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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 3, 1900)
THE MORNING OREGONIAN, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1900. WHEAT PRODUCTION Cost of Crops In Different Sec tions of Oregon. PROFIT AT FORTY CENTS A BUSHEL Farmeri Agree That It Is Dangerous Poller to Hold Wheat for a. Eiffher Slarlcet. Tbe Oregenlan Is making an effort to get the views of farmers In all parts of Oregon on Important questions touching the oat of raising wheat, the value of diversified farming, and whether it is judicious to bold crops for higher prices when a profitable price -can be had Imme diately after harvest. Letters were sent to practical farmers in all sections of the state, to men who are familiar with, the conditions of farm life, and who are consequently able to speak with authority. The purpose of this discussion Is to en able farmers to acquire an acquaintance with the experience of other farmers, and to profit thereby. Replies are published this morning from Umatilla, "Wasco, Douglas, Washington, Jackson and Gil liam counties. The question of cost and Its relation to the best price obtainable after the crop has been harvested Is the main Issue. Cost varies in different sections, aad there is frequently variance Jn the same county. C. E. McClellan. of Uma tilla county, makes estimates on the basis of a crop averaging 30 bushels to the acre. He figures that an acre of yirheat costs 58 59, or 28 1-3 cents a bushel. Even If the farmer be a renter, and if, fter paying rent, 20 bushels to the acre emaln to him, Mr. McClellan thinks that J cents a bushel offers fair wages for wheatraising. Mr. Anderson, of "Wasco county, estimates the cost of wheat at a fraction under 30 cents a bushel. In his section wheat Is profitable at 50 cents a bushel. Mr. Evans, of Douglas county, does not express an optimistic view. He says that wheatraising in Southern Ore gon, all things considered, has not paid for eight years. Taking 15 bushels as the average crop per acre, Mr. Evans says that Southern Oregon farmers should have 80 cents a bushel for wheat in order to make a living profit and keep up the farm. Mr. Purdln, of "Washington coun ty, attributes prevailing low prices for wheat on the Pacific coast to high freights. He says " the cost of raising an acre of wheat, 29 bushels. In "Washing ton county, and shipping it to Portland, is $9 16. At 51 cents a bushel In Portland, the farmer will receive $10 20 for his 20 bushels, a profit of $1 05 an acre. Mr. Purdin says this Is fair profit. If the farmer has been able to do all the work, but that there is little left for him if it has been necessary to hire men. Mr. Dunn places the cost of production in the Rogue river valley at 40 cents a bushel, and says that farmers forced to sell now get lees than cost. It will be noticed thit Mr. Dunn's estimate Includes a charge of ?2 per acre for rent. This is 10 oents a bushel, on the basis of 20 bushels to the acre. Mr. Quinn, of Gil liam county, puts the cost of wheat, landed at the nearest railroad station, at 44 cents a bushel. According to him, the farmer can not sell for less than 50 cents a bushel and be safe. One of the great questions before Ore gon producers is that of holding crops for higher prices. Mr. McClellan speaks very much to the point on this question. He says that with few exceptions the rule of early selling has proved to be the most profitable policy. It will astonish producers to be told that the piling up of insurance, warehouse charges and In terest against holdings of 1S9S crop have made the wheat worth to the farmer 60 cents a bushel, and he cannot sell under that figure without selling at a loss. The prospect of the market rising to that figure in the near future is very doubtful. In the meantime, charges are accumulat ing against the 1S9S holdings. Mr. Ander son thinks that the advisability of hold ing depends upon the financial condi tion of the grower. He has as much right as the next one to speculate in wheat, but it is dangerous policy if his only capital is his stored wheat. Grow ers, Mr. Anderson says, lose more than they gain by holding. Mr. Evans says that as & general thing holding wheat for higher prices oes not pay. Mr. Dunn believes that it Is better for grow ers to sell at threshing time, especially if they have debts to pay. Diversified farming is gaining favor all over the state. Farmers are taking to the idea of raising a little of everything and having something to sell all the year round. UMATILLA COUNTY. Cost of Raising- a. Bnshel of Wheat Amounts to SS 1-3 Cents. TTJTUIDLA, Or., Feb. 1. Umatilla is a large county, and it is difficult to strike the average which will represent the cost of raising a bushel of wheat In all parts of the county. The difference in the yield per acre varies very much, from 45 bush els to 16, so the man who raises 45 bush els will be at a much lower average ex penditure than he who raises the 15-bushel crop, because as a rule the labor on the 46-bushel land preparatory to raisins the crop costs not much more than on the 15-buehel land. The price for doing the work varies a little In different parts of the county in different seasons, but per haps th following table is near the av erage cost per acre, on the basis of a 30 bushel crop: Plowing $100 Cultivating and seeding 1 00 Seed 100 Heading 100 Threshing 150 Sacks 100 Haulimr. 