12
THE MORNING OREGOXIAX. 'MONDAY, AUGUST 21, 1905.
PHASES OF INDUSTRIAL GROWTH IN THE STATE OF OREGON
ITER IS LIFE
TO THE SOIL
What Irrigation Means to the
Development of the State
of Oregon.
LANDS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE
Progress Mado in Bringing Arid
Tracts Into Cultivation and
Plans Which Arc Formed
for New Projects.
If much of this pagre Is this "week
given to water and Its work it Is be
cause at this time the subject is en
grossing: general attention. The Trans
Mississippi Congress, -which has Just
closed its sessions, converted itself into
an irrigation congress for much of its
time. Mr. Newell, of the Reclamation
Service, is in v Oregon, has been vis
iting the irrigation sites, and deter
minations have been arrived at of the
greatest consequence to Oregon. The
Telegram printed on the 17th a long
account of the general situation sup
plied by "one of the attaches of the
Government Reclamation Service" now
in Portland, whose modesty concealed
his name. He states the main point In
these few words: "In Oregon there are
at least 2,000,000 acres of land which
can be irrigated, and the flow of all
' the rivers and sources of water supply
for this amount of land aggregates
enough water to cover 12,000,000 acres
one foot in depth. Of these 2.000.000
acres about 440,000 acres have been
reclaimed through private enterprise."
Largo Acreage Involved.
Later on, how.ever. It apears that
140,000 is the number of irrlgate'd
acres assigned to Oregon In the last
census. On this basis at least 200,000 to
240,000 acres "more should be added as
the result to date of rocent Irrigation
works, outside of operations in prog
ress but not yet completed. The fur
ther statement is quoted from the same
source that the investigations of the
department "to date show that in time
there may be added to the 440,000
l.Joo.906 or 1,500,000 acres more." The
significant statement follows that this
addition " must come mainly thrdugh
large and cxponslve works, many of
which are out of the range of possibil
ity until the railroads penetrate near
where these must be located.
One point before passing on: "All the
normal flow of the streams in Eastern
Oregon is appropriated, and in many
instances over appropriated." So says
this expert. Judging from the enor
mous number of lilings, in both Eastern
and Western Oregon, this may be true.
Rut if so a heavy crop of litigation is
being .sown, of which the suit In Uma
tilla County with 2000 interested par
ties, and among them the State of Ore
gon (which was referred to In last
week's Industrial page) is the first
fruit. The whole system of water
claims, past and present, Is another
illustration of the same want of fore
sight which In forestry matters has
landed Oregon In the worst of trouble.
The State of Oregon In relation to her
rivers and streams proceeds to try to
shut the door after the best horses In
the stable have been stolen.
Plans at Klamath Lake.
The following communication from
Klamath Falls brings up to date the
story of that reclamation project and
its relation to the surrounding country
of vast possibilities.
KLAMATH FALLS. Or., Aug. 20. Within
a few weeks the Government will call for
bids for the construction of a portion of
the Klamath project. This statement is
issued to the landowners under the project
as the Joint assurance of the Reclamation
Service and the directors of the Water
Veers Association. The service has sub
mitted estimates to the "Washington office,
and as soon as certain requisite legal form
alities on the part of the landowners are
observed, the Government will advertise for
bids. The directors of the association state
that these legal matters will be attended
to within a few days.
A conference- was held here this -week
between Chief Engineer Newell and Super
vising Engineer Llpplncott, of the Recla
mation Service, and the directors of the
Water-Users Association, representing the
landowners. Mr. Newell stated the adnge.
"Haste makes waste," has been peculiarly
Justified in the history of Irrigation enter
prises. The Reclamation Service has been
sometimes criticised because It spent so
much time in preliminary Investigation,
stream measurements, topographical sur
veys,, soil testing and study of conditions
affecting the proposed work. It waa be
cause such investigations were neglected
that so many Irrigation enterprises have
been such lamentable failures. The criti
cisms of tho service were natural and not
unanticipated, "but the Reclamation Serv
ice," said Mr. Newell, "would not be rushed
by them Into hasty, ill-advised action. If
the service erred. It would be on the side of
safety." But while the service Is not hasty,
neither Is it dilatory. The surveys on the
Klamath project have been prosecuted with
unusual rapidity, and the service Is now
ready to advertise for bids. Just how soon
this Is done depends now altogether upon
the landowners.
