THE MOENING ,OBEGOmAS(, FEEDAY, JANUABY 1, 1904.
13
TO PRESERVE FORESTS
PURPOSE OF RESERVE SYSTEM IS TO SAVE OREGON'S
SOURCE OF WEALTH FCfe THE PEOPLE'S GOOD.
GREATEST
THE forests of Oregon are conceded to
be among: the best of the continent.
They constitute one of the chief
natural resources of the stated and are
Just beginning to be generally Intelli
gently appreciated. The giant sugar
pines, red firs, hemlocks, yellow pines
and cedars of our forest are marvels of
tree growth
Nature has not only richly endowed
Oregon with dendrologlcal giants, but she
has lavished upon otherwise raw. bleak
and barren mountain tops and sides a
magnificent variety of trees and shrubs
that do yeoman service in equalizing cli
matic conditions and beautifying "a land
scape that becomes entrancing to every
.homebuilder.
But it is not of the beauty, but the
economy of these forests that I may at
this time speak, though their beauty, if it
be fully known, is no less an important
economic factor in a community. The
wealth of Oregon's forests, estimated by
the crude means of our present-day meth
ods in such matter Is placed at two and
one-half billions of dollars certainly a
most conservative total. The yearly out
put, based upon estimates made in the
same way as above. Is approximately
$7,000,000. Yet no one at all familiar with
Oregon forest conditions would hesitate
to say that this output might be very
greatly increased and still in nowise men
ace the lumbering industry of the state,
providing the field operations were con
ducted upon the principles of improved
modern forestry. The annual loss of tim
ber in the forests of Oregon, due to pre
mature death and the decay of over-matured
trees is enormous; and yet the con
ditions surrounding much of this are such
that under present methods and commer
cial requirements it is quite impracticable
for private enterprise to avail itself of this
mature timber and at the same time leave
the land covered with a quantity of mar
ketable timber not yet fully matured. In
other words, much of the present forest
crop is wasting because private enterprise
is Incapable of harvesting It to advan
tage. If, Instead of cutting oft clean as
they go, they should only take that part
of the crop which, if left longer, would
flepreclate in value, then could the annual
forest output of the state be materially
increased with less draft upon the re
source than at present. This Is imprac
ticable from a private business stand
point. Some purpose farther-reaching
than one of present financial gain must
govern the operations required to harvest
such a crop under such conditions as now
exist.
This Is one feature of the question of
how to get the most good out of our for
ests that the National Bureau of Forestry
is undertaking to solve.
How to Harvest the Tree Crop.
Reserves and forest withdrawals are
preliminary to the more immediate prob
lems of harvesting the crop as It matures
without loss to the state.
At the present pace of wasteful lumber
ing, it will not take more than 30 years to
remove practically the original forest
growth of Oregon and reduce the lumber
Industry to a bare pittance, if the esti
mates of the National Geological Survey
are approximately correct.
Of course no lumbering company will
admit carelessness in harvesting the pres
ent crop, from Its standpoint. For it
only takes that part of the timber from
which It may derive a profit. ' That which
is left Is the waste, and It is this part I
that a wise National policy would save.
Instead of giving it over to the usual
fire, which destroys oftentimes much
more than originally has been harvested
from 'the area. It Is this left-over tim
ber, hemlock, "white fir, silver fir, noble
fir, that Is, left to protect the land and
nurse the new growth of reforestation,
and for which in the near future we will
find valuable uses, that is" the waste of
present methods. If the young, healthy
trees of the species of economic value
were protected against careless felling,
fire and useless cutting, and the disease
Infested trees of all species were removed,
the cut-over forest areas would be left
In the best possible condition for renewal,
whereas today they are usually left in
very bad, if not the worst, condition for
If the system of roadways, tramways,
water courses and other "means' of trans
porting the harvested crop and conduct
ing the field operations could be put upon
a permanent basis, rather than upon the
temporary basis of the present-day oper
ations, what a vast saving ultimately
would be effected In those sections where
the tree crop is destined to be the most
valuable crop grown. Still such a system
of construction Is not compatible with
private Investment in an industry that
yields no larger returns than lumbering
in Oregon today.
Purpose, of Forest Reserves.
