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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1910)
TTIE MORXIXG OREGOMAN, ( SATURDAY, JANUARY 1, 1910. V S jfT Hi 11 iiw im irn , : . 11 1 Dry Farming Methads "Will Change Sage brush Wastes Into Grain Fields 11 ...... . . . ,v"t I : 1 X By lrofe6or fi. I. Scudrtrr. of Orex" Ae-ricultural College. a7 FTER many days of hard trav el." writes an early pioneer, "we rode up from the pleasant valley of the John Day River over a low raneo of mountains into a great valley of unknown extent." "Of. un known extent" to most of us a vast Inland sea of rolling sand and stricken sago brush, from which come faint rumors of cattle, of sheep, of fenc lines, of road grants, and now at last of railroad clamor. To the dust-laden, Ktage-wearled traveler, who has swayed and clung' and Jolted and choked through a labored passage to this iso lated world, pomes a tremendous im pression of unexpected distances, limit less area, unending horizons, from which blow the keen sweet airs that lempted explorers of old on Into the unknown. Day by day may one glide over the rich, black bottom lands, un dulate over the rolling uplands, labor over the broken lava beds, cross the spreading alkali flats and shallow lakes onlj to come upon still another world of twisted sage brush, far reaching from horlison to horizon. A few scat tered cattle, a. few lonely ranch-houses, a few rudely flooded lowlands, a hand ful of sturdy pioneers, constitute civ ilization in this vast empire of the fu ture. And what is the future of Central Orfffon? Here lies an area of approxi mately 20.000.U00 acres of rolling hills and fertile valleys. New Hampshire,7 Vermont, Massachusetts. Khode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey and Delaware combined, might be set down 7.11 this huge territory and yet leave uncov ered miles around the edges. A good one-third of Oregon here, all but lost from her reckoning, a vast resource, untouched, unheeded. Ten million acres of tillable land 800,000 acres of Irri table land 3,000,000 acres of dry farm ing land yet little more than 200,000 ncreB, or only about one-twentieth of this immense body of good agricultural land, has ever been farmed. In other words, this vast domain contains more good farming land than is now culti vated In all the rest of Oregon east of the Cascades, yet but an inconsiderable fraction of it lias ever felt the plow To say, then, that the production of Central Oregon may be Increased ono hundred' fold is but to name the result of the first step in Its progress. Leav ing aside its great wealth in minerals and forests and water-power, let us consider only Its greatest and most permanent resource its agriculture. Central Oregon 'culture will be forever largely confined to the produc tion of grain, hay and livestock an other empire of wheat and alfalfa and fat stock added to Oregon's ever-growing domain. Every quality of soil and climate is found here for the success ful development of this triumvirate that will lead a prosperous agriculture down the centuries. Where now the Winter overflow floods the native grasses, bringing a luxuriant crop of wild hay, organized effort will store the waters, distribute them over many times their present flooding, ditch the land to leach the alkali and plow and seed the rich silt loam to alfalfa the transformer. Na ture has already inoculated the soil for this crop and surrounded the valleys with millions of acres of grazing land upon which to grow the cattle and sheep nd horses that later winter and fatten on the rich hay. Nor hay alone. J'ut the hardy," virile alfalfa seed erown at these higher elevations witl find the richest markets. With the al falfa, on the lowlands will come the fattening field peas, and In them both the hog perhaps the greatest money maker the American farmer sends to DE9SKSVALLE Y HAS WON FIRST HONORS BY EXHIBITING ITS PRODUCTS Possibilities of Soil Were Shown Recently by Outcome of Billings Dry Farming Congress, Where Grand Prize Offered for Grains and Grasses by James J. Hill Was Captured. IN THE Courthouse of Crook County at FTlneville, the county seat, is dis played a handsome silver cup the grand prize offered by James J. Hill to the district of Oregon that produced the best exhibit at the Billings Dry Farming Congress of grains and grasses grown by dry farming methods. This grand prize, with several minor trophies and cash prizes, was won by an exhibit of products grown in the Des chutes Valley in localities 50 to 100 miles from any railroad and In a country where the producers must depend on home con sumption for disposal of their crops. It is said that for a short time during the awarding or the prizes at the Billings congress, the Deschutes Valley exhibit stood a good chance of securing the grand piie offored for the best exhibit from any state. The Colorado exhibit was the chief 'competitor of the Deschutes and decision for a time wavered between the two. Colorado, however. Is older In the dry farming business than Oregon and finally secured the prize. In several parts of Oregon scientific dry farming methods have been applied and proven .to be a successful means of pro ducing profitable crops In years when farming under the old methods resulted In failures. But In such localities it has been the more progressive fanner who has adopted the more modern methods, the great majority being slow to cast usldo the ways of their fathers. And so It has been in the Deschutes Valley and in all Central Oregon. There is found the farmer who tills his land with caro and by methods that have brought pros perity to the dry farms of Kansas, Colo rado and Montana, and there also is found i . . 