In answer to an inquiry, Mr. Newell stated
that the service did not ask of the owners
cf private lands impossible or unreasonable
conditions; that the project embraces a
number of canal systems, and work on all
could not be commenced at the same time,
nnd that as soon as a sufficient percentage
of the private lands under any one system
was properly subscribed to the association,
work on that system would be commenced.
The Irrigable area In the Klamath proj
ect proper is 250,000 acres. The original
estimate was 235,000 acres, but it has been
decided to install two pumping plants, which
will provide water for 15.000 acres. The to
tal estimated cost is $4,500,000. or an aver
age cost of ?18 an acre. Of the Irrigable
area, approximately 130,000 acres are now
lake lands and covered by water, ranging
from two to 12 feet In depth There will
be no public lands under the project sublect
to entry for several years, as the public area
Is confined to the lake lands, which cannot
be entered until runy reclaimed. the
Government does not desire that its land
be placed in competition with private lands
which must be sold. Since the Government
cannot sell a water right to any one nerxnn
for more than 160 acres, a large acreage of
Tne private tioiuings must De sola. Present
prices average from $12 to $50 per acre.
The people of the Klamath country real
ize that the Reclamation Serx'ico has madi
remarkable progress In forwarding this
work. T. H. Humphreys, project engineer.
arst began tne investigations 14 months
ago. under direction of J. B. Llpplncott,
supervising engineer, ine proposed work
involved the lowering of the water levels
of certain navigable lakes. In part nax-lga-ble
waters of the United States. Authoriza
tion to do this had to be obtained from
Congress ana rrom tne Legislatures of
Oregon and California. Strong opposition
to the bill developed In Congress. A pri
vate corporation had undertaken the work
of putting in a large Irrigation system and
refused to sell except at a prohibitive fig
ure. There were several other ditches and
many riparian interests -to be considered.
There were no reliable records of preclpita-
tion and run-off. An engineering force had to
be organized and set to work. Obstacles of
various kinds were encountered. To earn
out the previsions of the law. contracts from
the private landowners, a great mast' of
thorn nonresidents, had to be obtained. Yet,
after only 14 months of ceaseless activity,
the sen-Ice announces that It Is ready to
begin construction.
Two railroads to connect this country with
tho Southern Pacific line in California hav
locating parties in tho field, and both prom
ise to reach here next year. The people
will welcome either er both of these roads,
but they are anxious for direct rail connec
tion with Portland. They feel that Port
land Is thHr natural market, and they ap
predate the advantage that would result In
having two competing markets.
Joseph Jacobs, consulting engineer of th
Reclamation Service and formerly engineer
of the Southern Pacific, made the following
statement in regard td" probable railroad
business:
"It is. of course, difficult to predict the
exact future tonnage this country ntlgtu
yield for transport by rati, as a result of
the building of this project, but the follow
ing data may. in a measure. Indicate its
possibilities: Klamath Falls, th county
seat of Klamath County, has at the present
time a population of 1209. and the popu
lation of the county Is about 5000. The
Federal project, as now planned, contem
plates the Irrigation of 234,000 acres of
land, an area easily capable of supporting
a community of 50,000. The dry lands with
Irrigation are adapted to culture of tho
hardier fruits, grain and alfalfa, while th
swamp lands, when reclaimed, will. open up
rich tule-peat lands, admirably adapted to
truck farming and to culture of the vari
ous forage plants required for dairy inter
ests, an industry which has proven. s
highly profitable In the bottom land 0
tho Sacramento and the San Joaquin val
leys. Beet culture also promises to become
an extensive industry In this basin. The
extensive hill pasturage afforded here makes
this an excellent stock country, and there
are now being shipped from this district
some 25.000 head of cattle per annum.
