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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1885)
I THE WEST SHORE. 127 law abiding and industrious. As a rule thoy have livod here long enough some of thorn forty years to have acquired all that pride and love of home which is the bulwark of society and fountain of patriotism the world over. But few traces of the "Rowdy West" will be found in Oregon. The leading industry of the Stato is agriculture, and this is, no doubt, the attraction of four-fifths of the immi grants who come among us. The one universal crop is wheat, and there are but few sections where it does not thrive wonderfully. The broad fields of the Willamette Valley with its copious wintor rains, the rich valleyB of Southern Oregon, and the drier rolling plateaus and prairies east of the mountains all seem the natural home of the winter wheat No one can look upon the growing fields, or examine the large, plump berries of the matured wheat, without expressing surprise and astonishment, which is deepened by the knowledge that the fields give an average yield of from twenty-five to forty bushels to the acre, often largely exceeding the hitter amount There is a tendency, more especially west of the Cascades, to raise a greater diversity of cros and cease to make wheat the sole roliance, and in this direction lies the future progress of agriculture. This movement is the double result of the recent low price of the staple crop and the strong infusion of Eastern farmors, who have been accus tomed to that more economical and practical method of farming. Oats, barley, cultivated grass and clovor, vege tables and goneral farm product yield proliflcally. Hops are a profitable crop on the alluvial bottom lands, the cones being large and free from disease, and the yield per acre prolific. East of the mouutaius wheat is, and will continue to lo, the one great crop. Other cereals thrive, especially corn, which is not a successful crop olsewhere in the Stnto, except iu Southern Oregon. Vege tables there also grow to groat size, and are of fiiio quality and prolifio yield Oregon potntoos, from all sections of the State, can ooiiteat the palm with tlio whole world They grow to enormous size, and are dry, sound and of fine flavor. Many tons of them are exported annually. Every section west of the mountains, and many places east of thorn, odor sjioeial advantages to tlio dairyman, the groateat of which are to bo found along the 0011st, as is more particularly shown in tlio various detailed descriptions givon elsewhere. Tho growth of nutural grasses is prolific, and in Wostorn Oregon, owing to the moisture and mildness of the climate, continues green and fresh nearly the entire year. It naturally follows that but littlo hav is required for cattle, and the oxdciiho of caring for them and protecting them from severe storms is unnecessary. The market for dairy product is good and can be widely extended. Thousands of pounds of butter and choose are annually imjiortod from Califor nia. The dairy farmer will find here an inviting field Stock raising is one of the primo industries of tho State. There, are more than 400,000 cattle grazing within her limit, more than one-half of which roam the valleys and bunch grass hills east of the Cascades in groat bauds. The cattlo business there is carried on in the same gen eral style as throughout the entire cattle licit of the n est West of the mouutaius cattle are generally raised in con nection with other farming pursuit. Sheep are to be found iu all sections of the State, Southern Oregon blar ing off the (Nil in in quantity of wool, though the distinc tion is becoming loss marked yearly. Along the Colum bia east of the Cascades, and in the fixithills of the Ulue Mountains, wool growing is an important industry. In the State are 1,500,000 sheep, which are yearly increasing in numbers and value. Fruit growing is destined to become an industry of groat importance. The superior quality of Oregon fruit has long been known to our people, but the lack of ade quate transportation facilities has prevented thia knowl edge from spreading abroad. There being