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About The Medford mail. (Medford, Or.) 1893-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 9, 1906)
THE MEDFORD MAIL, Friday, March 9, 1906 r 13 IS A Project Now on Foot for Future Development ONLY ODD TO PRODUCTION Irrigation Already Used Exten sively In the Valley Not Necessary for Good Crops Although bountiful orops are'ralsed without the aid of artitloial irrigation iu Rogue River Valley, the output can be vastly increased by this means. The water or Irrigation is abundant and is comparatively easy to get upon tbe land. No extensive workuiujthe way 'of reservoirH are neoessary iu most cases. All that is needful is to tap one of the many mountain streaniB and carry the water through ditobes to where it is wanted. The Table Rook Ditch Co., north of Rogue Riv er, has been furniBbiug water to its stockholders for many years. JSfrhe people of Eden preoiuot have an irri gation system of tbeir own though comparatively small in extent. J In the Appleqate valley tne majorityof the farmers have private irrigation ditches, the water oeing taken from the Applegate rivei. The largeBt and most oomprehensive system now iu operation in the valley is that of the Fish Lake Water Co. In the year 1900 this enterprise was first definitely commenoed and Juow the oompany has a ditob line twenty five mileB in length from the intake on the head waters of Little Butte oreek to the present end of tbe ditzh on tbe oompany's xarm a few miles northeast of Modford. This ditch dsb a capaolty of 5,000 miner'B incheB and is so constructed that its capacity can . be iuoreased at any time, as the de mand for water may require. The V waters of Butte oreek are Buffioient during most years up to tbe latter part of July at least to fill the ditob, but in order to be sure of having an ample supply, the company has se cured from the government the right to make a storage reservoir at Flsb Lake. This lake lies at the base of Mt. MoLoughlin, one of the snow capped peaks of the Cascades, and is a mile and a half long by a quarter mile wide, varying in depth from four to eight feet. It is fed by a . number of ice-cold springs, gushing out of McLoughlin'B sides and is the souroe of the north fork of Little Butte. At its outlet the mountains oome olose together forming a narrow gorge through which Butte oreek rushes on its way to the valley. At this point preoepitous bluffs of solid rook face each other and here the . Fish Lake Water Company purposes to ereot a mighty dam, whiob will ounflne the waters of the lake and raise itB Bur face at least thirty feet above its pres ent level. This will give them an im mense storage reservoir two miles loug by half a mile wide and thirty feet in ' depth in the shallow parts. The head of the ditch is some twenty miles from the lake, but no more duob need be built, as when the water begins to run low, all that will be necessary Is to open tne gates at tbe lane and let the water come down through its natural channel to the point of diversion. At the present time 50,000 acres of the most productive lands in the val ley are covered by this ditch, and work is now going on making an ex tension of nine miles, orossing Bear oreek just north of tbe oity limits of i nA .hih miu mm, in n.m I acres more'of land, mnob of which is now non-produotive, but wbioh under the revivifying effeots of water will prodnce bounteous yields of fruits, grains and vegetables. Tbe Fish Lake Company is tne pioneer publio irrigation enterprise in tbe valley and its work has resulted in a great deal more interest being taken in irriga tion than ever before. The Sterling Mining Company, which controls extensive water rights in the Slakiyous, including over twaty-flve miles of ditch cairving watet tn the mines, is considering tne matter of using the surplus water in furnishing irrigation for a portion of the valley sonth and east of Medford. The soheme inoludes the boring of a tunnel through the divide between the main valley and Sterling, and carrying the water through pipes to the different oustomers. Already the acreage which the company figured would be neoessary in order to make the soheme a feasible and paying one has been subscribed, and more could easily have been aeoured, only the company wished to be certain as to the amount of water they oonld fur nish before making additional con tracts. The High Line ditch, whiob starts from Rogue River at Prospeot, fifty miles from Medford, and follows tbe high ridges north of Rogue River to Gold Hill ia anotner irrigation enter- ..-.. a .... ... ., .cl-...... .J, .6.1- -',.. .