With the largo Increase in forage crops for
Winter feeding that will result from irriga
tion, this industry will expand, and Is sum
to become one of the chief Hcraents of the
future wealth of the country. The timber
Interests of the country are highly valuable,
and any railroad entering It must pass for
much of Its length through a rich belt ot
yellow pine and red fir. The country
abounds in uneurpassd pleasure resorts, with
fishing, hunting, boating and the proximity
of Crater Lake to make It Inevitably a
Mecca for the Summer pleasure-seeker.
There exists here hydro-electric power pos
sibilities to assist in the general develop
ment of the country, and some, of these
arc now being exploited. When the full
agricultural possibilities of the country will
have been achieved. Its exports. It Is be
lieved, will aggregate not loss than 20.00
cars of freight per annum, and most of It
will bo of a clans to yield substantial tar
iffs. One other matter worthy of mention
Is the advantageous eastern outlet for any
lino of railroad built Into the Klamath
country. Lying in a general northeasterly
direction from Klamath Falls, thore, Is a
series of Irrigation projects, embracing In
the aggregate about 800,008 acre's of land.
Some of these are now being seriously con
sidered by the Federal Government, and
doubtless all are destined some day to be
built, when transportation and other ele
ments affecting their cost make thorn feasi
ble." Steamer Piles the Waters.
In this connection may be noted tho
launching of the new steamer. The Kla
math, at Klamath Falls, to begin her run
between Klamath Falls and Laird's Land
ing, at the lower end of Little Klamath
Lake. Forty mllOH by stage from Laird's
Landing takes tho passengor to Bartels.
the present terminus of the McCloud-rlver
railroad. That road runs to Upton on
the Southern Pacific Railroad, in Siskiyou
County. California thence to San Fran
cisco. Next July the McCloud railroad
Is expected at Laird's Landing. From
present appearances it will be on hand
on time, and the direct route from San
Francisco Into Southeastern Oregon will
be opened The most accessible point to
an Oregon road will be Shanlko, or
wherever the terminus of the Columbia
Southern may then be.
The Meed railroad peopio arc not Idle
meanwhile. See the following Item from
the Lake County Examiner; tho "here"
being Klamath Falls:
"Mr. A. 1x Peysar. meinbor of tho firm
of S X. Wood & Co.. of San Francisco,
arrived here yesterday morning. Mr. Pey
ser came up from the city with a party
of San Francisco business men with a
view to securing the trade of Southeast
ern Oregon for their city over the new
railroad to tap Klamath County from
"Weed."
For tho benefit of all who believe In
rMnnnmm that settlement and de
velopment of a country must precede the
railroad's entrance the statement Li of
ficially made by the president of the Ne-vada-Callfornla-Oregon
railroad, now
building to Klamath Lake, before the Cal
ifornia 9tate Board of Equalization. The
road is. of course. Incomplete and in
fant. The statement follows:
"The Nevada-Callfornla-Oregon road
has 143.64 miles of road, valued at $117,950.
The" rolling stock is valued at $17,060. The
gross earnings from operation were $204.
200.95. The operating expenses were $116.
336.37. leaving a net income from oper
ating' of $SS.S64.59. The Income from mis
cellaneous sources amounted to J2K5.93,
giving a total net income of $91,520.57. In
terest on the funded debt, taxes, bet
terments, ni'-ditlons, etc.. amounted to
$60,352.05. leaving a surplus of,$3L16S2.
"In speaking of the buslness-of the
road. Dunaway said that there had been
no Increase in the volume over the pre
ceding year. The transportation of cat-
try were the main lncomos of the two
roads.
New uses for Irrigation appear every
week.