1 cent nor sack per mile from the farm to the warehouse; Insur ance and warehouse charges for one year, about - 1 00 There are a number of other expenses, which, will raise the total a little, such as vitrotltag aad fanning seed wheat, poisoning squirrels, repairing fences, the total being perhaps about $S50 per acre, or as 1-3 oents a bushel. Over and above this amount, interest must be calculated on the capital Invested before the matter of profit is considered; machinery and stock must be replaced occasionally, build ings and fences rebuilt If the fanner Is a renter, as a great many are. one-third of the crop usually goes for rent. Then, allowing one-third of a 30-bushel crop for rent, and leaving the farmer 20 bushels, 40 cents a bushel (present prices) seems to give him fair wages for his labor. A neighbor of mine who farms on a large scale, and who has had many years ex perience, recently sold his 1S89 crop at that figure. He said: "I have bought a little machinery, a few horsos. and that about represents ray profit on this year's crop" It has been argued, however, and fic ures produced to prove, that wheat can be raised at a profit at much less than that figure. An irreverent paragraphor tells, of a schoolboy who was once given a slate and a very knotty problem to work. The teaches comes around after a while and asks "Well. John, did you get the prob lem" "No." said John, "I have run out of slate room, but give me another slate and I ttl either prove this thing or fig ure myself in hell In five minutes." So the man who, under present conditions, proposes to raise wheat at a profit at much leas than tt cents a bushel, and backs Us proposition with his money, is quite nabte to find himself. If not in the tropical region spoken of by the school boy, at least la very serious trouble Farming, like nearly every other occu pation or profession, has two schools ot followers. Order Is tbe watchword of the one, progress that of the other The former thinks that the methods which have changed miles of prairie on which the e&yuee reamed unmolested into a populous, productive, prosperous farming t country are soil suthcieut to meet :M needs. The otner argues that by well weighed changes prosperity ma become sdil more prosperous, and have shown a readiness to adopt such innovations as the combined narvejiter and the steam plow. "Why. it wastes the siraw, and 1 have cattle and horses to feed all winter," sas one man, reterrlng to the combined har vester. "Yes, it. does," admus the man that has used it, "but I save more than enough by It to replace straw with hay. " The use of the steam plow is still in lis infancy here, but the machine man who has several thousand dollars invested In an engine to thresh with, which he uses perhaps 50 days in harvest time, only to see it stand idle the remainder of the year, has discovered that on the Uma tilla reservation, where the ground Is com paratively level, he can bitch 20 12-lncn plows to it and make it pull them, sav ing the use of a number of horses, a quan tity of horse feed and several men. The use of the harvester, while by no means general here et, seems to be gaining every year. The man who farms irom two to three sections of land every year, and has. enough work stocK of his own to operate one, claims that he can put his grain in the sack for about one-naif the cost by the old method. It requires only a crew of five men, and in some sections hab somewhat revolutionized the old order of things, where every state west of the Missouri river might be found represented in an Eastern Oregon harvest crew. In this respect the use of theharvester has a detrimental effect on some lines of busi ness, such as the merchant and the saloon keeper. The trade derived from the army of men, several thousand in number, re quired to take care of a crop, and who at the close of the season shed their old clothes, to blossom forth In new suits and paint the town red for a week or two before seeking new fields of labor, was no small Item; and, while there seem to be no reliable statistics to show how many of theso men journeyed Into town for early morning Sunday school or midweek prayer meeting, there is no doubt the church Is also a loser. The wheatgrower who In 1899 sold his grain as soon as harvested seems to have decidedly the best of his brother who held his grain. A number of cases are known to the writer where 47, 48 or 49 cents was refused, only to accept 39 or 40 later, or to still hold on, a decidedly problematical chance of getting still less In the future. The same Is true of the 1893 crop, ot which a large lot is still being held in this county, on which the insurance, ware house charges and Interest being paid will require that the holder get about 60 cents to have any profit in holding. With a few exceptions, the rule of early selling has been the profitable one all along the line. By doing so, the grower knows just where he is, and can figure Intelligently on his next year's plans and outlay, and he avoids the worry of watching the wheat market, very often a slumping one. As to diversified farming, while experi ments are occasionally made in new fielas, the staples on the great body of hill land In this county are still wheat and barley. Last year quite a lot of corn was plant ed, and the rains which came In harvest time and damaged the wheat to some ex tent proved the salvation of corn and helped to