Kfafyo
b-
tiv
pjp
m-: - -I
Syi!!jlMmAlnvam
-lU'lJ1).' IL.V
.HHW11
M-
J i
VOL. XIX.
SALEM, OREGON, FRIDAY, AUGUST 26, 1887.
NO. 29.
Oruiet
Cuostok, Or., Aug. 12, 1887.
Kdltor Willamntto Farmer: o
Wo road in tho Scriptures that "all
ileah is sb grass." Metaphorically, this
is bo. Tho hcrbivora rat g.-ass and wo
cat tbont. Evon tho carniora may bo
said to oat grass, for, tbo animals tlioy
oat aro horbivorous. Man isnn archost,
and is omnivorous,' eating both vege
tables and flash as food. Without grass
tho horbivoroa could not live, and, with
out tho tbo hoibivora tho carnivora
would dio.
Tbo deep importance of grass routs
hero : Oar bonos, cattle, sbeop, goats,
and in a groat monsuro swlno and poul
try cat vcgctablo food. Honco, tbeso
domestic animals could not livo; and,
eoqncntly.wo would bo deprived ot their
use. Civilization would ccaso without
thceo quadrupeds. Fvcn tho quadra
munia and bipods, nay, oven tho fish of
tho deep sea, and of tbo fresh waters of
our rivors and lakes would all dio with
out vcgctablo food.
Tbe farmer nil ovor tho world is do
pendent upon tho flora, grass and hay.
These uphold tho world. Tho boat
grosses for our soil and climate, eo far as
my cxporionco goes, aro tho following :
Timothy. For hay this bos few equals.
Out at' tbo right timo just before it is
blooming and woll cured and put un
der cover, it keeps sweot for a long timo
and oven improves witb age. If rata
and mico nro kept out of it, and a floor
above tho ground, it will keep good for
three, four or oven flvo years. It is a
rich, strong and lasting focd ; but if fed
too f rcoly is costivo, and said to bo fovcr
isb. Wbothcr wo will over get n better
grass for hay, is doubtful. It requiros
a moist, rich soil to do its best. It docs
no good on high, rocky, dry land.
Timothy is not a pasturo grass; it is
truo that all stock aro fond of timothy
wbilo it is young ; but if you pasturo it
much it will not rook) gsod bay. Scat
tered through tb) wood in opening, it
makes good oirly postuns. Stock arc
vory fond of it.
Wheat: Few poopl) ore awaroof tho
fact that whilst sown on rich land and
thick, cut early, and well cu:od for,
makes one of tho vory best of h :ys It
is rich, sweot and very healthy. All
kinds of stock aro patsionatsly fond of
it. I am surprised that more wheat is
not 60wn, especially for hay. In our
dry climate, lino buy may bo made of
wheat, oaU, barloy, rye cut early
corn sown tb'.:k, makes excellent feed,
but is of no vol jo hero for it molds and
actually stinks in tho mow in our damp
winters. I hnvo grown three tons of
good, sweet hay, per acre.
Meadow Gross : This a good pasturo
grass on rich, moist land. It is worth
less on poor, dry l.nd.
Blue Grass : On very rich, if possible,
lime-stone soil, or granite, is best. Dry
land hero is worthies for bluo grass.
It is unproductive for hay, unl.ss on
very rich, moist land. It is not hero,
properly, a hay grass, Its turf is hard
to eradicate. I do not recommend it at
All.
lied top; On very rich, moist Boil,
makes a moderately fair buy. I havo
never susceoded with it only on
land almost wet. I do not recommend it.
Italian Grass. I have boen trying to
grow it for ten or twelve yean, but hero
I'll have to give it up.
Lincoln Grass: I havo had n per
gonal experience witb it. My neighbors
grow it and liko it both for hay and
pasture. It will grow on poor, dryer
land than most other grasses, Hence
is valuable for dry, high, bill lands.
