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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1904)
a PART TWO PAGES 17 TO 32 VOL. XLIII. AVTNG realized $S. 235,000 from the sale of livestock and $4, 595,000 from the sals of dairy products In the year 1S03, the. State of Oregon may fairly boast of being In the front rank among stock raising states, and of thereby having established her claim to have the National Livestock Association hold Its convention in her principal city. With the great area of Eastern Oregon perfectly fitted for cattle, sheep and horses, and the western section devoted to dairy cattle, sheep and goats, while hogs thrive equally In both sections, Ore gon Is peculiarly happy In her two cli mates. Her market for beef is not only at the packing centers of the Missouri Valley, but extends all along the Pacific Coast from Alaska In the north to Cali fornia In the south. Her sheep go to the same markets, while the bulk of their wool goes to the East, though an annually increasing proportion Li consumed In the mills of Oregon. The packing Industry Is extending rapidly, and absorbs a great proportion of the sheep, cattle and hogs raised in the state. The demand for hogs from the local packers has grown to such an extent that it exceeds the supply, and has sent up the price 60 to SO cents a hundred pounds higher than In Chicago, while some lots have even been shipped in from Nebraska. This condition is part ly due to the high price of wheat, with which Oregon hogs are mostly fed, for faraJers grudge hogs their meals of high priced wheat. An industry which Is fast .assuming large proportions In Western Oregon Is the raising of Angora goats, -for which Oregon won the palm at the show at Kansas City. Their growth of mohair not only brings a high price, but Inci dentally they are useful In clearing 'brush land. Oregon butter and cheese are steadily building up a reputation throughout the country, and a constant increase In the number of creameries ad cheese factories causes keen competition for the "milk sup ply of the dairy farms, but Is not more than equal to the demands of the expand ing market. GOOD LANDS FOE CATTLE. Oregon Grows Fat Stock on Plains Dairy Cattle in West. CATTLE-BREEDING and fattening Is one of the main industries of the country east of the Cascade Mountains. In the Bummer the animals feed on the bunchgrass which covers the broad plains and valleys, the bare, treeless hills and mountains and the open, park-like tim bered mountains. In the Fall those grow ers who have hay land begin to feed their stock with hay as soon as the frost has killed the range grass, and they continue this practice until grass grows again in the Spring. Those growers "who have no hay land sell their stock to others In the state or to the great feeding states of the Middle West, to be fed up and fattened for the market The same cus toms are followed to a large extent in Southern Oregon west of the Cascades. The tendency Is more towards finishing and maturing the stock within the state for the home trade, as the area of avail able hay land Increases and the packing business develops on the Pacific" Coast. The northern part of Eastern Oregon Is suspectible of hay culture, which Is now largely pursued, but In the southern coun ties east of the Cascades hay land Is comparatively scarce, so that they are little but breeding grounds, whence the stock is sold to the feeding states of the corn belt. The cattle industry in Eastern Oregon Is undergoing a great change, as It Is In all the other range states. Sheep are crowding out cattle and are so crowd ing the range that they are even crowd ing one another out, as they destroy the grass, and It will need years to recover. The open range of the public domain is almost a thing of the past, for much of It has been appropriated under the land laws In such a way as to render water inaccessible from what remains, and much of the latter has been fenced, even though Illegally. Growing Finished Beef. This steady reduction in the area of open range has strengthened the tendency to grow hay for feed wherever It was pos sible and to mature the cattle at home feeding grounds. It has been found that alfalfa will grow in many sections where this was considered impossible and the Irrigation of other tracts has transformed them from desert to valuable agricultural land. One acre of alfalfa Is worth a hundred acres of grass range for matur ing purposes and in a few years hun dreds of thousands of acres of desert will be Irrigated and taken out of the range class. This will compel the stockmen to fall back on the Interior bunchgrass coun try as a breeding ground and to use the more valuable alfalfa land for fatten ing. As there Is a large area which will never be adapted for any other purpo than range It will always be the supply center for young stock, when other land closer to the cities and better adapted to diversified farming has become too valu able for such use. Consequently Oregon will never lose her supremacy In the livestock Industry, for she can always place under tribute all the conditions of land and climate