of trees which have been described as belonging to the rivers and forests of Oregon, extend to the northern limits of Washington; and also that the scenery of this northern latitude loses nothing from being so near the 49th parallel.
Whatcom County, although not yet devoted to grain-raising, is found to produce large crops of wheat on the bottom-lands. It is, however, celebrated for its vegetables, the yield and excellence of all roots, such as onions, potatoes, and turnips, being prodigious. Potatoes are shipped from here to San Francisco. Apples, pears, cherries, plums, and all kinds of berries come to perfection in the region of Bellingham Bay.
Returning down the Sound, the steamer calls at Coupeville, on Whidby's Island—"the garden of Washington Territory." This island is about fifty miles long, and of very unequal width, not being over ten miles at any place. It is almost cut in two by Penn's Cove, one of the long bays common to this region. It is pierced with these inlets in every direction, and receives from them a greater variety of scenery, and greater number of beautiful locations for building, than any equal amount of territory in America. It contains a population of 550, and has about seven thousand acres under cultivation. The excellence of the soil, beauty of the scenery, and mildness of the climate, have given to Whidby's Island a wide reputation. The land is much of it prairie, equally well adapted to farming or grazing. The views which may be obtained from its most elevated portions are remarkably fine, having water, forests, and mountains on every hand. The average mean temperature of the island is forty-eight degrees. Well might so favored a spot be called the garden of the Territory. All that