'vri ,. i . .. . i 1 1 :;tPi:ii::y I : : V. - J-tMS&E&erxCrZ. SZ - - . market livestock. After all, however, the agricultural success of Central Oregon depends mpre upon the development of its dry-farro-ing possibilities than upon Irrigation. With an average annual rainfall of from 10 to 15 inches, and a fertile brown alluvial sandy loam soil cover ing almost three times the area devoted to dry farming in the wheat belt along the Columbia, the importance of this phase of agriculture may easily be comprehended. Here brains must take the place of water. Selected seed, thor ough tillage and diversified production, all three combined, are the potent fac tors which will work the transforma tion from black sagebrush to golden wheat fields. Dry farming conditions here are comparable with those of the Columbia River basin, or of Montana, or of Southern Idaho. Successful pro duction of crops of the highest quality has already long been carried on, on a limited scale, in practically every part of this dry-farming area. Wheat, oats, barley, eminer. alfalfa and field peas are here the dry farmer's major crops. The hardy, drought resistant, high grade milling wheats, Turkey red and Durum, are believed to be the eventual leaders for this terri tory. That the wheat seed as well' as the alfalfa, peas, oats and other seed used, be Northern grown, and from re gions of equal or greater Elevation, is of the greatest importance. Montana-grown seed is proving especially well adapted to Central Oregon conditions. As for alfalfa and field peas it must not be considered that these are profitable only under Irrigation. Eastern Oregon, as well as every other dry farming sec tion, has many notable demonstrations to the contrary. Grown for hay or hog pas ture, they frequently outclass wheat on the ledger, while grown in rows they yield a superior and most valuable seed crop. In addition to this, through their fertility Improving qualities, they form a necessary part of the dry farmer's pro gramme if wheat production is to be maintained permanently, permitting him also to send part of hla grain to market in its most valuable form fat stock. In thorough tillage methods the Cen tral Oregon farmer may profit by the hard-earned experiences of dry farmers on every side of him. Fall plowing or Fall discing; Immediate harrowing and pack ing following Spring plowing; frequent surface tillage through the dry season to maintain a soil mulch and keep out the farmer who says his grandfather's methods are good enough for him. In the Madras country last j-ear ap proximately 150.000 acres were sown to wheat and produced an -average of 10 bushels to the acre. Tet on some farms in the Madras district, where soil and rainfall were not dissimilar from other localities in the district that produced ten bushels or less to the acre, 35 bush els of wheat to the acre were produced last year, and the year was a dy one. too. The larger yields were on the farms of those who tilled the soil intelligently and followed to a greater or less degree the scientific methods advocated by ex perts in dry farming. In the same dis trict is a class of farmers known locally as "squaw farmers." The squaw farmer plows his land every three or four years. In the years between plowing the gram Is sown after the stubble has simply been harrowed. If It is a wet year and the other climatic conditions are favorable, the "squaw farmer" gets a fair crop, but in Central Oregon wet seasons are not numerous enough to make the "squaw farmer" wealthy and while the more progressive farmer is prospering the squaw farmer, as a rule. Is cursing the country. In the vicinity of Frineville dry farm ing has been shown to be a most suc cessful method of tilling the bench lands.' In the First National Bank of Prineville is exhibited samples of wheat in the straw raised on dry land near by that produced iO bushels of wheat to the acre. In the vicinity of Bend experiments have also been made. On land owned by A. M. Drake, a pioneer of that town, . two plots were cultivated side by side, one of wUk was Irrigated and the ertalniy .so anion? Oregon f f X j-? ' I I V I a r A 1 weeds: these arc a few of the fundamental-practices for the conservation of moisture, upon which the Central Oregon farmer will build his success. Nor must It be forgotten that the quality of the farming done Is of far more importance In bringing about a permanent success, than Is the quantity of land covered. It may well be said, too, that dry farming requires the brainiest and most courage ous class of farmers to be found' In all the field of agriculture. The dry farmer of Central Oregon, to be entirely successful must not