necessary to produce the best results. She will always have plenty of young cattle: she will always have ample hay and grain .to develop, mature and fat ten them; she will always have a strong local and foreign demand for the finished article, and she will always have intelli gence and energy to take advantage of these ideal conditions Developing Home Market. While the price of young stock in Ore gon has rangejd lower Dy an average of about -half a cent a pound In 1903 than in 1902, an encouraging' feature la a steady, ' firm advance, with growing de- j mand, In the home -market, for heavy beef stock for home consumption and export. This latter tendency has been counter- acted to some extent by the fact that th3 i low Chicago market has thrown more stock on the Pacific Coast market. There has been -small demand in Chicago for Western cattle, for the Eastern feeders had stocked up In the last few years ana, now that the price of corn Is high, are throwing their finished stock on. the mar ket and crowding out the West. This condition has caused the Oregon stockman to turn his attention more to maturing and finishing beef for the Coast trade. While this naturally has a" ten dency to reduce herds. In order to pursue such methods, where the stockman is provided with hay ranches, the profits are greater than in producing large bunches and turning off the half-grown animals for others to mature and fatten. Another point in which the industry Is advancing Is the grading up of range stock by the infusion of good Hereford and shorthorn blood. This process has been carried on by the most progressive stockmen in Eastern and Southern Ore gon, and produces a better and heavier grade of stock, which brings a higher price.. Dairying in Western Oregon. Western Oregon Is so peculiarly adapted to dairying that It has been devoted mainly to the production and maintenance of dairy stock, owing to the large de mand for them and their higher value. The Cascade Mountains have been re garded as the 'natural dividing line be tween the beef and dairy Industries, but a large quantity of beef cattle is even now brought Into Portland from, the Wil lamette Valley for local consumption and packing, as well as for shipment north. If the right kind of breeding .jStock Is brought Into Western Oregon, It will be found to have an- unlimited capacity for growing beef- and the fast growing popu lation removes all fear of a surplus, even after the supply now drawn from Idaho, Montana and Wyoming has been sup planted. THE DAIRY INDUSTRY. Fast Growing Production of Butter and Cheese In Oregon. EXCEPT for a few localities of com paratively small area, the dairy In dustry of Oregon may be said to be con fined to ihe western part of the state, or what is commonly known as Western Oregon. Nor is the greater part of the territory west of the Cascade Mountains devoted to dairying. In fact, only the Willamette "Valley and portions of the Pacific Coast counties may be regarded as dairy regions. Even In the Willamette "Valley dairying Is only a side line with the great majority of farmers. In the lower portion of the valley, on what is commonly known as the Columbia bottoms low, rich land tributary to the Columbia River, are found many exclusive dairy PORTLAND, ranches which produce the greater part of the supply for the retail milk and cream trade of the City of Portland, as well as a large part of the cream which is utilized in the - manufacture of Ice cream and butter by the numerous es tablishments of this nature in the city. In some of the Coast counties, particu larly In Clatsop, Tillamook and Coos, is found the greater proportion of dairy men among the farmer class,' herds of 60 to 75 cows being quite common. Cli matically considered, these counties are Ideal dairy regions. Proximity to the ocean gives a moist summer atmosphere, consequently an abundance of pasturage throughout the growing season. All leguminous croos flourish, and In the Southern Coast counties corn is a heavy producer for silage or green feed. Somo trouble is occasionally experienced in the curing of bay, but by the use of the silo thlSv trouble can be averted. In fact, some of the coast dairymen depend wholly on pasture and outside range, but such persons do not produce milk during the Winter and are not generally considered as a progressive class. Creameries Run All Year. Not many years ago, all creameries and cheese factories in the coast re gions found it advisable to close for' a portion of the Winter. At the present, owing. to. better methods on the part of the milk-producers, many of these fac tories find the milk supply sufficient to warrant a profitable run throughout the Winter season. The principal drawback in these dairy regions is the lack of transportation facilities. Practically all Livestock Census of the United States In 1900. CatU Sheep ...i...- Horses and mules Swine Goats (estimated) Total ..... 