mature a grade of that article of which Kansas or Nebraska need not be ashamed. But just w hat degree of suc cess "will attend cornralsing in this sec tion in ordinary dry years still remains to be proved. While this Is true about the hill land, the area brought under Irriga tion each year is gradually Increasing. The sandy tract lying south of Umatilla is now Irrigated, and has proved its adapt ability for raising a variety of stuff, from vast quantities of alfalfa hay, which is very profitably used in the winter for fat tening stock, to almost every variety of delicacies. Wheat hay is a product of the hill land not yet mentioned, and to a limited ex tent quite a profitable one, particularly for the farmer operating on a small scale, and who finds it more profitable to put up his crop for hay, as he can do so at much less expense than to head ana thresh It. The home market must usu ally be depended on, but this year some Inquiries have been received for baled hay for shipment to the Philippine islands and Alaska. The price varies somewhat with the season. Last year's hard winter brought the price up to about $12 a ton. At present it is about $7 or $8. Baled hay is usually worth $2 a ton more than loose hay. It costs about that much to bale It. It is very Interesting to notice the dif ference which two or three good pro ductive years, at profitable prices, make in the amount of lahd cultivated in the county. Ten or twelve years ago the country lying west and northwest of Pen dleton to Echo was under cultivation. Much money was spent in fencing, sink ing wells, etc., barb wire at that time costing from 10 to 15 cents a pound, and the amount of money and labor spent by early settlers In dry wells In search of water was something enormous. In later years the steam drill or boring ma chine was used, and they generally get what they go after. A few years later a Tide through that section reminded one a little of the Indian who, after years of absence, returns to the scenes of his youth, only to find the banks of the stream on which he had hunted, and which he had left clothed In timber, in whoso shade he had basked In summer or shel tered himself In winter, under the fence and plow of the settler. The springs are silent In the sun. The streams with lessened currents run Beside- the blackened shore; The land our tribes were crushed to tret May be a barren desert 1 et. Under the depressing Influence of 25 cent wheat and hot winds, this section of country was practically abandoned, and the settlers, with the exception of a few who through evil and good report staved with the country, folded their tents like the Arab and silently stole away. The country fast returned to its first condi tion of wilderness, fences became a thing of the past, and the traveler. Instead of having to follow lanes, could wend his way across the country wherever fancy led him. But under the influence of sev eral v ears of 50 to 75-cent wheat, also a large immigration from California, South ern Oregon and the East, "another gen eration has arisen who knew not Joseph," and for. whom the specter of 23-cent wheat and hot winds had no terrors. Fences are once more straightened up, buildings put in repair, and every available acre put In cultivation. The Portland capitalists have disposed of Prospect Hill farm, and have sought other fields for their philan thropic Inclinations. A fairly profitable crop was raised on the farm last year, and at present writing there Is about 1000 acres of promising-looking grain on the farm for this year's harvesting. In closing, it is perhaps just as well to say there is no Intention to be dogmatic about the figures or facts used. Umatilla Is a big county, and In the crain belt there are several varieties of soil and climate, the rainfall, also hot winds, seem ingly showing a disposition to hit one sec tion and miss another only a short dis tance away, so that any attempt to lay down a rule to apply to all parts of the county would probably result In some farmer 10 miles farther on, whose experi ence was different, saying: "That fellow a practical farmer! Why, he don't know beans when the bag is open." C. E. M'LELLAN. WASCO COTOTY. Farmer Entitled to Speculate In Wheat If He Is Able. DUFUR, Or.. Feb. L The financial con dition of the farmer Is much better than it was five or six year ago. This change for the bettor is due to several causes, but the Improved methods of farming hae had more to do with It than anything else. The old system of plowing and sowing the land year after year broke many men In the vicinity of Tygh ridge and Dufur, whose same old farms, under the present system of summer fallowing, are making a fortune for their present owners. The farmer is not. as a rule, frpe from debt, but this condition la not caused by failure to produce actual expenses. Most of the farmer's Indebtedness represents new fields purchased, and he has, by su perior farming, so nearly rendered a fail ure of crops impossible that this kind of a debt will not embarrass him. His grain Is so far aavanced before the season of hot winds arrives that at the worst it can only reduce his profits. I would say that, generally speaking, the farmers of Wasco county are In a prosperous condition, but It would be a hard matter to answer your question as to "how he came out In 1899?" or "was he benefited or Injured by holding his wheat for higher prices?" Prom the itemized