Fears have been awakened as to the power to ultimately control these corporations, on account of the enormous extent to which they have expanded; but, as has been said by an able writer, “this evil, however, if it be such, will probably work its own cure.” Be that as it may, their influences have been felt by all, and their benefits have extended to the remotest sections of our country. They have proved a bond between the eastern and western States--anxiously sought for by Washington when the lateral limits of the United States were less than half what they are at this time. They have united the Pacific with the Atlantic, and the Rocky Mountains of the west with the Alleghanies of the east. They have dispelled all ideas looking to the removal of the seat of Government, for they have put in direct communication the people of Oregon with the people of Maine. From ocean to ocean requires but days, where only a few years ago it required weeks. In the past, long lines of moving wagons groaned beneath their loads of adventurous families, who at night, within the corral, seated themselves around the blazing camp fire, fearful of the dangers to which they were exposed. But the present has forgotten them. In their stead the ponderous wheels of frequent trains, moving with a speed surpassing that of the deer, traversing the valley and mountain, carry forward their loads of living freight; and, in place of dangerous encampments, provide means of sleep and refreshment, and afford the comforts of luxurious homes. The railway has brought to our doors the harvest of our fields; handed to our mints the vast resources of our mines, and opened to us direct communication with the older worlds. Its arms have extended into a hundred vales and over a hundred mountains, grasping in their embrace manifold evidences of civilization and prosperity. INDEX. Page. Abbott, Mr., 62 _Abies amabilis_, 102 _Canadensis_, 100 _concolor_, 101 _Douglasii_, 100 _Engelmanni_, 101 _grandis_, 102 _Menziesii_, 101 _subalpina_, 101 _Acer grandidentata_, 103 Agricultural and timber industries differentiated, 18 resources of the Bear River drainage basin, 119 Jordan River drainage basin, 124 Weber River drainage basin, 121 Agriculture, Amount of precipitation necessary for, 2, 3 Influence of temperature upon, 2 in the Arid Region dependent upon irrigation, 40 in Utah dependent upon irrigation, 6 exceptions thereto, 6 limited by several conditions, 7 Utilization of the small streams in, 7 without irrigation, 3, 6, 50 _Aira cœspitosa_, 109 Alabama, Land-grants to, 179 Alkaline salts, 145 Amount of land a unit of water will supply, 7 Antelope Island, 63, 64 bar, 63, 67 Areal distribution of rainfall, 82 Area of irrigable land sometimes not limited by water supply, 85