67,900.249 61.414,044 21.714.043 63.297.240 2.000.000 216.331.BS5 the dairy pioducts must be shipped by boat, and long delays are frequently met with, owing to the boats being unable to leave or enter the harbors, as the case may be. The transportation problem has perhaps influenced the kind of product, for in the Wilamette Valley and tho Coast regions having railroad facilities, the product Is principally butter, whilo in other portions of the Coast regions it is mainly cheese. Particularly Is this true In Tillamook County. Ten years ago Tillamook butter was an Important product in the Portland markets. At present, with a large Increase in tho number of factories, practically no creamery butter is produced in the coun ty, but the reputation of Tillamook cheese on the Pacific Coast corresponds to that of New York cheese on the At lantic Coast. In the" Willamette Valley the past few years have produced a marked change In the dairy industry. Six years ago the writer visited a large grocery store In the locality just named and was offered a lot of S00" pounds of butter, which the grocer had taken In trade, for five cents per pound. This year the two creamery concerns doing business in tho same town as the grocer Just referred to, paid as their lowest price for butter fat, 20 cents per pound, and OREGON, FRIDAY, JANUARY 1, 1904. the grocer could dispose of the small quantity of "store butter which he took "in trade" for about 12 cents per pound. Not only has the, industry changed largely from the individual dairyman to the factory system, but a change has been undergone in the latter. Four years ago probably less than five per cent of the butter fat received by creameries ar rived -in ' the form of creaml Practically all the' skimming was done at the cream eries. At fthe present time less than five per capt of the butter fat "received Sales of Oregon Livestock In 1803. Outside the state: 15.000 horses - at an average ' or $15 $ 225,000 100.000 cattle-at an -average - of $25 .. 2.500.000 000,000 sheep with their wool. 3.860,000 100,000 hogs 1,250.000 - ToUl $7,835,000 Consumed within the etai.. 1,500,000 Grand total . $9,335,000 by creameries Is delivered In the whole milk, practically all the skimming being done on the farms where the milk is produced by the use of hand separators. Great Change In Methods. It is the opinion of the writer that this change of system has operated .to the detriment of the quality of butter pro duced, yet, paradoxical as It may seem, has brought larger returns to the milk producer. Cream, being a cpndensed pro duct, may be profitably shipped consid erable distances .at the low rates made by the transportation companies. Con siderable quantities of Willamette Valley cream have within the past two years been shipped more than 75 miles. As a result of this condition of affairs, cream, erles have been established in the larger towns and. In reaching out for cream, have como into competition in the same I territory. As competition has become j closer, greater leniency has been shown in accepting cream or lnienor quality, with the result that the- quality of tho butter produced-has suffered accordingly. Again, this sharp competition has re sulted In the creameryman allowing him self a very small margin of profit, in hl3 effort tp pay as much as, or more than, his competitor is offering. Thus the milk producer Is gettinr a portion of the for mer profits of the creameryman. The Dairy Production of Multnomah County In 1903. Product. Quantity. Butter, pounds 1,541,500 Ice cream, gallons 110,000 :1111k consumed In Portland, gallons. 6,570,000 Cream consumed In Portland, gallons. 100,000 "Value. $ 3S5.000 110,000 985,000 60.000 Total ..$1,540,000 price paid for butter fat throughout the greater portion of the Willamette Valley for the past year or more has been very near the prevailing price for butter, whereas about 2 cents less is considered a proper basis of payment. Reports from co-operative creameries in the Mid dle and Eastern States show such a dif ference. In Washington County, the banner dairy county of the Willamette Valley, a chango has taken place In the character of tho product. During the early part of the year 1903, two milk condensing concerns were established in ; this county, one at Forest Grove and one at Hillsboro, which were also .the first concerns of this na ture to be established In the state. A large portion of the milk which was for merly, made into butter now reaches theso condenseriea. For several years past the writer has .urged farmers In different portions of the' mam iu givo mure aiLeuuga iu dairying, holding that if the farmer of the Mis sissippi Valley found dairying profitable at the prices he was able to obtain, and the long periods of Winter feeding with which he must contend, the Industry wou!L be even more profitable under the conditions existing in this state, partic ularly in the western portion. ThS farm ers have often advanced the idea that an increased production, would result- in an oversupply and a consequent falling off in price. The fallacy of this theory Is shown by the steady Increase In prices paid dairymen for the butterfat In their milk and cream during the past few years, along- with a yery material increase in production each year over the year pre ceding. " A comparison of the prices paid -for but terfat from January 1 