Whitman county is one of the chief agricultural counties of the
state, lying immediately south of Spokane county and on the Idaho
state line, having the Snake river for its southern boundary. The
county is a plateau of rolling prairie lands, a large portion of
which is farmed, watered by a number of streams, which are utilized
for irrigation purposes in some of the bottom lands--although the
rainfall is sufficient to mature crops, and no irrigation is had
on the great bulk of the farms. The area is about 2,000 square
miles. The population is about 40,000. The soil is a strong mixture
of volcanic ash and clay of great fertility and permanence. Twenty
years of wheat-growing still leaves the soil able to produce from
25 to 50 bushels per acre.