2Iuch of the forested area of the state
has been withdrawn from entry within
the. past few years, and a great cry has
gone up that the people are being denied
their heritage, a great industry crippled
and a state's progress checked. Let us
see.
The Government In its wisdom has es
tablished a Bureau of Forestry for the
purpose of studying the forest condi
tions of the Nation, and recommending
courses of procedure whereby the Na
tion's best interests may be subserved in
so far as the forests touch upon the Na
tion's life.
Land laws have been enacted. Unscru
pulous persons and corporations have
abused the spirit of these laws, and title
to great tracts of timber land has been
acquired by doubtful -or even questionable
means, causing at the same time the bur
den of complaint to fall upon legislation,
the original purpose of which was to pro
tect the people of state and Nation against
the dire Influences of careless or wanton
forest denudation.
Forestry in its widest sense means a ra
tional treatment of the forest To tins It
would seem that no loyal citizen could
take exception, but since few of our citi
zens realize what Is meant and intended
by a rational forest treatment, It is no
surprise that a great uproar has been
made against the practice of the Govern
ment in creating reserves and issuing
withdrawals.
It Is only in the older sections of the
country and world that the people fully
understand the Importance of this sub
ject. It is not strange that the people of
a state In Its lusty youth should look ask
ance at a parent-Government as It lays
hold one of its' great natural re
sources and says: "Only to use; not to
abuse." And especially when the child
has grown up well-nigh Ignorant of the
real value and far-reaching Influences of
such resource, not alone upon its present
needs, but its future welfare, physically,
socially, financially, morally and spiritu
ally. One needs but to see .Southern France
and other portions of continental Europe
to appreciate how the wanton destruction
of the forest area debases the- man by
making the country bleak., inhospitable
and unproductive.
Some months ago Mr. Gifford Finchot,
at a meeting in Portland, said: "It is the
purpose of the Government to use. for per
manent forest reserves only such territory
as will insure to the people of a state
larger returns when kept growing timber
trees than when used for other purposes."
This Is the keynote of Intelligent for
estry Jn any section. The common error
of confusing game preserves and forest
reserves . is responsible for much of the
misunderstanding that exists in the com
mon mind today regarding the Govern
ment forest policy.
Nation Wilt Adopt System.
Temporary withdrawals of forested
areas are necessary in order that a full
study of the existing conditions of the
section may be made. When it is found
that the area seems to promise better re
turns as a tree-raising tract, then it Is
put into a reserve. This does not mean
that It is withdrawn from public or na
tional usefulness. -Lt merely implies that
a national system, approved by the best
intelligence the Government can com
mand, will be instituted to harvest the
mature crop upon the land and protect
the future crops that will arise from the
young growth upon the land. This course
Insures a perpetual crop upon land which,
as Is too often seen at present, following
the -wasteful, methods of pioneer lumber
ing, is left unfit for any use. It does
not follow from this course that private
enterprise wil be hampered. But It will
follow that the lumbering crews on the
National domain will adopt the very best
improved methods for handling the crop
under the supervision of trained experts
in the Government service.
Land lying within the reserved-timber
tracts that will give a larger income from
grazing than from lumbering will, in due
time, be used for pasturage. . The pastur
ing will be done not as in the past, ac
cording to the whims and fancies of each
stock-owner, but according to" a well-devised
system through which means the
very highest returns compatible with per
manency shall be obtained from the tracts
pastured.
Of Vital Interest to Oregon.
While Eastern Oregon's Interest in for
estry centers largely about that phase of
the subject relating to watersheds, reser
voirs and water retention, the Interest of
"Western Oregon centers largely- In soil
retention, scenic effects, regulation of
waterflow and the perpetuity of a great
Industry upon a - section of the state's
territory upon which no other Industry
could thrive with equal success.
Once the trees are removed from the
western slope of the Cascades, much of
the soil now deposited in the crevices of
rocks and enmeshed with tree roots will
slip down into the valleys below; rocks
now kept in place and gradually under
going decay through the presence of mois
ture and low plant forms would be ex
posed to such open weathering Influences
as would check and break them off. These
fragments in their course down the moun
tain slopes and along the streams in
flood times become the boulders which
are deposited oftentimes in great masses
along the river's course or spread out on
some fertile valley.