no outsnlo market, ninny good orchards were neglected and permit ted to go to decay. During tho last two yours, under the changed conditions resulting from the construction of railroads, tho reputation of this fruit litis spread, and cre ated for it a demand which the present orchards are nnnhlo to supply. Thousands of apple, pear, plum, prune, cherry, pencil and apricot tree are lieing set out South ern Oregon is the best adapted to fruit culture, and that is the region which produces such fruits as the peach and aprioot Its sunny hill slopes are the natural home of tho grape, and grapes thrive in all portions of the State west of tho mountain. East of the Cascades thero are ninny places where the topography of the oountry creates conditions favorable to fruit and grapes, even to peaches and other semi-tropical varieties. In apples, plums and cherries, Oregon fruit surpasses the best produced in California. 1' ruit canning is beginning to obtain a hold here, and Oregon oannod and dried fruits will not have to wait long for a reputation. The mineral wealth of the State is great, though its extent cannot even be surmised. Tlio precious metals are mined in Douglas, Jackson, Josephine, (hunt, linker and Union oounties, in some of whicli mining was iu past years tho 0110 great industry, and yet remains an impor tant one. (loll is found in other localities,, but not in such quantities. Mining has always boon chietly in pincers or in gravel hods, tho hydraulic process lieing used m many localities, imperatively little quart mining has been done. The jack of sulllcieiit capital and the great excuse of transporting machinery havo operated to chock the progress of quarU mining. rraiissrtation to those regions lias boon greatly improved the last two years, and it is confidently believed that capital will soon take hold of these uiiIovo1omhI lodge. Coal is found In great fields throughout the Coast Hange, and discoveries of it have beeu made in the Blue Mountains, It has tsieu mined to considerable extent in the vicinity of Coos Jiuy, but our coal measures may bo said to ho practically undo veloied and their extent unknown, save that thev are known to underlie many thousand acres of forest land. Iron is found in large quantities in several localities. Onpior has boon found iu large quantities east of tlio lilue Mountain. Varius manufacture exist In tho Slate. Three good woolen mills are in operation. There is abundant room here for manufactures of various kind. Water iowor incalculable is now running to waste, much of it along tho lino of railroad already constructed CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS, Marak. -Ilmr-Ailmlral lanraw II. PraMa illl In llnmkllna Maaa. S-r.irtjr-mMi mm kilM lraiiluann Uawiirth I'olUafr, rntfUnri. 4Ontini U. S. Omul mmm liaonrnl if ihm Armjr ami iImmI tut rwllrail llat. S4Jlral fk.Ua Hxikati ilwl IB Waalilnal", II. (,'... .N.wa ill fiano la Iiitim. in Tmiuiik 1 1 IUimiMw Cmtral A marina prfNilalmail lr llanaral Harriiia, I'rmiibal of OiMlamala, Im .-u.lili.lini liy turmut aria. I ft - r Sr. tn Klli.liiir, W. T. I Train f-ll Oirmwli titi-Um at ArllnOiw, Tl. I kllUI ami "mural vinudnl. IH- IWvultilliHi luauaiirali-l In I'liliMiiliia awl I'anaina ntlwikwl. I -Taw liuitilrwl nnii killml tif iiiIimiihi in aulliay at t'auiifliaaaatt. Vmaiim. IV-Orlanul ll.nl at S-allla iMrnnli lliak4. v iAral iUffMtb.1 n-ar Suak-m liy KmuIi.Ii ninUf ttmtmml llmKam. l piu4 11I Naw jaraaa Intrant. ...Uuiiiliiua lliilal, I liuwau, liumali I Ufa I!-. S-llriiib amU llanaml MnMI oVImiImI Irr A rata amu Suakna, wllk luan ol Dill in-n kllM awl wuuwImJ awl IJmJ oam-U. f. S-- f A.innr in AaUirla. t -KrMirU M-U1 lijr l MnM at llmi Dana, -Knalrfi raaanaa ami militia oaiM out baaaoaa ut Uiraataoad war wllk lliwaia. CaiiUia W. P. Ora, fariwablr known In Pim-iUihI, la now la oharaa of lha Ntirtliam farina tmnafar ataaraar tilth, at Ilia anmlng "f tlia I'MMf! Hrajtf-a irtar Ua ( lufumlMa. Aa a alW laaaa ha la aaaumabal with V K. mm la I 1m. ImiOiI Imatawai at I JunotiiMi aMl KaniiawuJa. Or jumJa will ua aura In nail at Cat. Uraj'a kuataitiaa auau trafaliua Iu ut (ruw tlx Kaalma auaiitf r.