to December 1, 1903, wifn" the prices of previous years, shows the present price to be consider ably In excess of that paid any previous year since the dairy industry became of any considerable Importance In the state. The following table shows the Livestock In Oregon In 1903. No. Value. Horses 300,000 $ 4,500,000 Cattle 750.000 15.000.000 Sheep 4,000.000 8,000,000 Hogs 200,000 1,000.000 Total $2S,50O,0OO prevailing monthly price per pound paid for butterfat at different points in the state for eleven months of the year .1903, also the Elgin, HL, butter price.. Port- Al- iTilla- Elgin Month. land. bany. mook. butter. January J.3iy," $.32' Sl.k ' -$.214; February 32 .32 .31.8 . .28 March, 32 .32 .35 .28 April 26 .24 .34.5 .26 May 22 .23 .32 .21 June 24 .24 .29.5 .21 July 25 .24 .29.5 .19 August ....... .25 .25 .29.2 .19 September 27 ... .29.5 .20 October A 28 ... .30.0 .21 November 314 ... .28.0 .23 F. L. KENT, Oregon Agricultural College. Corvallls, December 8. SHEEP INDUSTRY THRIVES. All Conditions Ideal for Producing Best Wool. TPT.ti not the largest Industry in tho state, the sheep industry is among the foremost, and certainly one that Ore gon can feel justly proud of. Mr. John MInto, In his article "Sheep Husbandry in Oregon," that 'appears In the September, 1902, number of the quar terly of the Oregon Historical Society, states that the earliest1 mention of sheep was made In 1832, the Hudson's Bay Com pany having then a few at its station. In 1861 sheep were first Introduced Into Eastern Oregon, and for several years, owing to Improper care for Winter and other mismanagement, the success of the venture was anything but profitable; so today, when Oregon has upwards of 2,000,000 sheep and a wool clip of over 17,000,000 .pounds, that ranks first In fine ness and weight per fleece over all the state3, he climate and range conditions must be conducive to producing the best sheep In the United States. Te state Is divided into two sections as regards sheepralslng Eastern and West ern Oregon which means east and west of the Cascade Mountains;- the former predominates In numbers, owing perhaps to the advantage of .open. range, the class of sheep being mostly Merinos, while Western Oregon raises the- long wools. Eastern Oregon-Is Sheep Land. Eastern Oregon will always figure as a great sheep country, being especially adapted for It in so many ways, as the broken, mountainous and rocky country will always afford more or less open range topasture sheep on, and there Is so much of that country that does not offer Induce ments to settlers as farmers. The farm ing lands convenient to such countries are very productive, growing grains of all kinds and making profitable crops. When farmed by sheepmen, the crops are gener ally cut for hay. When water can be taken on such lands, alfalfa is found to make two and sometimes three big crops, leaving splendid pasture for FalL Fifty tons of hay to 1500. sheep is considered sufficient Insurance one year with another to carry them over Wintera when the weather is favorable, little or no hay be ing used, as he sheep grass grows con tinuously during Winter. This grass starts up with the rains In September, .and keeps green until May, when it dries up and goes to seed. Wherever sheep have been pastured this grass grows thicker, and in some places, becomes al most matted. It Is very nutritious, and, when sheep can get it, they will not eat hay. Climate and Feed Ideal. The Oregon climate, with It3 moist and even temperature Summer arid Winter, its beautiful Summer range In the Cas cade" and Blue Mountains, where all -varieties of green, succulent grasses and herbs grow, with good shade and pure wa ter, affords conditions under which sheep cannot help but produce tho best of wool and mutton, while in the Fall and Win ter the ranged in the lower country are again covered with green, nutritious grasses. There Is no wonder that the Oregon wool clip Is the finest and heaviest clip In America, for under such conditions, with thoroughly competent, experienced men In the business, men that have stud led sheep husbandry in its every feature, with all necessary improvements on their holdings to handle those sheepr the result could not be otherwise. The sheep busi ness in Oregon is not a speculation any more, but a good, substantial business proposition. This fact is well proven in the thriving, prosperous town3 in the sheep districts. Western Oregon and Washington have a great future In sheep, when the ownera of timber lands come to know the value of sheep on their cut-off lands. The sheep will keep down the brush and clean up NO. 13,435. all foreign growth on their holdings. The climate and feed are especially adapted to producing mutton, as the breeze from, the ocean means so much to the sheep for mutton that tho time Is not far dis tant when the pasture in the cut-off lands, which now puzzle the owner to find means to keep down the undergrowth, will be sought after for sheep pasture. and, when utilized -for that purpose, will produce revenue for tls owner, as well aa Insure the growth of the young trees. J. G. EDWARDS, Hay Creek, Dec 10. BREEDING- OP