Hopyards are now backing it up. The
Eugene Guard prints the following:
"Seavey Bros., the well-known hop
prowers, having one of the largest and
HARPER RANCH, ON THE RESERVOIR
finest yards on the coast, -situated In the
McKenzie bottom about six miles north
oast of Eugene, have Just purchased a
centrifugal steam pump, with a capacity
of 1.000,000 gallons of water per day, for
the purpose of irrigating their hops.
"This action has become necessary on
account of Jie intense heat of the past
few weeks greatly Injuring the hops,
drying up the loaves and young hops
so that they are 'falling off. It Is hoped
by a thorough system of irrigation to
prevent further Injury and Insure a better
crop. At least one other prominent
grower of Lane County will follow the
Seavey Bros.' example and Irrigate his
yard."
Even the -Rogue River Valley falls Into
line. In the Mcdford Mall appears the
following:
"J. S. Barnett the nurseryman. Is hav
ing groat success with an Irrigating plant,
lie has installed an electric motor and
with It he forces water to all parts of
his land by means of pipes and a four
inch centrifugal pump. His wator supply
is furnished by a.'well only ten feet deep,
and the pump constantly in motion falls
to lower the water to any noticeable de
gree." Oysters, in Oregon.
When Pofessor F. L. Washburn was
State Biologist, he took groat interest in
introducing Eastern oysters Into.. Oregon
waters. Yaqulna Bay was the site chosen.
and the problem was If these Eastern
oysters could be prevailed on to spawn so
far from home. The professor's anxiety
appeared to be rewarded the nuptials of
the oysters were duly accomplished, and
millions of oysters-to-be were produced.
Alas! Western Pacific waters were too
cold, and none of the babies came to ma
turity. But tne older ones, the parents,
grew wonderfully well. The professor's
mantle has fallen on competent shoulders.
Last Spfing. Dr. M. M. Davis, of New
port, ordered thousands on thousands of
Infant Eastern oysters sent to him. They
arrived in Oregon well and happy, and
were deposited in their beds. When they
came they were about the size of a bean.
They have grown to be as large as half
a dollar already, and arc. seemingly, pros
poring. In three years' time from their
arrival here they will be merchantable,
and a new industry will be an accom
plished fact-
Pure blood Is necessary to enjoy perfect
health. Hood's Sarsaparllla Insures both.
t -v
SITE, MALHEUR PROJECT, OEGON.
WOOL - BALING SEASON" FOR
EASTERN OREGON.
Products of tho Dairies and the
Profits Which Come From
This Industry.
The wool-baling season at Pendleton has
closed, with the result that 6.000.000 pounds
of Eastern Oregon wool has been baled In
the Furnish wool warehouse. Twenty
mon on the average have found employ
ment since April 25. It Is understood that
this figure Is double the total of last
season's work.
It Is noted in the Corvallls Times that
the price of butter-fat at the creamery
has risen to 274 cents a pound. Tho price
stood at 22V2 cents only a few days ago.
In previous years the price has ranged
during the early Summer months from 15
to 17 cents. This year for a very short
time It was as low as 19 cents. The high
values now prevailing can hardly be tak
on as normal, as the shortness of tho
grass since hay time, in consequence of
the continuous dry weather, is the main
cause of a slim supply of milk. But. with
due allowance for this, dairying is prof
itable In Western Oregon to a degree that
Justifies the claim which Is put forward.
Shortly stated, this claim Is that each
cow. of good average but not extra qual
ity, will return to her dairying owner $6 a
month for the year round. This sum
comes in on the monthly checks from the
creamery- Add the value of the skimmed
milk for calves, hogs and chickens add
also the value of the calf, and then sum
up the worth of the dairy cow to her
owner.
Doubtless the silo on many aWUlam
ette Valley farm has been opened during
this dry time and its moist contents add
ed to the dairy cow's rations. If emp
tied, there will be time to have It filled
again with the corn now growing so fast
on well-nigh every dairy farm.
Hood River has prospered, and is pros
pering, so soundly and well under the in
fluence of combination among her fruit
raisers, they have shown the way so suc
CLEAR LAKE RESERVOIR SITE (CALIFORNIA), KLAMATH rROJECT.