-1.,M-V.,..kJy...J. J. E. TOFT. R cordei. J- L. DEMMER J. C. SMITH. prise upon whiob work is being do Lie and from whioh great things are ex pected. This canal for a canal it will be iu size when completed is in tended to carry water for irrigation and mining purposes, to be used as a means of transporting lumber from the big forests of the upper Rogue River, and the Umpqua divide, aud will cov er all that portion of the Rogue River Valley lying nortb of the river from the head of the ditob to Grants Pass, and has the .inexhaustible supply of water from the river to depend upon. Dry gulohes, rich in gold, which have not been worked for want of water, will yield up tbeir wealth. Mountain and valley farms that have been un productive, or at most giving a fair orop, will become consistent produc ers. - -. i While it is true tlit some favored portions of the county produce rpgu larly without irrigation, it l never theless a fact that irrigation benefit even these The product is of better quality, more uniform in a'ze, crlor iug and marketable qualities, espec ially is this true of fruit,, aud besides the rarmor, fruit grower, or (zareuer is always sure of a crop if be oan sup! piemen t nature's offerings with aiti floial irrigation, . Winter to Summer, Joseph GaBton, of Portland, in the Portland Oregonian of February 26th, tells, In a tbree oolumn article, of a trip he made through Ortgou in mid winter. His journey was south through Eastern Oregon, then west along the southern boundary to Southwestern Oregon, hen by the Southern Pacific back to Portland. The last two para graphs of his narrative are printed be low: "It was a short half day's sleigh ride from the Falls down to the end of Li nd ley's logging railroad at Poke gama. And then from that plateau, on tne top of the Siskiyou mountains, with the snow two feet deep and every body cutting firewood, but a short ran down to the Southern Pacific and over into tbe Rogue River Valley at Ashlaod, (Medford is twelve miles from Ashland) where we found all the farmers out in the fields in tbeir shirt aleoves plowing in the warm sunshine forJ their spring crops on February 6th; a veritable transformation scene that made me doubt my own eyes. Rogue River Valley beats the worlj on climat?. The hand of man has planted orohards, vines, fruits and flowers and built pretty cottages in this favored spot and has made it BtUl more attractive. Forgetting tbe rail road and its noisy engines, and giv ing them rein to a little Imagination, tbe graceful outlines of tbe bills with tbeir purling-streams, the groves of spreading oaks and the miles and miles of orohards make up ft scene which might easily lead the beholder to think he bad In some magical way wandered into tbe happy valley of Ras Belas, painted by the mi mortal Sam uel Johnson" , W. H BIADSaXW. Mayor. F. OSENBRUUUE. OF OUR VALLEY The "Cream of : Creation" Favorably Located. " The Rogue River Valley is located iu Southwestern Oregon, between the Coast and Casoade mountains, east aud west aud the Siskiyou range on the south nrvl the ridges known as the Rogue River mouutaius on the north. The stream whioh gives the uaine to the valley has its source on the slopes of Crater Lake mountain, iu the Cascade range, and flowing in a general westerly oourse breaks through tbe Const mountains south of the harbor, known as Port Orfurd, where it enters the Pacific The valley formed by these encir cling ridges is extremely fertile and its sheltered position gives it a pecu liarly mild, balmy olimate, wbioh, the altitude being right, makes the con ditions very favorable for the produc tion of the choioest types of decdu oub fruits. So pronounced is this oondition and so profitable bus the production of these fancy fruits proven, that there are at present upwards of twenty thousand acres Bet to apples and pears alone, which, wren in full bearing, will yield upwards of three thousand carloads of Iruit for the eastern and forelgh markets annually. Were It not for the fact that the fruits which succeed oest here are those whioh are in greatest demand there would be danger of over-production. There are two varieties of appleB, tbe Spit zenberg, for tbe New York City mar ket, and the Yellow Newtown Pippin, for the oholcest of which there is an unlimited demand In England, whioh do not appear to be adapted to other sections, wbioh succeed phenomenal ly well here and command tbe top fig ures abroad eaoh year. Many thous ands of aores of these two varieties are already set in tbe Rogue River Valley, and eaoh year several thousand aores are set in addition. It is In the production of pears, however, for which the valley is par ticularly noted, as tor some reason the pear tree ia here lmmnne from blight, and all conditions seem to be right for the produotion of the choio est grade. As Illustrative of this fact, one single carload of the