statement of cost of production which I will furnish, it will be seen that the wheatgrower who sold at The Dalles price just after harvest (56 cents) did well. The result of holding, be It good or bad, depends much upon the financial condition of the grower. He who has ample money to meet hie obligations until next harvest will possibly find a time to unload to advantage, but the grower whose capital Is represented by his stored wheat certainly made a mistake. I would say that in my opinion, the farmer has as much right to speculate on the price of wheat as anybody, If he can afford it, but if he has not working capital outside the speculation, he should sell whenever a good profit Is offered 50 cents or better. Without regard to what the result of the, present heavy holding for higher prices may. be, there has been far more loss than gain to the wheatgrower by holding for higher prices. I spoke above of the change in methods during the past five or six years. Summer fallowing has become general here, and though there Is occasionally a farmer who would sooner have his 35 bushels of grain spread over three or four acres than to have it on one acre, he invariably goes broke sooner or later, eo his system will not be considered In the following Item ized statement of cost of production of a bushel of wheat. These figures are the result of ledger accounts kept during the past five or six years by men who treat farming as a business proposition, and have made It pay. Each operation can be hired done at the price stated, In fact, s hired done at a lower price on several farms in this neighborhood, so the cost or machinery, etc, must be considered as In cluded: Plowing $125 Cultivating 75 Seed and seeding 75 Heading 125 Threshing 175 Total per acre $5 75 The second Item of expense, "cultivat ing," Is one that I fear is not generally followed throughout the state, but Is con sidered as necessary by the successful farmer of this section as Is the plowing. It is done by machinery, made for that purpose, and during the summer no weeds are allowed to sap the moisture that is so necessary to the sprouting of the grain sowed in early fall. The average yield on land treated as above outlined, is over 35 bushels per acre, but in order to allow for hot July winds that might affect the yield, while it made a total failure of spring grain, I will call It 30 bushels per acre, making the grain cost 19 1-6 cents a bushel. To this must be added 3 cents for sacks, and 7 cents for hauling to market (15 miles), and we have a total cost of a fraction under 30 cents a bushel, landed In the warehouse. I assure your readers that these figures are correct, so far as this section Is con cerned, so it is plain that at 50 cents a bushel, farming is a paying business. Regarding your last question as to di versified farming becoming general: Near ly every farmer raises some barley, which, when sown on summer-fallow ground in the spring, averages about 50 bushels an acre. Most farmers have as many hog as they can well care for, and several head of cattle to market each year. The hogs are usually sold on foot, and driven to The Dalles for shipment If this la what you mean by "diversified farming," it has a strong hold on this community. The question of insurance and storage cuts no figure here, for most farmers who store their grain, sell to the warehouse company, and in such cases no storage Is charged. Very few pay Insurance on grain stored. M. J. ANDERSON. "WASHINGTON COUATY. Wheat-Growing; Profitable at CI Cents a Bushel in Portland. FOREST GROVE, Or., Feb. 1. That wheat is lower on the North Pacific coast than elsewhere Is due to high freights. That there is also a fair world's crop or that cereal keeps prices down In the great consuming centers. Often In the past, when there has been a rise In the markets abroad, say of 15 cents per bushel, 3 or 4 cents would be the advance to the farmer, the remainder being absorbed by the ship per and the shipowner. The superabuua ance of wheat and the scarcity of ton nage made this possible. Let us see what Is the cost of raising an acre of wheat: $1 50 per acre for plowing, Including board for man and feed for team; 70 cents for sowing and harrowing; $1 for seed; $1 for cutting and binding, including twine; 15 cents for shocking; 20 cents for board of men and feeding team in harvesting; 50 cents if he hauls direct to thresher; 40 cents for threshing; 50 cents for other hands and board not mentioned above; 31 wear and tear of machinery, harness and horses; total, $6 95. This does not Include interest on land or any other farm equip ments, but the cost In the farmers' bin. If we add the cost of hauling to the near est railroad station, which Is 60 cents per acre, $1 60 for sacks, 60 cents for storage, $1 for freight to Portland, there Is $2 20 more to be added. This is on a basis of 20 bushels per acre. We have then a total of $9 15 per aero foi an average of 20 bushels per acre. With Valley wheat at 61 cents per bushel In Portland, we have $10 20 per acre for our wheat. Out of this must come the cost of $9 15 per acre for production, leav ing a balance of $1 05 per acre clear profit If the producer has been able to do all the work himself he has had fair wages for working at home. If he hired the work done he has very little left If he sells now. The wheat, mixed with oats or bar ley, and chopped and fed to hogs at pres ent