The destructive results of such an ero
sive action are exemplified in miniature
In every hydraulic mining section. To
remove the timber from the Cascades
without due consideration for its contin
uous renewal would be to make the Wil
lamette "Valley the resting, place for the
tailings of a system of eros'ion that would
BLANKETS
FLANNELS
ROBES
CASS1ERES
SKIRTINGS
MACK1NAWS
ETC., ETC.
OREGON CITY
WOOLEN M I LLS
OREGON CITY MANUFACTURING CO.
OREGON CITY, OREGON
THE LARGEST WOOLEN MILLS OIN THE
, ' " PACIFIC COAST
CASS1MERE and
FLANNEL
SHIRTS
FLANNEL
UNDERWEAR and-
MACKINAW
CLOTHING '
TEARLESS)
DEALERS, WRITE TO US FOR PRICES
DO BUSINESS DIRECT WITH MANUFACTURERS
surpass anything yet recorded In the his
tory of our civilization.
Only through such perpetual, judicious
oversight as a Government may give can
we hope to see a system followed In the
harvesting- of the timber crop of the Cas
cades that will perpetuate the crop, main
tain the beneficent influences of fore3tal
cover on our rough and broken mountain
ranges, and keep intact an industry the
Importance of which is growing day by
day at a marvelous pace. v
Playgrounds for the People.
In many sections of New England are
quite considerable areas of abandoned
lands which were formerly occupied by
prosperous bomes. In later years much
of this land has become covered with an
Indifferent growth of timber;" It Is now
being resettled, and instead of cropping
the land as before, the new settlers are
raising a crop of "Summer b'oarders,
with astonishing profit." The congested
life of the great cities Is looking1 to
these woodland homes for recreation, and
In conjunction with the mountain resorts
they are becoming the great revitalizing
agents in the high-pressure civic life of
our day.
The time is coming when the great
masses of people that will be settled upon
our Coast and in the irrigable sections of
the interior will find it necessary for
their best development that they have a
timbered playground where they;may be
revivified each year. And this playground
In a section producing annual crops of
valuable lumber would be the acme of
economy. A forest 'area In which are
maintained the necessary roadways and
water courses for efficient field service Is
the very best of outing region for the
masses.
With each year the health-giving air
and waters of our mountains, their sub
lime scenery, majestic snowpeaks and
giant trees, will draw-hither a host of
health-seekers, tourists, mountain-climbers,
sightseers and others a secondary
crop that will supplement the lumber In
dustry, and In time be like that of New
England, one of "astonishing profit to
the people" of the state.
E. R. LAKE.
Corvallls, Dec 12.
Fine Wines t
i and Liquors
AGENTS FOR EUREKA AAA. OLD
TENNESSEE, "WHITE RYE WHIS
KIES, AND ALL LEADING BRANDS.
Cor. Third and Ash Sts.
PORTLAND .. .. OREGON
FRITZ STROBEL ' CHAS. BARENSTECHER
Proprietors ancl Managers .
HOTEL
AND LOUVRE CAFE
COR. FOURTH AND ALDER, PORTLAND
Cuisine, Table and All Appointments the Finest and Un
excelled in Portland.
SPECIAL ATTENTION PAID TO QUESTS
COLUMBIA SOUTH EKN KAIL-ROAD GOMPANt
WHAT IT HAS DONE
SEMI-ARID
AND IS DOING FOR THE RECLAMATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF
DESCHUTES VALLEY, WHERE SAGEBRUSH IS GIVING WAY
TO FIELDS OF WAVING GRAIN
THE
Deschutes Valley.
O much has been written of the
future development and possi
ble growth of the Deschutes
Valley that the writer of this arti
cle Is practically without a subject In
that direction. However, since the
development of the country during
the past year has made for us a
foundation of facts, It may be ad
mitted that much that has been writ
ten before was to some extent a mat
ter of speculation.