famous Cafe pear, known as Dayenne dn Cornice, grown In this valley, sold L L JACOBS. Treasurer. D. G. K VRN. R. H. WHITEHEAD. vv9iOvavfifmif I Our Dry Goods Clothing, Boots and Shoes, Notions and Grocery Departments are com l plete in every detail. Dress Goods Department We can please the most fastideous. This depart ment is complete with all the Staples and Nov elties of the season, showing the largest lines of every color and weave ever displayed in South ern Oregon. Hutchison Lumsden Medford, Oreg'on at auotiou in New York City iu the summer of 1005 for the gross Bum of $3129.00, the highest price ever ob tained; for a car of fresh fruit in Amerioa. When freah fruit wholesales for almost fifteen cents per pound the quality must be beyond ooiupare. The same soason several cars of Corn ice and de Anjon pears from this val ley realized upwards of five dollars per 50-pound box, an unneard of fig ure heretofore. A carload of stand ard Uartlntts from this valloy in 1905 sold for f4.80 per 50-p:und box in Toronto, Canada, tbe season's record figure for this variety. These are easily proveu raots and when it is known that tbe oommerolal pear orch ards of the Rogue Rt"or Valley are jast beginning to bear and that where now we ship about one hundred cars of pears, withiu live yeara our trans continental pear shipments will ex ceed one thouBand oars, the import ant of the produotion will be seen. These are not tbe only export fruits for tbe produotion of wbioh tne valley is adapted. The Bingle item of oher ries shows vast possibilities, for ship ped In refrigerator cars, Oregon ober ries of the Big Lambert and Royal Ann varieties praotioally have already ! a monopoly of tbe world's markets, and in the produotion of tbeBe the Rogue River Valley has a great advan ! tage over the country to the north, I as we very rarely have rainfalll during the ripening season for oherries, and ! never have tbe orop ruined by "rain- oheok." or oraoking open of the ripe , fruit from superabundant moisture. EXPOSITION'S AFTER MATH. Eaoh day it beaomes more apparent the great material benefit wbioh tne i Rogue River Valley, in oommon with t the reBt of tbe state ot Oregon, de I rived from the recentXewie and Clark Exposition. Ab a result, all Oregon ' now feelB tbe impulse of the hour and joins together in the determination j to utilize the great advantages we I possess in the matter of soil, looation i and olimate, to make of this one of the mightiest and most prosperous of tbe groat sisterhood of statos. The great tide of west bound immi grant travel shows results of the ex position's educating influenoe The great number of good citizens whioh we have already acquired through the advertising whioh our oounty exhibit gave ub at Portland laBt sum mer, 1b very gratifying. The growth I which every section of the county iu making, the orowded oondition of out eohool houses, testify to the attract HUTCHISON CUMSDEN Department Store iveness of a healthful oonutry, blessed wltb our mild olimate, and our won derful productiveness, to those who have been loss favored in tbe past, aud who now lealize that it is possi ble to live and enjoy life nece where they only exist aud make tbe best of life baok iu the best of tbeAllssissippi Valley states. Every mail brings letters of inquiry from eager homeseekera baok in the DakotaB aad Minnesota, and adjaoent states, showing the avidity with wbioh they seize upon any reliable informa tion oonoerning Oregon, the "Prom ised Lund," to hundreds now making preparations to remove to the far northwest. Oregon is in the lime light now. What means this hustling of the transcontinental railway sys tems eaoh bound to over-reach ita competitors in the race for northweBt ooast connections, but that the world has awakened to the importance of Oregon, ana to its rosy future. Tbe great development of Paolfio oooan oommeroe, the immense reclam ation sohemes of the national govern ment, fitting for the highest class of agrloulture great areas of the Inland Empire of Oregon, all have had their efftot upon the eaBt, but it was "be ing showed" at the Lewis and Clark Exposition, whioh oonvinoed the masses that all the bright tales they had heard in the past were not myths, and that the actual ' lifo of prosperity, ease and enjoyment of the fruitB of the earth, awaited all who oome to partake. Oregon is off on the right foot now. All the "knook ers" and the "Silurians" are not dead yet, but the vigorous, pulsing life of progress is on us, and we feel that we are at the beginning of a period of prosperity and affluence which has had no parallel in tbe history of the northwest. Great is Oregon, and the greatest part of It is the Rogue River Valley, the "Cream of Creation." Rogue River Falls.