Orchard Gruss: I havo grown this
grass for thirty years. For early past
ure it is good. Tbe hay is ouly second
rate. It is a very bardy, vigorous grass,
and will grow well on any .good land
not too wet It ripens too carly, right
in our early summor rains; tho crop
being often lost by rain. It is bottor for
early pasturo than anything else.
I wish boro to state, any kind of hay
may bo preserved and kept swoot and
rich, by using salt water, sprinkling tbo
bay over as you mow it away. Still hot
bcttor, molasses, salt and wator mixed
and sprinkled woll as put in tho barn,
not onlyjprosorvos your hay and makes
stock oat it bottor, but will kcopaway all
rats and mico from running through it.
T&o mixturo dearth, 4 molasses, J water.
This wo used to proservo our prolrio
hay witb, in Illinois and Iowa. Tho
Bait and molasses makcB stock very fond
of tho bay. Tho molassos may bo left
out, savo for poor bay.
This being a vory important subject
grosses wo will say something mora in
another article, and will spoak of alfalfa,
clover and wild oats. Wild oats, you'll
sayT Yes. Wild oats aro adapted to
our dry climato, tlioy mako flno hay
pasturo, and aro groon whon everything
olso is parched up.
Alfalfa: I will say in advance, I
tbink, at least witb me, that, except in a
fow places, ii a (jlluroin our valloy.
But of clovor, and especially wild oats,
tlioy aro a grand success. I'll show you.
A fow moro words on grasses. In a
world liko ours it is nocossary to viow
things as tlioy aro as near as may bo.
Tho constitution und order of nature,
as viowed from tbo farmers' standpoint,
may be worth our attention.
All tbo forces around scorn to havo,
each in its particular ephoro, an ofllco
to perform and an object in viow. Light
radiates from tho sun for a pnrposo and
an ond. Light plays upon plants and
enable thorn to analyzo oxygen, hydro
gen, a small per cent of nitrogon, car
bon, ammonia, and convert thoso into
food. Light plays on tbo loaves and
thoro too, on both stomach and lungs.
Heart gives lifo, warms and sots up with
attraction and repul.ion, it separates
tho useful from tho non-useful, and by
the aid of magnetism circulates tho pro
pared fluids tho blood of tbo plants
through tbo colls, and thus builds an
organism which wo term a plant. This
nflbrds all tho inorganic elements neces
sary to build tho framework of this littlo
organism, as well m, in roma degree,
affords organic elements. Thcso aro
absorbed by tho springizles and around
through the capilliary attraction, up to
tho loaves, This is tbo undigested sap.
The leaves, through the aid of light,
boat, electricity and magnetism, convert
into digested sap, with which the vital
forco builds tho colls and tissues of our
littlo plant. Sco tho littlo petals, sta
mens, pistils, anthers, rtigma, building
up, purifying and perfecting tho dovol-.
opment of "this littlo thing of life."
Hero is life. Tbe littlo plant is worthy
of our notice. This littlo thing, tiny,
indeod, has within it tho deop down
principles of organized life. This tiny
littlo ono is u number of tho great floral
world. Upon tbo floral world rests tho
journal. See then of what vast import
ance, to us, is a knowledgo of plant
growth. Plants existed ago before ani
mals; for, no animal could livo prior to
plants. Upon plants animals live.
Hence the uw and lwauty of plante or
gruss.
Tho herbivorous, curni .won, muti
lates, and quadrupeds as well us bipeds,
etc., all depend directly or indirectly
upon the floral kingdom for food. Tbo
horninidif, to which man may be said to
belong, is pre-eminently related to tho
vegetable kingdom. Cbarly, thon, we
may cay with the imp red man: ''All
flesh is us grass." So well thus far:
Clover: Clover requires a deep, rich,
calearous soil and plenty of rain during
its growth. Now, our valley is not a
calearous one, nor do rains fall hero all
the growing season. Hence it is not a
first-rate clover country. Clover, when
properly grown, and properly cured,
makes good bay; but in our damp win
ters molds more or less. Tho large, red
clovor is by far tho boat for pasturo and
hay. It is not as good hay ns timothy
or wheat bay. Nor do I tbink it will,
savo in a fow places, succocd iu our soil
and climato. I havo often tried alfalfa
but it universally fails. In hoavilv Um
bered lands, whon cleared, clover doos
reasonably well, and is flno pasturo.
