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Show BUSIISS OF WEST INCREASE RAPIDLY Monthly Report of Federal Reserve Bank Is Highly-Satisfactory. Highly-Satisfactory. CREDITS ARE EASIER Metals Situation Shows Prosperity Beyond That of Many Years. , The monthly report of the Federal Beserve Bank of Ban Francisco for the May bulletin reflects the existence of very gratifying financial conditions throughout the vrestflrn country under the jurisdiction of the bank. Credit I conditions are reported easy and the situation as a whole in the district is favorable. Prospects are jrood for a large production and impartant increases v. in wealth during the current year. The I report follows: k The West Coast Lumbermen 's association, composed of a majority of mills operating in Washington and Oregon, report March orders 34 per cent and shipments 30 per cent oyer production, mostly for domestic domes-tic use, exports being restricted by lack of ships. There is general activity ac-tivity and prices are up $3 to $j per thousand. Acute shortage has caused un- garalleled activity in shipbuilding, eattle reports contracts aggregat ing $11,000,000, nearly four times the total at this time last year. The principal builders at San Francisco are said to have contracts In excess of $20,000,000, with no diminution of demand in spite of important advances ad-vances in price because of advancing advanc-ing prices for material and labor. Shipping Prospers. Despite dearth of bottoms, Seattle Seat-tle reports for January and February Febru-ary or this year, as compared -with the same months last year, imports $3o,5S)3,042, increase $21,172,927; exports $15,885,204, increase $4,-732,108. $4,-732,108. San Francisco reports for tho same period, imports $21,19S,-558, $21,19S,-558, increase $8,857,188; exports $15,735,910, decrease $57,906. Although Al-though tho Panama canal opened April 15, few ships are scheduled for immediate service .between the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, both because now otherwise engaged and because extraordinary charter rates for exports influence strongly to that service as against coastwise service. - The Pacific Mail Steam-". Steam-". ship company has announced three steamers of moderate size for San Francisco-f 'hina service. California petroleum production averaged in March 242,(356 barrels per day as against 223,495 in February. Feb-ruary. Daily shipments from fields were 276,378 and 258,264 for the re- , T. spective months, reducing tho amount in storage 1,045,388 barrels (approximately 6,000,000 barrels reduction re-duction since May. 1915). Eastern dealers are reported as insistent buyers of all available gasoline and distiilato on this coast. Activity in drilling, greater than at anv time for half a dozen years, is reported chiefly in the proven oil lands of the staie, which aggregates 80,702 acres. In March, thirty-four new wells were brought in, with an initial ini-tial daily production of 6790 barrels. bar-rels. Copper Prominent. Extraordinary output and unusual prices give copper the center of the .::tage in metal mining, but there is also great activity in mining gold, silver, lead, zinc and other less well-known well-known hietals such as tungsten, antimony, magnesite, molybdenite, etc., valuable deposits of which are reported as being discovered. Agricultural prospects arc generally gener-ally favorable, with especial benefit bene-fit assured for many crops from unusual precipitation during the rainy months. (Jrain acreage will be less than last year, both because of necessity for summer fallowing and because of unfavorable weather during seeding time. Considerable stocks of both wheat and barley are still on hand, more than at the corresponding cor-responding time in either of tho two preceding years. The 1915 rice crop in California is reported as 80,000,000 pounds, with 250,000,000 pounds estimated for 1916. From Calexico, Cal., in the Imperial valley, val-ley, comes the report that cotton acreage on the American side will be increased from 12,000 acres last year to 40,000 this year; on the Mexican 6idc, from 30,000 acres last k. year to 65,000 this yoar. Yuma, " 7 Ariz., reports 4U00 acres in cotton this year and a norma production of two and one-half bales per aero. Cottonseed is paid to he used extensively ex-tensively for fattening cattle. Alfalfa Al-falfa cutting began early in April. This crop and good pasture, becauBO of much precipitation, contributo especial advantages because of high prices for all livestock. Fruit Prospects Good. Prunes and apricots in certain sections have been rcportod damaged dam-aged by frost. It is too earlv, however, how-ever, to predict with certaihtv regarding re-garding these crops. Efforts" are making for better organization in marketing fresh and dried fruits, which should result in better returns re-turns to growers. Dried fruit shipments ship-ments from California in KI15 aggregated ag-gregated $36,024,000, an increase of $8,056,000 over 1914. Naval oranges tiling much better prices than last yi'.ir, and prospects for Yaloneias, which ripen about midsummer, are reported excellent. Lemons are yielding fair prices. The raisin crop. 35 per cent over 19)1. aggregated aggre-gated 124,000 tons, valued at $10-000,000. $10-000,000. The acreage of Thomson seedless raisings is increasing. Nine thousand cars of table grapes were shipped out. of California in 1915 and 1000 carloads consumed in tho stale, yielding growers $9 514- 000. The sweet, wine production for 1915 in California was 4, 000. 000 pollens, pol-lens, against 16,600,000 in 191.4, Tlry wine production declining from 25,-000.000 25,-000.000 gallons to 21.000,000. Heavy shipments of vegetables a,!C now going forward. Canners are busv with asparagus, of which : fh about 1000 carloads will be packed, i |
