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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 1, 1886)
230 THE WEST SHORE. LANE COUNTY, OREGON. rpHK Imnuty, fertility, healthfulness ami equability I of climate of the Willamotte valley, are facts of i. audi wide and certain knowledge as to render it almost unnecessary to refer to them in giving a description of any portion of Oregon lying within its limit. . For lml ( a century its pruiwis have been uuug, and now the third generation of its Caucasian occupants is growing up within the sight of hundreds of those hardy pioneers, now old and venerable, who first built homes in this Arcadean wilderness and subdued the rich soil to the plow. Oreat is the work accomplished in that half century. Millions of acres have been cleared fenced aud cultivated; houses, barns and orchards dot the landwaiw; good roads lead in every direction from the scores of cities, towns and villages bustling with commercial life; railroads, steamlxmts and telegraph lines tiiiiiiHir to the commercial wants of the people; newH)iiKTH, public schools, sominaries, universities and churches intiuiuerablo swak volumes of their intellec tual aud moral advancement, and yet there is much to lie done which culls for intelligent aud perseveriug effort. Many thousands of acres of fertile lands yet re main to le tilled; new forms of agriculture need to be introduced: industries for the utilization of home pro ducts and the creation of a demand for more diversified crom need to be established; the mountains are full of mineral aud timW wealth cnlling for development A man of means, energy and experience need have no fear of not finding hero that which will give him profitable employment for them all. It requires but the exertion of the same good judgment and management nocessary any where, to iusuro equal success here, where all the accompanying conditions of lifo are so superior. While this is the fact generally throughout the Willamette val ley, it is the purMwe of this article to direct the atten tion more particularly to that portion of it lying at the extreme upper, or southern, end, a region well worthy the immigrant's careful consideration. I ana county was named in honor of Gen. Joseph Iane, the firnt governor of Oregon territory under the laws of the United Htatea, It has an area of two thou sand four hundred square miles, and is the largest of any of the comities lying wholly, or in part, in the Wil lamette valley. Linn and Kenton counties bound it oil the north; on the east it extends to the summit of the (Wades, ou the south it is separated from Douglas county by the Calipooia mountains, a chain running transversely from the Coast llange to the Cascades, and on the west it crosses the Coast llange to the Pacific. Lying partially in the valley and artially on the slope of three range of mountains, the topography and soil are necessarily of a varied character. The valley por tion is rotnxd mainly of level or slightly rolling fer tile prairie, through which runs the Willamette, dividing withiu the county into two forks, and several important tributaries, such as the McKenxie, Mohawk aud Long Tom rivers. Numerous other watercourses flow down from the mountains and enter the main stream, or one of iU confluents, and a considerable river, the Siuslaw, flows through the southwestern portion of the county, crossing the mountains, and discharges into the ocean near the line of Douglas county. The valley reaches its arms far np into the foot hills of the enclosing mountains, offering a wide area of agri cultural laud, which Las fr years yielded an abundance of diversified products. Wheat that took the first prize at the centennial exposition, Bt Philadelphia, was raised in this county, and the same farmer has taken numerous prizes for his cereals at other exhibits, including the re cent large one held at New Orleans. The white velvet wheat of the Willamette valley, fall sown, has no bu perior in the world, being large, plump, heavy, hard, and producing the finest quality of flour. Wheat rais ing is the leading feature of agriculture in Lane county, though other branches are by no means neglected. There are numerous fine bearing orchards in the county, whose large aud luscious cherries, plums, pears and ap ples are sent to market in their natural state, or as dried or evaporated fruit The fruit of the Willamette valley has of late years acquired a wide celebrity, owing to the railroad facilities for sending it to distant markets which have recently been provided. It requires nothing but an opportunity to place itself in competition with California and other regions to prove itself equal to the best, and superior in size aud flavor to the greaf bulk of fruit found in the markeU of the East. Now that a more extended market is opening, more attention is be ing paid to fruit culture, and besides the orchards to be found on nearly every farm, a number of large orchards have been set out by experienced pamologists who in tend to mnke a specialty of raising fruit for shipment In a few years the already large fruit crop of Lane county will be greatly increased. Another important branch of agriculture is hop rais ing. The deep alluvial soil, enriched by the deposits ami vegetable decay of ages, brought down by the streams and stored along their banks, is especially adap ted to the growth of hops. To this may be added the further advantage of an entire absence of any disease affecting the vines or any insect pests, both of which have so often ruined the crops of Wisconsin and New York. Tho latter state, the largest hop producer in America, has this year had its crop almost totally de stroyed by the aphis, a parasite of great destructiveness. The result is that the price of hops has advanced to such figures that growers in this region will make a hand some sum on this year's crop. Five years ago, under somewhat similar circumstances, hops reached one dol lar per pound As the cost of placing them in market able condition is less than eight cents, the producer who has even five acres of vines, yielding only fifteen hun dred pounds per acre (and double that quantity has been picked at times), has a good return for his outlay of time aud labor. Much attention has been paid to the raising of cat tle, homes and sheep. The foot hills and mountain