UPPER DAM SITE,
- V
cessfully that the example Is being fol
lowed. Rogue River is the next to act
There are several other districts in the
state where similar action Is most de.
slrable. For the label to Indicate and
guarantee quality is all-important. This
label should speak for more than the
quality of the fruit It should stand for
careful picking and packing and for cor
respondence with name and designation.
The Grant's Pass Courier says:
"It Is the plan of the organizers of
the Josephine County Fruitgrowers' Union
that It shall, market apples, pears, peach
es, cherries, berries, melons and other
perishable farm products. The union will
purchase at wholesale, and supply the
members at cost, boxes, nails, paper,
spraying pumps and spray compounds.
Growers will be Instructed as to varieties
of fruit that are most salable, what fruits
are best adapted to certain lands, and how
to plant, cultivate, phune, and spray their
trees. The picking and packing will be
done In accordance' with the rules of the
union and an expert packer will be em
ployed to visit orchards, the fruit of
which is to be handled by the union,
and Instruct the packers, where needed,
how to properly do their work. All boxes
and crates shipped by the union will bear
a stencil giving the name and address of
the union, the number of the grower and
the number of the packer.
"The label will also show the kind of
fruit In the box and the number It con
tains If of apples, pears, peaches, etc..
and If of cherries, berries, etc.. the num
ber of pounds. During the shipping sea
son a manager, to have charge of 'the
packing and shipping, will be employed,
as will also a bookkeeper. Warehouses
will be rented or built In the various
towns along the railroad from which
shipments will be made, the headquarters,
though, of the union, will be at Grant's
Pass."
NEW ENTERPRISES STARTED
What Is Being Done In the Way of
Modern Industry.
"The Oregon Produce Company has
Just completed a new storage building,
which for size and completeness has no
superior in. the state. The building cov
ers a ground space of 60x110 feet, and
has a basement ten feet high. The build
ing Is substantially built of brick. This
building, with the one across the street,
which was completed last year, will have
MALHEUR PROJECT.
a capacity of 300 carloads of produce.
The new building will be fitted up this
WInter-wlth an Ice-making plant capable
of manufacturing ten tons of Ice each 24
hours. Mr. Gust stated that the Ice plant
would be Installed In time for the Win
ter trade," says the La Grande Observer.
In view of the possibilities of Eastern
Oregon and of the Immense acreage
there adaptable to this "Industry It Is In
teresting that only 3300 acres should have
yielded 30,000 tons of beets and have
kept the La Grande sugar factory at
work last year. Evidently here is an In
dustry such as the booklet writers call
"capable of Indefinite extension." It Is
understood also that the product named
Is one-fourth larger than In any previous
year.
Although not actually placed In Ore
gon the new enterprise described below
Is In line with the suggestion of the pos
sibilities of Eastern Oregon. The esti
mated cost of land, buildings, machinery
and" equipment Is stated to be $1,125,000.
In all sincerity we. In Oregon, may both
wish and predict success for this under
taking. It should bo the forerunner of
coffxmi nthon In the Harney and Mal
heur country and in the Irrigated region
of Crook County. The location chosen
Is Nampa, Idaho, the recent purchases
there aggregating 600 acres, over w ui
which are contiguous, where the factory
Is to be built. The Nampa Leader pub
lishes the following details, the cost of
the land having been $20,000:
"There has been some question as to
whether the building would be built
of cement blocks or brick, but It has
been finally decided to build of brick.
The main building wKl be of pressed
brick and steel entirely fireproof. It
will be 102 feet long, 20S feet wide, highest
point 90 feet, with average height of SO
foot Th truck sheds will be 500 feet long
and ISO feet wide. The sugar house will
be SO feet wide and 120 feet long, ine
total number of brick to be used will be
vjvrtvf The factory will have a storage
capacity for 23,000 tons of beets. The en
tire institution, -including tracKs, wind
er 100 acres of ground. The machinery,
ttrith wplehs 2000 tons, has been ordered.
and will be delivered here January L"
STRAWBERRIES IN ENGLAND
Care in Picking and 'shipping Pre
vent All Waste.