In Iowa, in Illinois and portions of Mis
souri clover grow magnificently. Wo
used to got two crops, and from two to
thrco tons per acre, Olovcr is difficult
to savo. Clover is a great renovator of
land. Its roots run deop and its largo
loaves draw heavily from tbo air. Bo
sides its largo roots, in rotting, lcavo tho
soil oron nnd porous as woll as rich.
Wheat, or indeed any crop, docs woll af
ter clovor. I think if clover was drilled
two feet or moro apart, and cultivated, it
would do far better in our dry summers
and yield double. If this was done, af
ter tho first crop was out, it would mako
a grand pasturo. I novor saw clover
balod ; unlets vory dry it would spoil,
perhaps. When vory dry, it does not
weigh as heavily ns wheat hay or
timothy.
Ono granduro for olovor is manural
qualities. Hero: la Illinois wo kopt
up two milk cows, stablod, curried and
bedded them. Wo mowed clover of
mornings and fod tbo cows witb it in
tbo ovening along with chopped corn,
oats, barloy and whoat. Tho clover thoy
bonostly ate during , tho night. Tbo
cows bad all tbe puro, cool woll water
thoy dosirod, and a small lot to run in
during tbo day. In tho lot was eovoral
largo shado trocs. Undor thcso trees tbo
cows quiotly loyod and chowod tbeir
cuds. What was tho result? Thoy
poured down tho milk. Wo mado 12
and 14 pounds of .milk per week from
thoso two cows. They were tho com
mon re rub cattlo at that.
Now, wo saved tho urinonud manure
mixed with tho atoms nnd litter from
tho clover fed. On tho ground wo
mowed, wo applied, from tho manuro
tank, tho manure mado by thoso two
cows, scattering it well among tbo olo
vor bunches. Tho lain for it ralnod
in -Illinois in summer washod down
manuro to tbo roots of tho clover and
"mado it just naturaly sweet."
Thoro was only an aero of the clovor,
but it kopt tbo cows "in clovor" tho en
tiro growing season. If ours was a limo
stono coil, and it rained during tho
growing season wo could grow olovor,
too, too. But yos, but I would profor
wheat hay tD clover, ovory timo, in this
country. Wild oats Wo all bavo to
"sow our wild oats." But thoro is not
much uso in sowing 'em boro I for thoy
aro all ready sown and grow arid spread
finoly. Thoy aro hardly, vigorous, rich
as a grass, for bay, if cut oarly. A bard
freeze kills thorn root and branch ; but
they so thoroughly seed tho ground that
tho moro cold of our valloy docs but lit
tle harm to them generally. Oar soil
and clima'o suits wild oats. I'ta no trick
for 'cm to grow. We don't havo to sow
'em cithor, they aro nlroady "thar."
Some folks call 'em a pest, and some
folks cuss 'em. No wonderl The oats
aro everywhere. In your garden your
potatoes, your tamo oats, your wheat,
barloy, rye, buckwheat, orchard, etc.
Wild'oatH havo cost us millions. Tho
way wo munago them they only in
crease. Can thoy bo kill! out! Yes.
You can mow them to denth. You can
get a good crop of bay oil' them nnd
thon pasture them, never letting them
go to seed. Summor fallow doos not
kill them. Tbe ground is full of seed,
And as long as tbo seed is in tho ground
when tho conditions are favorable, they
will come up and grow. Yt, they'll
grow, for that's their businoss, their na
ture. Yes, like a "gal,' she loves, will
love, bound to love or "bust." Tbty
can't help it, its so natural! They will
love, and oats will grow.
Now, wild oats are not like other pests.
We can make good use of them ; I havo
said thoy mako good hay, and thoy do.
