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