must be abundant, and mill privileges easily obtained. The mountains furnish plenty of timber for lumbering purposes; the valleys furnish cabinet-woods; and the long, sloping hill-sides are dotted with handsome groves of oak. The mineral resources of the county are as yet undeveloped, but promise to be valuable when they are opened up. Of mills, there are nine which make lumber, and four which manufacture flour, besides one woolen-mill. Schools in the different districts, and academies in three of the towns—Dallas, Bethel, and Monmouth (the latter a college)—evidence the prevailing desire of the people for education.
Next south of Polk, on the west side of the Wallamet River, is Benton County, containing nearly a million acres of land, extending from the river across the
