The west shore., January 01, 1882, Page 6, Image 6

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THE WEST SHORE.
January, 1 88a
THE FOOTHILLS OF BENTON COUNTY.
Two miles west of Corvalli, which
town U pleasantly situated upon the
left bank of the Willamette river, the
foothills commence. Those nearest
Corvalli are now covered, a great
part, with oak tree and oak shrubs, be
neath which there is very fine pasture.
A few years ago these hills were
covered with thousands of sheep,
which were a source of considerable
profit for the farmers who owned
them. The farmers here used to make
75 per cent, profit on their sheep, and
it can be done again if they were
properly attended to. The scab got
among them, and, owing to the bad
fences, spread rapidly. One by one
the flocks were sold ofl till now there
are but two or three left. Owing to
there being no bounty on coyotes, of
late years, they have increased wonder
fully and the farmers now lose nearly
all their increase by them. Half a
doxcit good hounds, however, would
chase them out of the ncighlMxhood as
they ate great cowards. I lorscs and cat
tie have now taken the place of sheep
and pay very well. The laud on these
hills is worth from $5 to $25 per acre,
according to situation, etc. One of
theM farms, if well larmed, will pay
for itself in five year. I know one
which has done much more thsn this,
for it is now worth three times its cost
five years ago, and annually has been
bringing in the owner at least 40 per
cent, on his capital invested. Dairying
nd hog farming also pay well, for the
hogs need very little but grass and ap
ples here to fatten them. The latter
at the present time is an especially lu
crative business, owing partly to the
scarcity of hogs in this neighborhood.
Towards the end of winter and in
early in spring, bacon fetches from
twelve to eighteen cent per pound in
Corvallis, and it is often impossible to
get it even at that price.
The foothills also grow splendid
grain. A farmer who lives three miles
from Corvallis had .Soo bushels ol
wheat and oats oil loo acre. Another
on an adjoining ranch had j,Son buh
' els ofT I JO acres. Some of his oats
went a high as 70 bushels to the acre,
and the whole, of them averaged 50
buihcls. Some of his wheat averaged
40 bushels to the acre. One great ad
vantage of these foothills is that plow
in; ran be continued all through the
winter, the land never being too wet
to plow, thus enabling the farmers to
get their grain in early. Another ad
vantage is that on account of the ele
vation there is little or no ague. A
case of ague is very rare.
Here arc also some of the finest
orchards in the country. One I know
annually yields about 1,000 bushels of
pears, 500 bushels of apples, besides
large quantities of plums, quinces,
cherries, grapes, etc. These hills are
very lovely in spring, covered with
green grass and leautiful wild flowers.
On the 23d of March, last Spring, I
picked a bouquet containing thirteen
different varieties of wild flowers in a
few minutes. Wild strawberries, too,
almund everywhere. In a good year
the ground in some places is nearly
covered with them. Altogether, it
would be difficult to find a prettier,
plcasantcr or better farming country.
From the tops of the foothills, near Cor
vallis, very extensive views are to be
had embracing the surrounding hills,
the valley below dotted with the houses
and barns of the farmers, with here and
there a smull town or village, the wind
ing Willamette and the distant Cas
cades stretching in one unbroken range
as fur as the eye can sec, with Mount
I lood ( 1 1 ,265 feet,) Jefferson and Three
Sisters rearing their lofty snow-capped
heads alovc the rest. But there are
far prettier smaller landscapes of creek
and canyon, hill and dale, brush and
timber, amongst the beautiful foothills
themselves and wider views are to be
had in the mountains near the summit,
where the hillsides are covered with
pine and cedar and the valleys with
thick brush, where every little canyon
has its rippling stream and every valley
its river.
The burntwoods which lie between
the summit and Yaquina Hay are
especially adapted for stock-raising.
Cattle here require very little extra
feeding even in Winter, often none at
all. The valleys arc generally leaver
dam land ami arc extremely fertile, as
land of that description generally is.
Timothy, oats and all kinds of vege
tables grow splendidly. Three tons of
timothy, 50 to 100 bushels of oats and
150 bushels of potatoes are not uncom
mon yields per acre. I have even
heard of 1,400 bushels of onions to the
acre. Hut little completely of these
'hills is yet under cultivation, and there
is room for a class of people who would
clear and cultivate their homesteads.
Now the Oregon Pacific is a certainty
and Yaq'iinn bay is being improved by
the government, there will, no doub,
soon be a good market for all kinds of
farm product.
As an instance of what can be done
in these hills, I mention the following:
A Swiss, I am well acquainted with,
started in four years ago on a ranch of
160 acres, only ten of which were
clear, tor which he gave $800. He
paid $400 down in cash and for the re
maining $400 he got a mortgage, pay
ing the usual interest here, viz., 10 per
cent. He began with no farming ma
chinery or horses, but only $100 worth
of provisions. Look at him now ! He
has reduced his mortgage to $200, be
sides paying the interest. He has three
horses, two cows, several head of cattle,
over 100 head of poultry and pigs,
plows, harness, etc. He has 30 acres
cleared, ot which 10 acres arc in
timothy, off which he gets over 20 tons
of hay per annum, 12 acres of oats and
3 of wheat, off which he expected over
500 bushels this year; half an acre of
potatoes which would yield 100 bushels,
and a splendid garden and young
orchard, besides. He and his wife have
made 30 pounds of butter per week,
this Summer, from eight cows (six of
which were lent him) all of which,
with his cattle, horses, etc., fed on his
outside ranch. Thirty pounds of butter
at 25 cents per pound, the market price
here, would bring him in $7.50 per
week. He told me that his butter and
eggs alone paid their store bill the year
round. T. S., in Oregon Colonist.
Lincoln is the county seat of Tilla
mook county. It is pleasantly located
on one arm of Tillamook bay, where
vessels come in and discharge their
freights. It is now the center and ter
minus of four mail routes, a bi-weekly
mail from North Yamhill, and once a
week from Astoria and Netarts, and
one to commence from Grand Ronde
the 1st of July, all centering at Lincoln.
There are already two good hotels,
three dry goods stores, one saloon, two
cooper shops, and one law office in the
town.
Ckntkrville, Umatilla county is
Retting to be quite a village. There ore
three dry goods stores, two variety
stores, one drug store, one tin and hard
ware store, three blacksmith shops, two
churches, school house, barber shop,
harness shop, three saloons; and various
, other places of business,