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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1889)
ME WEST SHORE. tide of immigration tu carried through the section, commercial influence from abroad quickened loca a i.. ...i i;r. ... infnuul in(n evorv line ol ilJU UCW llu wn - business. Instead of resting with what had already been aooompluhod the people puihed on to achieve greater results with the increaaed facilities at their difxal. In the pint two years Ashland bat doubled in population and experienced a corresponding in cciufl in the volume of business transacted there. I kit vmr dm tmililinir operations of the city seCTe- galed over f..OOO.OO in value. A good deal of at- . . . ..... m . I 1 teutiou la being directed to manufacturing, ror wnicn it it admirably auited, and it eipectationi of future growth are baaed, in a considerable degree, upon its niauufacturinff advantages. Ashland Las a woolen mills plant that uses two hundred thotuand pounds of wool per year, a saw mill, two planing mills, two grist mills, a fenoe fac tory and brick and tile works. An electric light iilant furniahps illumination. The motive Dower for operating all these institutions is supplied by the stream wnicn Hows through the town. The city has nun banking bouse with a capital of tfO.OOO.OO, two weekly oewspajws and five good hotels, one of which is among the lnt in the state. It was recently com pleted at a cost of 3.',)0.0a A new water works plant, to cost alxmt U,UU0.(X), and a large cannery and drier for fruit and vegetables are among the en terprises that are now under way. The development or ine rrull growing and curing interests of the Ilgu river valley renders necessary increased facil ities fr conducting that industry, and they are being provided in Ashlaud, which promisee to become in a lew years one or Uie most important fruit centers on the I'aciflo slopo. The soil and climate of Rogue river valley are suited to the production of such semi-tropical fruits and nuU as poach., raisin graphs, almonds and wal out. I-wt soaaon almouds raised there brought one fourth more per pound in the market than the Cali fornla product The groat specialty of the valley however, is each culture. That industry is found to' yield the most satiafaclory result, and it is being Urgnly engaged i For three or four year, past bundmUof acre, have annually been set to poach orchards that are now coming into bearing condition aad are demonstrating the fact that it is not only a prad cable but an exceptionally promising industry for that region. The cultivation of the peach is ma.lea.tudy and is intelligently pur,u,sL Already buyer, nun lWland and Ban Frauds enter Ashland market lo compete for the peach cmn .! As yet moat of the peach crop is shipped to mar. ket in a green state. This will continue because there is always a demand for green fruit of such ex cellent quality; but as production increases there will be a larger amount of fruit that can not stand .hipping green whioh will have to be preserved, This will give employment to canning and drying e tablishments that will find ample occupation outside the fruit season in handling vegetables, such as to matoes, peas, corn, succotash, eta The fruit next in importance to the peaoh in the valley is the apple, large quantities of which are annually sent away to market All fruits not requiring a tropical climate can be successfully raised. In the cultivation of fruit the orchardists are content to get one good crop from the soil, so they keep their orchards entirely free of weeds or any other crops, stirring the surface often and keeping the ground always mellow. Care it taken in harvesting the fruit, especially the peaches, to avoid bruising it From the trees the peaches are carried in baskets to long tables where they are separately wrapped in paper and packed in boxes for shipment Generally the crop is contracted for be forehand so there is no delay to find a purchaser. The soil of Rogue river valley is largely a granite loam four to ten feet deep. There is a greater area of this kind than any other, though in some placet there is a strong adobe soil, making inexhaustible grain land. A clay loam is also found in some places. Under the influence of the warm climate the soil is i quick growing one and is favorable for most vegeta ble productions. It is the best corn land in Oreeon. A large amount of general farm produce is raised in addition to the specialties mentioned above. Wheat oats, barley, buckwheat, corn, hay, root crops and vegetables, and all the oommon fruits, including the finest melons, are among the products of the valley. Sweet potatoes, peanuts, sorghum and hemp can be successfully grown also. The climate of the vallev oonatitntei one of its chief natural advantages. The land is somewhat ele vated, the site of Ashland hoi riff iwn fhnnimnd feet above sea level, and some portions being higher and ioine lower man that point The mean annual tern perature for the past four VRAM. Aa aoAptiriA from the records of the United States signal service, which maintains an observation station there, is fifty-four degreea. The average mean temperature for Janu 7. the coldest month in the vear. i tbirtr.flioht de- grees.and for July, the hottest month in the year, eventy-nine degrees above tero. The average anno al rainfall for the same Deriod twAnhr.ihrAA inch- , and there were but three timoi during that term fenon via ....... " ""mure at all fell for thirty days. XM greatest precipitation for any one month was in No-