I have raid thoy afford flno pasturo, and
they do. They don't kill tho soil liko
sorrel, nor poison it up liko many othor
seeds. Wo can utilizo thorn, or wo can
mew them to death. What! Shall it bo
said that wo can not kill out sorrel, nor
thistle, nor French pink, nor wild oats.
Shame." I toll you wo can kill them,
we must kill them or they'll kill us.
Outs can utilizo and kill, tho others wo
.can only kill.
What! In a country liko ours. Ono
of tho grandest on cxrth. Grand in
climato, grand in soil, grand in snow
capped peaks, grand in vast mountain
ranges, lavod by tho grandest of oceans,
lined by tho mightiest of rivors sur
roundod by immeasurable forosts, dark
and darkly groon and yet let a fow
woods ruin us. "Up I And ot 'cm." Uso
them as grass or bay or kill 'cm or thoy
will kill you. Cliooso, cbooso boldly.
A. F. Davwpon.
Jcsllci to Plonoen.
When two prominent stockholders in
tbo Chicago it Northwostorn Railroad
Company visit jd Oregon last summor,
they dined at tho summit of tho
Cascades, at or near whero tho lino of
tbo Oregon Pacific railroad is now laid
Amongst tho after dinner exorcises, that
ot giving now nnincs to-points of inter
est in tho vicinity ho engaged tholr at
tention, that it is understood thoy left
but ono nctiblo obj'ct in tho locality, ,to
go by Its former namo. That ono h tho
comparatively low peak, noarcst tho
pass, on tho South Mount. Washington.
Thoy refrained from filching from tbo
Father of his countiy.
Big Lako, on tbo wst of tho mount
ains, so named by tbo first owners and
builJors of tbo W. V. it C.N. (Lobanon)
wagon road, thoy named Blair Lako.
Haystock Butto was named Hoggs
Mountain, and tbo pass which is a nar
row d:filo between itand a similar rocky
butto north of it, Jtlioy called Hoggs'
Purs. Tlio ream kablo cathodcral liko
raoun ain, wilh its moro than forty
rocky p'naclos, called locally, ''Thrco
Fingered Jack, thoy gavo u now namo.
It may bo concoded that tho last namo
mentioned as well as tho first, could bo
bettered with no damngo to anyono, but
it must also bo said that tho men of
moro action than ideas, who first found
it necessary to apply names t? thoso
places or things, had tbo best right to
namo thorn. In so far as tho discovery
of that particular portion of tho truo
summit ot tho cascado rango, as a low
point in such summit is to honor any
ono by its naming that honor, should lo
crodltod to Hon. John B. Waldo. It
was bo who first mado such n critical
observation of tho summit ridgo thoro,
as to form tbo opinion that it was lower
than tbo old Minto Pass, which !b xomo
oight or nino inllcs to tho north, Tho
search for this pisiway through tbo
Cascado rango, has boon pursued so
long and by so many difforcnt persons
that even a very big notice of tbeso now
would mako quito a
Hi'tory: When the white pooplo
plo first bognn to settle iu tho
Willauottc valley there was a
tradition afloat among 't the In
dians of a trail through tho Sautiam
valloy, onco in common use by their
people, but which had fallen into disuse
and been abandoned us the result of u
bloody battle. This battle bad tho effect
of permanently dividing tbo pcoplo who
fought it into two distinct tribes, the
Mollalas who thereafter held the west
fiido of tho Cascade range and tho Cay-
uses who took i osscsiion of the west
side of tho Blue mountains south of the
Umatilla. This is ltev. J. L. Purrish's
version of the tradi.ion gathered while
learning the Indi.n language as a mis
sionary 47 y ears ago. At that date thero
was a trail nsed by trappers settled in
tbe Willamette valley and traders of the
Hudhon Bay Company, by Labisb, they
left what is now called King's Prairie
and passedtho rango in two days march
on horseback.- Undoubtedly it was tbe
oastcrn outgo of this trail that was noted
by Lieut. Fremont as coming out of the
mountains into tho p lain of tbo Des
chutes noar Black Butto as bo passed
that point in 1813, although it is prob
ablo that tho trail bo noted was tho oast
out go of another wbicb led westward
into Fish Lako valby and tbonco across
Iron Mount lin into tho South Santlam
valley which later becomo known as tbo
Wiley trail.