Last month's Issue of a well-known
English magazine published an article on
strawberry-srowing for the market In
Northern Hampshire, a district about 50
miles south of London. The crop Is on a
large scale, about 30.000 baskets a day be
ing shipped from Botley Station, while
the season lasts. The basket weighs five
pounds. About 120 pickers were at work
In the field vlslted.a majority of whom
were women and boys of 16 or IS years.
The stalk of each ripe berry Is pinched
In two, the fruit being untouched by the
fingers, and bad or rotten fruit kept out
at all cost. The picker having filled her
or hla basket, carries It to one of the
little shanties dotted here and there over
the field. There half a dozen packers are
at work. The strawberries are weighed
first, then a paper tied over the top of
each basket, giving name of fruit, name
of grower, and destination of consignment.
Within an hour from picking the fruit
is weighed, packed and In the wagon car
rying it to the depot- For handling the
over-ripe fruit a Jam factory Is established
In the .center of the district, about seven
miles from the field in question. This
surely is a hint for Oregon. An Eastern
buyer visiting Hood River for the first
time a few weeks ago, could not believe
but that he was seeing the season's crop.
In vain was he told that the season was
over, and that all he saw was the leav
ings and ends for which no market ex
isted. This Western country bears tho accusa
tion of wastefulness, and a few facts like
this justify it.
The English strawberry pickers receive
good wages, a skilled picker earning as
much as 24 cents an hour. Pickers are
paid every day when work Is over, and
carry homo from $2 to $2.50. From this
strawberry center the fruit trains go to
every large city In Great Britain, and
some nre shipped to Ireland. The refrig
erator cars are fitted with shelves for the
baskets. The fruit trains get the right of
way and pass ahead of all other freight.
Tho fruit being picked and packed with
care, and receiving rapid carriage, arrives
fresh at their destination, the motto of
the wholo business being "care and
speed."
OF
NITROGEN GAS USED
GERMICIDE.
AS
California Thinks It Hns Solved
Method of Keeping Fruit
From Decaying.
For many years process after pro
cess hns been invented and tried for
preserving ripened fruit. The house
hold purgatory known as "putting up
fruit" survives to the cost of many
an overburdened housewife In town and
country. The line of experiment and
Invention takes the direction of con
serving the freshness and quality of tne
raw ripe fruit, or else, of some sort
of preparation by boiling or steam
ing, ending In canning or bottling
under heat sufficient to expel most of
the enclosed air. The former art. that
of keeping good the raw, ripe fruit
has ended In the refrlgertor car. The
conditions of that traffic. Involve tho
carload as the unit, call for the Icing,
of which we have heard so much, and
open tne door to the exactions of Earle
and Armour and the rest.
The most promising of the pro
cesses on the other line, that of treat
ing the ripe fruit to be put up In bot
tle or can, was the exhausting of the
air from can or bottle and hermetically
sealing down the lid or cover by the
sudden admission of outside air Into
the exhausted, receiver. Although ex
cellent results followed If the process
were faithfully and carefully complet
ed, yet It Involved the use of some
simple machinery, and it has never
come Into general use.
But. If tho forecast of a new method.
Is Justified In practice a revolution In
the whole industry may follow. A Cal
ifornia paper printed It and it has Just
been reprinted here. So far It has
passed without general comment. Evi
dently the scope of the new process 13
very wide and growers and fruit pack
ers should lose no time In Informing
themselves about it. As will be seen
the leading idea of exhausting the air
from the receptacle for the fruit is
adopted, but the substitution of ni
trogen gas. as germ-killer and fruit
preserver is. so far as is known, new
when applied on a commercial scale.