No less than 1000 homesteaders have
found homes In Crook County during
the year 1&03. Large areas of land,
two years ago barren of vegetation
other than a very little grass and a
wonderful growth of sagebrush, have
been transformed Into thrifty farms
producing, generally, much better
crop of every variety of grain than
was anticipated by the most hopeful
settler. Land that was supposed to
require irrigation to Insure anything
more than the return of the seed has
shown wonderful productive qualities
under adverse conditions. Nature was
not particularly kind to the settler
In Crook County this year. Yet, not
withstanding the precipitation and
other climatic conditions were below
the average, the crops throughout the
entire county were. In some cases,
25 to 30 per cent better than many
outside localities, and where irriga
tion was possible the grain and hay
crops were immense. The soil and cli
mate are well adapted to producing the
highest grade of sugar beets. This
fact was abundantly demonstrated
during the past season in a number
of localities along the Deschutes
River. It needs no further demonstra
tion to prove that sugar-beet raising
will establish a profitable industry
here. Soft, clear water for use in
manufacture, and water power for the
machinery, as well as the Irrigation
so essential in this business to carry
the beets through the heat of Sum-,
mer, all combined will Induce the
colonization In certain districts of the
class of labor that will insure success
in the production of beets in large
quantities.
One Ditch Done.
About November 1, the finishing
touches were put on the Columbia
Southern Irrigation Company's first
ditch, and the enterprise Is safely on
Its feet. There aro about 40 miles of
ditch main, laterals and sublaterals,
and fully 10,000 acres of the company's
segregation are under the ditches.
Perhaps 2000 to 5000 acres of home
steads already in private holdings are
also under these canals. These have
heretofore been cultivated without ar
tificial watering, but they will do
much better under irrigation. Con
struction work on this ditch was be
gun last May under the superintend
ence of Colonel C F. Smith, of La
monta, who Is a man of wide experi
ence in irrigation work. It has been
pursued without interruption to com
pletion. The most difficult part of the
work was at and near the headgates.
The water is taken from the north
side of the Tumello River, in section
2, township IS south, range 10 east.
From there a shelf cn the side of the
mountain was made for a distance of
about two and a half miles to -carry
the canal. On the upper side ,the
bank rises precipitously about 40 feet,
and on the lower side there Is a de
scent nearly 'as great On this part
of the route the water is carried on
a very gentle gradient, for a swift
canal plunges into a canyon for an
other mile or so, -and then It emerges
into the open country, where construc
tion was a comparatively simple mat
ter. At one point two miles above
the county-road - crossing, the canal
was blasted out of the solid rock for
a distance of about 15 rods. Soon
CANAI. OF COLUMBIA SOUTHERN IRRIGATION COMPANY.
current would be likely to do damage
there. About a mile and a half" below
the headworks Is a 40-foot fall. This
was very abrupt when the canal was
made, but It has since been modified'
by the washings of the current. Half
a" mile farther along the course the
water rushes down a steep hill about
80 feet Both these falls afford fine
water-power that will doubtless be
utilized at some day not far distant
Coming oft the artificial shelf, the
after the water was turned In to run
across that spot a leak developed, and
it was found that most of the contents
of the ditch were escaping into the
recesses of the basalt A few loads of
pine- needles and fine earth stopped
that leak as suddenly as if a cork bad
been put -in, and there has been' no
further difficulty of that kind. -
The country has a distinct slope to
the Northeastward. In a distanco of
12 miles the main ditch descends an
even 1200 feet' The current in such a
channel Is necessarily rapid,, but there
Is no fear that It will injure the bank9.
The county road between Bend and
Sisters crosses the main canal near
the center of section 16, township 17
south, range 11 east which- Is, per
haps, ten miles from the headworks.
A short' distance below the crossing the
first lateral Is taken, out passing to
the northward about three miles, or
half way to the reservoir site In sec
tions 20 and 21, township' 16 south,
range U east Near where this ditch
crosses the township line a sub
lateral, is taken out and carried more
than a mile to the J. E. Wlmer
desert claim, where It forks and dis
tributes water through sections 21, 27
and 2S.
Another lateral leaves the main canal
on the left-hand side, where it crosses
the line between townships 16 and 17,
passing northerly and branching out
to sections 34, 27, 26, 22 and 23. Almost
directly opposite the head of this
lateral another leaves the main canal
and goes out easterly to carry water
to sections 1 and 2 in 17-11 and sec
tion 36 in 15-11.