HORSES. Oregon Has Unrivaled Means for Pro ducing Best and Swiftest. The superiority of the Oregon horse la all the qualities that give value for draught, speed and endurance Is well marked. This excellence Is not a matter of chance, but the result of skill rein forced by favorable topographical and climatic influences for the development of horses with sound limbs and large lung capacity. Perhaps the most dominant primary factor In this evolutionary pro cess was the great test of endurance to which the pioneer horse was subjected. The six months of long, weary, arduous travel in crossing the Great American Desert was indeed a strenuous test of en durance. Many evidently succumbed lor the want of necessary stamina to with stand the hardships Incident to such travel. It was in the severest sense a weeding out of the weaklings. The horses that survived this trying ordeal became the progenitors of a superior race and the uniformly good quality of our horses today in no small measure Is due to tho Individual excellence of their pioneer an cestry. Our state is exceptionally well suited for the breeding of the various classes of horses. East of the Cascades the climate, soil and vegetation are unexcelled for the production of the light harness, or speed, horse. Mountain streams of pure water, the clear, keen, bracing atmosphere, abundance of nutritious, vegetajtlon and the physical character of this section combine to make ideal conditions for the production of horses with the best of feet, sound in limb and strong of con stitution. It was here the invincible Foster was prepared for his great four mile race. Chehalls, Klamath and many other National celebrities were reared aad developed In this bunchgrass section. The best of feet and limbs and great powers of endurance are characteristic of all the different breeds of horses reared under the environments afforded by this Inland Empire. West of the Cascades the ponderous draft horse finds an ideal home. It Is here we find the finest specimens of the draft horse of the various breeds. Condi tions are all that could be desired for the development of this type. The luxuriant vegetation enables colts of the draft breeds to acquire a great weight at an early age. In addition to size, they are symmetrically developed at maturity with good action and showing plenty of spirit. Despite the 245,638 horses that are main tained in this state, the demand for these draft horses has exceeded the supply for many years. It Is passing strange why greater numbers of them are not pro duced. Prices are certainly encouraging, for it Is not an unusual occurrence to seo good draft horses sell for from $400 to $600 per team. Many excellent specimens of carriage and general-purpose horses are found in this section, the offspring- of native dams , and the Cleveland Bay and French coach horse, and a younger generation coming on, the progeny of the Hackney and German coach horse. The horse-breeding industry In this state presents a very attractive field to energetic, up-to-date farmers. Good markets are assured for horses bred for definite purposes. The all-purpose horse Is a myth and a haphazard breeding is chiefly rewarded with misfits. There are splendid foundations already established upon which a thoughtful, painstaking breeder can erect matchless suprestruc tures of horses for 'draft, speed and tho carriage. JAMES WITHYCOMBE, " Director Oregon Experiment Station. Corvallls, December 17. s HOGRAISING IN OREGON. Profitable Industry and How It Should Be Conducted. FARMERS In Oregon no longer wrestle with the problem: Does it pay to ralse hogs and feed them wheat? But are now using- their pencils to figure out how much it pays, the fact of it being a pay ing business having been settled long ago, and now the Intelligent farmer is going into the business from a business stand point. He first figures out what his feed will cost, and then figures on about what he can expect for his hogs when fat; then he can very easily tell whether he can afford to feed his grain or sell It From experience of ourselves and also of other parties who have made a practice of feeding hogs, we Ann that four pounds of wheat will produce one pound of pork, providing you have good stock of hogs, and feed in careful manner without waste. The possibilities in this state for hogralsing are very great if properly fol lowed out, as alfalfa does well, especially in the eastern part of the state, and makes the best possible pasture for young growing hogs. Our theory Is to give tha young stock all the grain or mill feed they want and run them on good alfalfa pasture, and at 8 to 10 months old you have a marketable hog. As an illustra tion, we bought ten hogs last month, which had been raised in this manner, they all being one litter. Just 9 months old when we bought them, and they weighed 3200 pounds, an average of 330 pounds, bringing at that time $182.50. No Lack of Market. In early days, when a farmer fattened his hogs and bad no assurance that he I would find sale for them when they were ready for the market,-?he frequently had to bacoa them himself and sell hjs bacon.