prices for pork, will give a return of 1 cent per pound for the grain fed. Equal or better results will be obtained If the grain be fed to beef cattle, still better If fed to milch cows, and, Dest of all, if fed to chickens. Many farmers have not stock enough to consume one-half the grain pro duced. Their help must be paid. The family must live and the tax-gatherer, like the "poor, we have with us always." Many are unable to hold their wheat and must sell at present prices. He who has other resources than wheat Is better ablo to hold than he who has not. The present net price of wheat at the nearest railroad station is 43 rents ner hnshpl. Tf -n.Hh!n one year, it should advance to 50 cents per bushel, It would pay Insurance, storage and 7 per cent interest on present values. If within the bin at home a rise cf 1 cents per bushel would pay Insurance and 7 per cent interest on present values. We can never form a trust price, below which we will not sell. There are too many mouths to stop for that, and too many countries producing wheat. If e cry farmer who Is able should hold his wheat or feed it, he would confer a favor on those who must sell, on account of scarcity of tonnage and the high price prevailing. Lessen the productiou or wheat. Make sheep and cow pastures of some of the old est and foulest fields. It will pay more clear money than wheatraising. It will keep the cream of the Oil we have been shipping to Europe at home on the fields, the place where It will do the most good. But one will say: "I raised a large crop of potatoes cne year that would not sell for enough to dig and market them." Then feed them at home. Another says: "I di verslfied by going Into the fruit business 10 or 12 years ago, and have not caught up yet from the effects of it Although I raise the finest cherries and Bartlett pears, to And a remunerate e market for then, is the trouble." Why didn't he plam prunes? I did, and the first big crop raised I shipped East through a company that proved to be wild cat, and the advance money was all I ever got The company went broke. The next year I shipped green and worse and more of It. I not only lost all my prunes, but went several hun dred dollars Into the hole. Since then I dry them all, and then set the money for them before they leave" my possession and I am making money out of them now. With Oregon Italian prunes, worth from 15 to 20 cents per pound In the market of Europe, there Is a brighter outlook for the pruneralser In the future than the last few years has shown. The pruneraiaer might be pointed out as among the chosen few "who have come up through great tribulation." The apple Industry affords a good field for investment to him who can afford to wait long years for a return. Modern methods must be followed. Caus tic washes must be used In the winter for black spot, aphis and scale, and arsenical sprays for the destruction of the codlin moth during the summer. Unless one makes up his mind to do all these and J more, he would better keep out oc it. The flax Industry Is a better field for experimenting In than any other. Tnere. need be no fear of overproduction in that line. The. climate and soil of Western Oregon is capable of producing the finest quality of flax lint In the world. But we must learn how to ret and to break it. In diversifying, if we can produce some thing we are largely importing', such h3 dairy and pork products, we will retain the money at home that Is being sent away. An old granger says he has often, In the past, sold his dressed hogs In Port land for a lower price per pound than they were worth alive in Chicago. At the same time, carload after carload of "frozen pork was being shipped Into Portland from the Middle Western states. It made me feel that there was a larger-sized porker doing such a business than had ever been packed In his establishment. "Why don't you pack yourself?" he was asked? He re plied: "I did one year, but will never do 't again. I offered my own make of bacon In the Portland market, and was told that It would not do for the city trade; It was country cut. At a low price It could be sold to the logging camps. I didn't sell in the city, but traded It off at the coun try stores for groceries." To resume the wheat question. Wheat Is the one thing that at some price will bring money. It has been our main staple In the past, and for years to come will be. In the future let us not tie everything to one string The men who are making money now are the dairymen and the sheepowners. The future of these indus tries for the Oregon farmer looks bright. IRA E. PURDIN. GILLIAM COUNTY. Cost of Wheat From Farm to Rail road, 44 Cents n Bushel. MATVILLE, Or., Feb. L An itemized statement of the cost of raising and mar keting a bushel of wheat In this part of Gilliam County is as follows: Seed, per acre $0 20 Plowing, per acre 1 00 Harrowing, per acre..... 15 Planting (drilling), per acre 25 Heading, including board of men 1 15 Expense of raising one acre wheat.. $2 75 Cost of one bushel: Threshing wheat, per bushel $0 06 Two-fifths of price of sack, at 7c... 03 Cost of laying it down at railroad (Arlington) 12 $021 The average was about 12 bushels per acre in 1899, cost of raising 23 Total cost per bushel at railroad.... $0 44 In this estimate the grower has to do all the work that he possibly can. I have counted on his using a six-horse team in all of his work except drilling, when