In Jthe southeast corner of section
26, 16-11 east another important lat
eral leaves the main canal to carry
water to the northern row of forties
In section 9, 16-12 east a distance of
more than six miles. This passes
through -the Nicholas apd Templeton
homesteads, and the remainder of 'the
course Is through the company's arid
land segregation. One sublateral goes
out to the east part of section 17" and
another on the opposite side up into
section 7.
The main canal passes northward
along the easterly line of section- ,13,
16-11 east then crosses Into township
16-12 east and at the easterly line of
section .7 a little above tfie middle of
the section. Just before it crosses
the township line it gives out another
lateral about" two miles long, leading
- north and bending around into the
north half of section 6, 16-12.
The total length of the ditch, main,
laterals and sublaterals is about 40
miles. The route of the waterway is
so chosen that It is an easy matter to
lead water away on either side.
From the headworks the first ten
miles of canal Is over land more or
less timbered. The remainder of the
course Is through the open, arid coun
try, where irrigation Is essential to
successful agriculture. The soil Is
mych better than the average arid
soils of Oregon and the climate Is not
too severe for the production of ordi
nary fruits. The country served by
the Columbia Southern Irrigation Com
pany is expected to be a great fruit
country.
The company expects to fence both
sides of the canal and erect a tele
phone line along this, with stations
at convenient intervals, so that no
tice may be promptly given at the
headgates of anything requiring" ad
justment of the water supply.
The company Is now engaged In pre
paring a hundred-acre tract for the
purpose of establishing an experi
mental farm. This farm will bo In
creased from time to time when neces
sary; it is to be conducted by a man
of long experience in irrigated lands,
and Is to be conducted solely for the
benefit of the settlers. The early ex-
The Columbia Southern Irrigation
Company is operating under the Carey
desert-land act
The act, commonly known as the
"parey act" Is an act of Congress,
approved January 15, 1302, authorizing
the Secretary of the. Interior, with
the approval of the President to con
tract and agree to patent to the State
of Oregon, " or any other states, as
provided In the act, In which may be
found Government desert lands, not
to exceed 1,000,000 acre's of such lands
to each state, to aid" in reclamation,
settlement cultivation and sale there-
DESCHUTES RIVER NEAR WORKS.
Of the 27,000-acre segregation covered
by this enterprise, considerably more
than half 13 already disposed of under
contract The segregation having
been approved by the state- and the
Secretary of the Interior, a number
of the settlers- have moved on and
commenced Improvements; others will
wait till Spring. A large area of new
land will be under cultivation there
next season, and there is an abund
ance of water for all-comers.
periments will be in the growth of
grains and grasses, sugar beets and
other vegetables, to be followed by
experiments in fruits and berries. In
fact, the experimental station will be
permanent and will certainly expedite
the development of the country.
The Columbia Southern Irrigation
Company will resume work in the early
Spring. It is expected that the balance
of the company's segregation will be
supplied with water by July 1, 1904.
DESERT LAND TO BE IRRIGATED.
of in small tracts to actual settlers
under certain- conditions.
The State of Oregon has accepted, the
grant as provided In the said act and
has framed in a law conditions per
mitting any person, company or per
sons or corporation desiring to enter
Into contract to reclaim, as required
by the acts granting such land3 to
the state, any tract of desert Gov
ernment land in the state.
The state regulations, in substance,
require filings for approval of all
maps, surveys, plans and estimates
for irrigation and reclamation of
desert lands applied for; the state to
regulate the cost of construction of
ditches, maintenance fees (rentals),
and other expenses.
Under the state regulations- the en
tire expense of construction of ditches
necessary to reclaiming said lands is
divided prorata per acre for each
tract or subdivision, and the irriga
tion company Is given a lien as se
curity for the cost of reclamation,
with Interest at 6 per cent per annum,
from the time said land is reclaimed
until said lien shall have been satis
fied. It is the duty of the State I,and
Board 'to ascertain and fix the amount
of the lien In advance and to insert it
in the contract between the state and
the irrigation company.
Under this act any citizen of the
United States may, on application to
the irrigation companies, secure not
less than 40 acres nor more than 160
acres of such reclaimed lands, regard
less of exhausted land rights.
Full information concerning these
lands and the way to acquire them may
be obtained on application to the
general office of the Columbia Southr
ern Irrigation Company, 547-"Worcester
block, Portland, Or.