This papor is tbo begin dug of an ex
act history of tbo causes wbicb led to
tho discovery and adoption of what is
likely (in tho near future) to bo tho
most important channel of commorce
through tho Stato ot Oregon and will
bo continued at tho option ot tho now
ownorsof tbii papor.
From Wool to Clothl-i.
'I ho total amount ot wool produced in
tho United States last year was estimat
ed to bo 322,000,000 lbs. in round num
bers. In addition thoroto, 117,840,000
lbs. ot foreign wool wtro importod into
this country, making tbo total supply
avallablo for domestic consumption
about 410,000,000 lbs. in round num
bors. Tho grcator portion of this great
quantity of wool, representing tho fleeces
of moro than 70,000.000 sbeop, was pro
duced witb tho direct objoct of supply
ing cxi t'ng requirements. That is to
ay, wool ii not, liko hides, an offal by
product of another industry. Tho
wholesale clothiers, tho tailors, tho
cloak-makers and dress-makers, and
shlrtmnkors, and carpet doalors aro call
ed upon by tho public to furnish tho va
rious products of tho woolen mills in o
completed form, ready for use. These
manufacturers and dealers, in their
turn, call upon tho mills for tho pro
ducts of tho loom, and tho ownors of
tho mills go to tho wool merchant, and
purchoiio such fleeces as will produce
tho goods which tlioy havo sold or ex
pect to soil. It is to moot thcso com
plox requirement that tho farmer or
ranchman raises shocp and shears their
wool.
Hone? tbo condition of tho clothing
and carpot and dry goods trades, and
the status ot tho domestic wooden in
dustry, aro all.important factors in de
termining wliat tbo supply of wool
should bo. If tho wholesalu clothing
and carpet and dry goods trades aro do
nresscd uocauso many pcoplo aro out of
employment and unable to buy goods,
or if tho woolen industry is suffering
through a misconstruction of tho tariff
which permits largo importations of for
eign woollens, tho result appears in a ;o
duccd demand for wool. Thin lemoned
domand is followed by a reduction ot
prico, And whon tho prico falls eo low
that it is no longor remuuorativo to tho
(armor or ranchmen ho kills his sbeop,
and thus lessons his supply ot wool for
another season.
Tbe wool grower, thcrofore, is greatly
interested in prompting such a condition
of the wholesale- clothing and carpot und
dry goods and woolen manufacturing
industries, as will insure n demand for
his fleeces: for it is ouly through a pros
ierous condition of the industries al
luded to that a buoyant and active wool
market can be obtained. Tho shoo and
leather industry is a largo and impor
tant one, but tho hidcu which constitu
its raw material are a nicro by-product
of tho process of producing butter,
clicexo, and beef. Nobody in tho United
StateH produce cattlo for the suko of
their hides. Cuttle ore raited tor dairy
purpo-x or for beet, and tho soles of
their hides is merely accidental. Honco
coiiipaiiHonH between tho turin" status of
wool iii.d lu'dos, or Ix-twetm the relations
ot leather and woolen cloth to their res
pective raw materials are unwarranted.
Mont of the sheep iu tho United HtutcB
are bred and raised for the saVe of tbeir
fleeces, and when the demand (or wool
diminishes the furmer reduces his flock
Our domestio wool industry, in its com
pleteness, comprises the wholesale cloth
ing trade, the dry goods interests, the
curpet and woolen manufacturing Indus
trie and tho wool growing Industries.
The wool grower cannot be proserouH
unless the consuming branches of indus
try are in a satisfactory condition.
American Wool Beportor.
Wo would appreciate it very much if
arrearages are promptly paid
J.
M
7i