he will only use four. He also uses six an imals while heading, and possibly during threshing this same team will be used during the time he is hauling the grain to Arlington. The farmer cannot get any thing to make him safe under 50 cents. You ask how the growers came out In the last harvest. Well, they did not come out at all. After a man threshed a cer tain quantity, the more he got the poorer he was, for the simple reason he was not getting enough to pay him to sell it as wheat. A number are feeding hogs with It, and they assert that they will come out all right Certainly, there is one thing a hog does not stop to grade his feed, and so the grow er may get relatively more for his grain In this way than he could In any other. As far as I am concerned, my wheat is being fed to chickens, and I know that it Is returning me more than I can get in any other way. I do not see how the wheatgrower can be injured by retaining his crop, as he surely can make as much as is offered by feeding it to stock of some description, or chop it up, either by itself, or mixed with barely, and sold as horse feed. The growers In this part of the county are under no expense for holding over their grain, as It is stored In bulk in granaries. Of course, you have asked these ques tions, putting -wheat in the first place, which, of right, It holds, but It is not our only crop. With the same expense per acre we will harvest from 30 to 45 bushels of barley. Nearly every farmer grows at least a sufficient amount for his own feed. A great deal of rye la grown, and while a large amount is cut for hay the bulk Is threshed and sold for seed to sheepmen around Antelope. This brings from 75c to $1 per bushel, delivered at Antelope, Near ly all of the farmers keep a small herd of cattle to keep the summer fallow fields clean, and for the amount Invested bring in the most returns, from. to $20 per year, according to the sex of calf. Of sheep, very few are kept by the wheat growers, on account of the depredations of the coyotes lots of poultry, and eggs sufficient to meet the requirements of the local markets. Of root crops, you may say potatoes are the only ones grown to any extent on the uplands, such as are mostly used for wheat-growing. But If it is the only one, It is gilt-edged, as I do not know of a potato that can equal the nonirrigated bunchgrass one. Not too large, nor yet yielding a very large crop, they are sound to the core and good keepers. Now, another thing. As much as the fruitgrowers have been trying1 io throw cold water on those who havetnot land that you can dig six, eight or 10 feet down before striking bedrock, T will say that you can Brow early apples, Bartlett pears and French prunes and several va rieties of fruit on the upland. I will not say to compete with those who Irrigate and have bottom lands along the creeks, but enough to pay well for taking the trouble of raising It, and more than enough by making the place loolc like a home. The foregoing estimate Is based on ex pense connected with working from one- half to a section of land by men who live on It,, make the farm their home, put the ' harncss on their teams of a morning and take it off at night, not harnessing them of a Monday morning and leaving it on till Saturday night; whose ambition seems more to raise a family of big boys and girls and see that they have the advan tage of a good schooling than to be re garded in the light of wheat kings. C. J. QUINN. DOUGLAS COU&TY Production In TJnipqiin Valley Unsat isfactory at Present Prices. CLEVELAND, Or., Feb. 1. Raising wheat in the Umpqua valley is a very Un satisfactory business at present prices. If a man values his labor at labor's pay In factories and machine, shops," the farm will be in debt to him for a good, round sum settlement day, if he has done noth ing but raise wheat. One man and team, by extra hard work, can plow, harrow and seed two acres per day, and every thing will have to go just right Jf he does it. Allowing him $2 for self and team. I think an acre of wheat In sacks will cost as follows: Plowing, etc $1 03 Seed, at 33 cents 70 Binding 75 Shocking 13 Total $2 60 I allow for an average yield in this sec tion, 15 bushels per acre. Some good rive; bottom farms yield 40 bushels or more, I while some much poorer will not yield 18 bushels. Threshing expenses, at lowest estimate, will cost 10 cents per bushel, Including sacks. Storage and insurance and cost of hauling to warehouse differ in different lo calities, but can safely be estimated Vn cents in this section, so our acre of wheat In storage at railroad has cost us $4 22. At this time, good wheat Is 40 cent3 per bushel, so our acre brings us $6, less $4 23 cost, net, $1 78 per acre. In making an accurate estimate of a crop from the farm, interest and wear on machinery, taxes on land, and some even estimate wear of land, are taken into ac count, and they should be, for all big com panies figure just that way to know ex actly what they are doing, but this calcu lation won't stand such exact methods and leave anything. Sacks and binding twine were much higher last year than usual, but not enough to make any great difference in the net results. Taking 15 bushels for an average yield, the farmer should not get less than &) cents for his wheat to make a living profit and keep up his farm. Wheat-raising In Southern Oregon, one jear with another, has not paid for the past eight