"A packing-house has been constructed
and outfitted at Antioch which, if success
ful, will revolutionize the fruit Indus
try of California. The process, as wo
unstand It, consists of packing fruit
In airtight Cases, from which all air has
been extracted by means of suitable ma
chinery, and this air Is replaced with
nitrogen gas. It is claimed for the pro
cess that the gas arrests decay, destroy
ing the bacteria of the ferment which
causes decomposition, and that any arti
cle packed In this manner will retain its
condition Indefinitely. There being no dis
ease germs In the package. It Is Impos
sible for decomposition to set In. and as
a result the fruit so packed will retain
Its qualities until it is desired for use.
By this means fruit can be shipped In
a fully ripe condition to any part of the
world with the assurance that it will ar
rive at Its destination In exactly ths
same condition It was In when shipped.
It will do away with the necessity for
reingeration. ana. m short. If successful.
win completely revolutionize the fruit
Industry, and add millions to th
of California. That the projectors havo
faith In their enterprise Is evidenced in
the fact that they have erected very ex
tensive works at Antioch, that they havo
done It quietly and without any desire of
notoriety, and that thov havn nut- rorv
large sums of money Into their buildings "
If this method succeeds we shall buy
airtight cases or boxes of any convenient
size, pierce ana remove tne cover, ami
find ripe fresh fruit In the same condition,
as when shipped.
OF MINES AND MINING.
Cinnabar In Blackbutte Is Found In
Paying Quantities.
A great future lies ahead of the cin
nabar, or quicksilver, mines at Black
butte in Lane County. For a model
of the new plant and furnace designed
by W. B. Dennis, the manager of tho
company, see the mining building at
the Exposition. '
The folowing notes condensed from
a description in the Denver Mining
Record, will recall the main features
of the new plant and furnace:
The features of the furnace of tha
Blackbutte mines that give it a wklo
load over roasting furnaces operated
on cinnabar mines of other districts
is its ability to use wood as fuel, tho
wide range of Its heating zones, which,
run from 600 on the lower to 1400 de
grees Fahrenheit on the higher roast
ing zone, the Increase of its capacity
by "the reduction of the roasting time,
only eight hours being required for a
single roasting, where other plants use
from 24 to 48, and the elimination of,
soot and poisonous gases from the con
densing chambers.
The treating plant now being In
stalled on the mines will have a capa
city of 240 tons dally. In the mean
time the experimental plant of much
smaller tonnage is being operated con
tinually. Tno Blackbutte mines, located at
Blackbuttc.-Kane County, Oregon, aro
among ino dbsi ucveiopea cinnaDar
mines In the state. Blackbutte moun
tain, on which the properties are lo
cated, is pecularly adapted to the for
mation of cinnabar veins. It Is com
posed of an altered andesite, perme
ated by a system of fractures along
tho planes of which the main ore de
position has occurred.
Peculiarly enough, the mercury Is not
only carried in the veins and ledges,
but Is disseminated In small but pay
ing quantity through all parts of tno
country rock lying between the frac
tures. This practically makes the en
tire mountain one huge bulk of low
grade cinnabar.
Taxation of Timber Lands.
Lane County Is to be congratulated
on taking a sensible and far reaching
step towards placing the assessment and
taxation of timber lands on a sound and
logical foundation. Experts have been
retained who will examine the timber
lands of the county, down to areas aa
low as 40 acres. They will report on
quantity of timber, accessibility, value
of land when cleared of timber for
pasturage or agriculture. and tho
market value of the standing timber.
Their report is expected to cost $4000.
Even If so the county will havo mado
a good Investment If one-half is true
that is reported of the value of timber
lands which have either escaped assess
ment, or stand In the roll at ridiculous
values.
NEW "POTTER" SCHEDULE.
Additional Trips to the Beach Arranged for
Popular Steamer.
The T- J. Potter leaves Ash-street dock
for Astoria and North (Long) Beach
points as follows: August 22. 23 and 24. at
9 A. M.: Friday. August 25. 9:40 A. M.:
Saturday, august 26. 1 P. M. Particulars
and O. R. & N. Summer book at City
Ticket Office. Third and Washington
streets, Portland