Upon admission of Washington to statehood a land endowment was
granted to the state by the federal government for common school
purposes which in round numbers totals nearly two and one-half
millions of acres. This land is offered for sale or lease by the
state, through the office of the state land commissioner, and the
proceeds constitute a permanent and irreducible fund to be invested
for educational purposes.
In addition to the foregoing lands, the state university has an
endowment of 100,000 acres; the agricultural college, 90,000 acres;
the scientific school, 100,000 acres, and the state normal schools,
100,000 acres. As yet only a small portion of these lands has been
disposed of. The expense of maintaining our schools, therefore,
is met almost entirely by taxation.
[Illustration: Plate No. 25.--View of the Country Near Curlew, Ferry
County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 26.--Three-Year-Old Orchard, Near Pasco,
Franklin County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 27.--Combined Harvester Operating in the
Wheat Fields of Franklin County. This Machine Cuts, Threshes and
Sacks the Grain, Depositing the Filled Sacks on the Ground as it
Moves Through the Field.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 28.--(1) A Jefferson County Country Home.
(2) A logging Railroad, Jefferson County. (3) Prize Products, Jefferson
County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 29.--JEFFERSON COUNTY RURAL VIEWS. Field
of Oats and Vetch Yielding 5 Tons Per Acre. Herd of High-Grade
Holstein Dairy County.]
[Illustration: Plate No. 30.--View of Waterfront, Port Townsend,
Jefferson County.]