years. With livestock at present prices, wheat raising can be made profitable by feeding it on the farm. Last week I sold three calves, averaging six months old, for $50 for beef. They had been fattened on al falfa hay and oats. Almost every farmer sells during the year quite a lot of stock, yet none makes a business of feeding for market. On an average, holding wheat for higher prices does not pay, but at present prices there surely is not much risk. S. D. EVANS. ROGUE RIVER VALLEY. Farmers Cannot Compete With, Other Parts of the Northwest. ASHLAND, Or., Feb. L Owing to Its remoteness from the seaboard. Rogue River valley has never been much of a wheat producer. Before the advent of the railroad the only market for wheat and other of Its products was In the mines in the country contiguous to the valley. True, a considerable amount was freighted to Klamath county; in fact, all they used for a number of years. They did not know (or did not want to know) that they could raise as good wheat or better wheat there than we can In Rogue river. The conse quences were the farmers very naturally turned their attention to other industries, and from the very first practiced diversi fied farming. Their crops consisted of wheat, oats, barley, corn, fruit, vegetables, cattle, horses, mules, hogs, etc. These pioneer farmers as a class were successful. All who were prudent, eco nomical and energetic gained a compe tence for old age. Notwithstanding the advent of the rail road, we are still too far from the sea board to grow wheat successfully for shipment The railroad tariff Is so high as to be prohibitive, except In times of un usually high prices. Aside from the cost of shipping it is Impossible for the farmers of this valley to compete with those of the Willamette valley or of Eastern Ore gon and Washington. Our soil, as a rule, plows harder and is more difficult to han dle, requiring more power and better im plements. Then, too, we cannot raise wheat crops successfully without rotating either planting on corn ground or summer-fallow. Owing to our dry summers we cannot be sure of a corn crop on much of the higher wheat land; and, when we do get a corn crop xwe figure that it mere ly pays for the cost of production. In reality, it takes two seasons to raise one crop of wheat. Now, let us figure the cost of an acre of wheat and see what there Is left for the grower after all ex penses have been paid. The '"figures which I give are my own, and I believe are rather under than over the average cost of production. Of course. some favored locations can produce wheat much cheaper than others, but it would be unfair to take them as a basis. I believe the average yield for this valley is about 15 or 16 bushels per acre. That, however, is mere guesswork, as no one knows accurately what It Is. I shall fig ure on the basis of 20 bushels per acre: Rent of land, per acre $2 00 Plowing land, per acre 125 Harrowing land, per acre 25 Seed, VA bushels, at 50c 62 Vltrollng and sowing 20 Rolling 15 Binding and twine 100 Shocking and stacking 73 Threshing 20 bushels, at 3c 70 Sacking 8 sacks, at 7c 55 Hauling to station 50 Total cost seeding and harvesting. .$7 93 There also should be a charge for fer- WHEN OTHERS FAIL CONSULT EASTERN SPECIALIST Consultation Free THIRD STREET Opp. Chamber of Commerce, Portland, Oregon. SPECIALIST DOCTOR DeYOUNG THE ACKNOWLEDGED LEADING AND MOST SUCCESSFUL PHYSICIAN AND SPECIALIST THE WORLD HAS EVER KNOWN FOR THE TREATMENT OF ALL PRIVATE AND CHRONIC DISBASBS OF BOTH MALB AND FEMALE THE FOLLOWING ARE AMONG THE TROUBLES WHICH HB WILL TRKAT WITH SKILL, AND GUARANTEE A PERFECT AND PROMPT CURE OF ALL CURABLE DISBASSS. Wl TRKAT THE FOLLOWING DISEASES WITH A SPECIAL TREATMENT. WHICH IS PURELY MEDICAL AND 3CHBNTIFIC. All PRIVATE DISEASES, PHYSICAL DECLINE or SEXUAL WEAKNESS, tbe result of early tedtecrstfon aad abuses, violating the hygienic conditions of health, the SERIOUS EFFECTS of IMPROPERLY TREATED CASSM, BLOOD and SKIN DISEASES, SORES, SPOTS, PIMPLES, SCROFULA and ECZEMA thoroughly eradicated, leaving the system strong, pure and healthful. SEXUAL ORGANS Spermatorrhoea, nightly or dally losses, which, if neglected, produce nervous irritation, toss ot memory and ambition, softening of the brain, idiocy, insanity, etc. -.'syphilis, stricture, impeteney, or loss of power, sterility. prostatorrhoea, or gravel; varicocele, cured by a new electrical operation, hydreeefe, all losses or drains, atrophy, or shrink ing of the organs. If you cannot call, write us. We can cure you by our method of HOME TREATMJRfT. Our COU296SL hi FREB. DR. DeYOUNG'S offices are complete In every detail, being equipped with aH MODERN FIXTURES and AP PLIANCES for the treatment of both MALE and FEMALE DISEASES, and steelI attention Is given to the PRIVACY of all cases coming to us for treatment. Our operating-reoras and reeeptton-roesss are SECKieSFLY MODBRiX, having a SEPARATE RECEPTION-ROOM for each patient, male or female. Do-not neglect your ease. Save PAIN and EX PENSE by calling at once. A NOMINAL CHARGE. NO EXORBITANT PRICES. If yo are hi need of an electric belt, a FREE examination will be made by the physician In charge, and you win he Maraea of att neeeseary expense and benefits. All special and chronic diseases of ladles or gentlemen, such as kidney trouble, bleed and skin dfaoaaos aad catarrh, epeedlly cured. All medicines furnished free. Remember our