The west shore., February 01, 1889, Page 61, Image 3

THE WEST SHORE.
each accommodating two cars. Birges will be used
for conveying the cars to the various lines of railroad
centering in Portland, or for ferrying them across the
river to the terminus of the Portland and Vancouver
road. By this aeans the mills will be prepared to
ship lumbar by the car load to any point reached
from Portland direct When the V. K. k Y. road is
completed across the mountains they will also have a
railroad outlet to the markets in that direction. Lum
ber will also be loaded here for San Francisco and
other coast markets, as well as for foreign ports, and
there is no reason why those points can not be sup
plied from this place as well as from any mill site on
the Columbia river.
Manufacturing forms a considerable portion of the
business of the city. Four saw mills are a good foun.
dation to build upon, though other enterprises are al
ready established, consisting of a sash and door fac
tory, a flouring mill, an artificial stone factory, two
brick yards, a brewery, an ice factory, machine shop,
cabinet shop, and various smaller industries. A large
furniture and box factory is under discussion and is
one of the prob ibilities of the near future. Other
industries would thrive at this point, especially can
ning and fruit drying, a barrel, tub and pail factory,
a tannery and a woolen mill, the last two more espo
cially when the road is completed across the moun
tains to the bunch grass country.
Mention of fruit preserving industries is not light
ly made, for Clarke county is rapidly taking a com
manding position in both the quantity and quality of
the fruit it produces. Apples of all varieties, pears
from the earliest to the latest, cherries, plums and
prunes are the kinds of fruit the soil and climate are
best adapted to, and in size, flavor and general quali
ty are second to none produced anywhere in the world.
Grapes, peaches, apricots, etc., also do well, but are
not of the superior excellence of the other fruits
named. The celebrated Birtlett pear, known in the
east as the "California" pear, reaches heroalUvor
and perfection superior to the best product of Cali
fornia, As the new orchards come into better bear,
ing condition, Bartlett pears will be shipped from
Vancouver by the car load. Plums, especially the
Peach and Yellow Egg varieties, reach great size and
perfection, and will form no small portion of fruit
shipments. The same may be said of the Royal Aon
and Black Republican cherries, whoso largo siz and
firmness render them especially valuable for ship
ment to distant markets. It is, however, in tho prune
that the fruit raiser finds his most profitable buiineM.
Experience has demonstrated that in Oregon and
Washington, west of the Cascade mountains, tho
prune reaches a perfection in size, flavor and firmnr.s
that is unequaled anywhere else in the world. Even
in the section named, some portions produce fruit su.
perior to that of others, and in this respect Clarke
county stands in the front rank. Only twelvo yean
have passed sinco tho first experimental trees were set
out, and less than half that period sinco tho result of
the experiment becamo known, or the building of rail
road lines made the industry a practicable one, Sinco
that time many oichards have been set out, contain
ing from one hundred to fivo hundred pruno trees,
which are now just coming into good bearing condi
tion, several orchardists last year having harvested
three tons of fruit per acre. Tho pruno acreage is
now being largely increased and in a few yean, when ,
the trees now being planted shall havo arrived at good '
bearing condition, tho fruit crop in tho vicinity of
Vancouver will bo a very largo and valuable one.
Last year eight fruit dryers prepares! one hundred
tons of dried prunes for market, n quantity which
will be exceeded the present season. Shipments of
fruit in car load lots will also bo a featuro of tho bus.
inesB. Pears, plums and cherries will bo supplied in
great quantities for this pure, as tho number of
trees is being largely increased by nil growers. Cars
can bo loaded at Vancouver aud ferried to Portland
the same as tho lumber cars, and when tho railroad
across tho mountains is completed a direct eastern
route will bo ojen. Fruit drying on a largo scale, as
well as canning of both vegetables and fruit, will nec
essarily becomo an adjunct of tho industry at this
point
Not only fruit, but Agricultural products of all
kinds find special advantages in Clarke county. Near
Vancouver, and in tho Iowis river region, toon to Iw
penetrated by tho railroad, aro to to found some of
tho bent farms in tho northwest Tho country as a
whole is densely covered with fine timber, and the
proceHS of bringing it into a cultivabln condition is
n'WHHarily a slow cno. In one renjx-ct this has been
advantageous, in that it has oersted to prevent " bo
nanza farming " and tho acquisition of largo tracts.
On tho contrary, farms aro from eighty to one hun
dred and sixty acres in extent, thus supporting a larg.
er imputation in pro;ortion to tho area cultivated than
is tho case in tho prairio districts, where largo tracts aro
owned by individuals or companies. Tho building of
tho V. K. k V. road will ai l in tho work of bringing
tho land under cultivation, and it will enable settlers
to do clearing to a U tter adranUgo and at lets ex.
;en as well as supply a means for them to reach
market with tho products of their land. Every acre
j of land denuded of its timber for lumber U al) an
j acre rendered valuable for agriculture. This fact
' renders the more sjtfedy development of the county's
j resources certain. Settlers who are looking for tim
i bered agricultural lands will do well to examine tho