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-