number. Red, Rough Hands, Itching, Burning Palms, and Painful Finger Ends. 0103 NIGHT OTJJEfcE. Soak the hands on retiring; in a strong hot creamy lather of CUTICURASOAP. Dry, and anoint freely with CUTICURA, the great skin cure and purest of emollients. "Wear, during; the night, old, loose kid gloves, with the finger ends cut off and air holes cut in the palms. For red, rough, chapped Jiands, dry, fis sured, itching, feverish palms, with shapeless nails and painful finger ends, this treatment is simply wonderful. Complete External and Internal Treatment for Every Humor. TUP JFT 1 vR and humlHatiBSC skin, Ilk. Uhl HU1.V tilizer, for without It we cannot maintain a 20-bushel average. But without any more charges, our wheat has cost us prac tically 40 cents per bushel. Now, ado. to this freight to Portland or San Francisco, and, unless the market Is better than at present, the farmer gets less than cost of production for his wheat. The millers here were paying 43 cents per Dushel at threshing time; they are now paying about 45 cents. I believe that as a rule it is better to sell at threshing time, especially when one has drbts to pay. The price of wheat seldom rises enough to pay more than storage. Insurance and interest, while it about as often goes the other way. The man, in this valley, who trlea to "make it" raising wheat "has very little to encourage him. The men who are "get ting there" are those who turn their at tention to diversified farming, who have something to do and something to sell at all seasons of the year; who return to the soil the fertility which they have taken from it. The tendency here Is toward this kind of farming, and the farmers of this valley are, as a rule, fairly prosperous. GEORGE W. DUNN. FIGHTING TRUSTS. Drummer Tells of "What His Fellow Travelers Are Doing. P. E. Dowe, of New York city, is reg istered at the Portland. He is president of the Commercial Travelers National As sociation, vice-president of the Commer cial Travelers and Hotel Men, whose headquarters are in New York, and he is also a member of the executive commit tee of the Anti-Trust League, whose head quarters are In Chicago. His visit to Oregon has no connection with the frater nities, but Is solely of a commercial na ture. The objects of his associations he says, are to organize commercial and hotel men Into a compact body "to fight the trusts." "Trust3 and combines," said he, "have reduced the number of drummers In the United States by 36,000, and 40,600 more will be laid oft by the time the present plans of organized capital mature. Wu propose to show our strength to the great national parties this year, before their jyr n w&SsxMSRy mmMpw DOCTOR DeYOUING 881 THIRD STREET anus mm scales and often the thickened ostiefe; CETKnnu. Oixtmxnt (50c). tn tmtAtiilv alia? ttahlncr teSanHnatioa. and Irritation, aad seethe a&d heal , and CtJTWtnu Rbjolvknt (We.), to eeol ami efraaM the blood. A Single Sxt is of tea sufficient te rare the most tortsrteg, (Heftrariag, and humilUunsr skin, scalp, and blood hasaors, wits loss or Jiaur, -waea all elao falls. Pottsr Dasa ahd Cbsx. Cort., Sete Props., Bottos. seaJp, and blood aaws, with loss of Iwlrj-whea conventions meet, and we will stand by that party that shows good faith In the line of anti-trust legislation. We num ber 369,100 votes, and we propose to be all at homo on election day, aext November, so ag to cast tw ballots. These 380 004 votes may hold the balance f power and we propose to east theia solidly for out friends." "Don't you think our new possession are going to broaden the Held for ths commercial men and thus enable more of them to go on the road?" "No, I don't. I think we will have to teach the Filipinos a whole lot before they begin to want anything. They need mis sionaries and school teachers more than they do drummere." Mr. Dowe represents a printing press manufactory, and he can conscientiously work against trusts and eombines at the same time, he thinks, as printing press manufacturers have not formed any com bine, nor are they likely to. s CnrieHs Condensations. The chafing dish Is an accessory to the nursery In preparing special foods for eniirtren. Out of 1,100,008 hi Massachusetts engaged la gainful occupations, only 37,066 are em ployed on Sundays. At Cornell university the percentage of college graduates in the professional school Is the largest Is their history The state of New York will send to the Paris exposition of 188s a forestry exhibit of t specimens of wood, all native to the state. The latest device to encourage high stepping In coach horses Is a glass worn like goggles, the crystals being so formed that the ground appears nearer than it la. It Is said to work all right. The Indians who, if not now, In for mer days roamed our Western borders, practically without clothing to shelter their bodies, became, through long ex posure, so inured to the cold that It gave them but little discomfort. The Second TJnltailan church, of Bos ton, recently celebrated its 269th anni versary. Samuel Mather was the first minister of this church. Afterward In crease and Cotton Mather filled the pul pit, and It was here that Emerson t served hte only pastorate. WHEN OTHERS FAIL CONSULT DOCTOR DeYOUNG EASTERN SPECIALIST Examination Free THIRD STREET Opp. Chamber ef Comnterce, Portland, Oregon SPECIALIST Opposite Chamber of Commerce I y 1L-J1- fcf .. t.fc ,uciAJg' fcr A y d-f $&iHk -..sjtutfaari-