only understand the underly ing principles of the science, but he must have the backbone to carry them out In practice. Central Oregon requires farm ers of large caliber. To these it offers success. Why then does the present population and agriculture of this huge area, lag so far behind? Wrhere are the wheat and alfalfa fields and the fat stock? Where are the thriving towns and prosperous farm homes? When will this transforma tion come about? For nearly half a century the answer has been vainly pro claimed, unceasingly advertised. There is perhaps no other unserved area in the United States, where from the agricul tural standpoint at least, a railroad would prove more profitable, and perhaps no where else in this country, is there so large a body of land lying idle, waiting for a railroad and the hand of the dry farmer to transform it from a desert to prosperous production. other tilled by dry farming methods. Modern dry farming tools" were secured from the East and the experiment so far as the dry plot was Involved was con ducted scientifically. The dry plot pro duced the best crops of the two, but for comparative purposes the value of the experiment was lessened by the fact that the irrigated land received too mucn water & common mistake on Irrigated lands In new districts. Central Oregon, outside of the irrigated districts, as a whole may be said to be a dry farming country. But for dry farming under, scientific methods the yearly rainfall is ample. The average yearly rainfall Is between ten and 15 Inches, and with stich a ' rainfall dry farming experts assert that a profitable crop can bo raised every year If a proper rotation is followed. The great district known as the "High Plains," to which there Is now a rush of homesteaders, will be dependent, for a number of years at least, on dry farming. The dry plains consist of absolutely raw land on which attempts to grow crops of any character have been confined to a very few Isolated cases. It Is told that one man who took up a homestead there before the railroad development started the present rush demonstrated that the land would grow good grain crops, but this man had a penchant for horse rus tling and was compelled to leave the country Just about the time he was get ting well established In the 'farming line. Dry farming experiments in Central Oregon have not been confined wholly to grains and forage crops. In Madras there resides an agent for an Eastern nursery company, who, in the natural course of '' ' . ; S: i;m&& f m ifefe iV.:-- v-; t, h - ' , ' ' ' ' ,,''', ' i A if M ' events, had quite a number of fruit trees left on his hands. These trees were planted near tho town a few years ago on unirrigated land and the orchard, al though yet too young to bear fruit, covers 25 acres and bears every indication of being thrifty. Many of the farmers have, planted home orchards and. there are numerous places where apple trees are bearing successfully without irrigation. It is probable that the demonstration trains sent out by the railroads have done more to .spread throughout Ore gon the methods of dry farming than all other Influences put together. The leading crop experts of the state. In cluding members of the faculty of the Agricultural College, accompany these trains and address the informal meet ings held at every station visited. At first results came slowly, the farmers not being: prompt to put to practical use the suggestions made. Gradually, li! V 4 III IV M 1 1! H-it I ! SfVi I i " Iff - r , i. fit 7 1e t however, the new methods were taken up and the results gained In every In stance were so satisfactory that the new Ideas are spreading rapidly. Many of those who are now taking up farms in Central Oregon are the more progressive agriculturists who will use the most modern methods in developing the new land. It is expect ed that this class will continue to pre dominate as the country is settled up. The development of the country will probably be much more satisfactory than it would have been a number of years ago before scientific drv farm ing had gained a secure foothold. The influence of the Oregon Agri cultural College in modern farming methods is also spread by the students sent out from that institution. The faculty at Corvallis is teaching the les son of dry farming: and the students leaving the college will naturally fol low that method of cultivation when ever they enter a country where It is the most practicable course. NATRON LINE UNDER WAY Nearly 1000 Men Are at Work Pacific From Lane THREE months agqt.the Natron ex tension of the Southern - Pacific " was listed among the projected lines in Oregon, but during the later days of September carload after car load of machinery, horses, mules, pro visions and general construction equip ment rolled into the little Southern Pa cific terminus. The Natron extension will meet the line that is building northward from Klamath Lake, and work is progres sing with equal energy at both ends of the line. Thirty-five miles are un der contract at each end, leaving a gap between of about SO miles. The Utah Construction Company has the contract for grading the extension from Natron southward. Natron is located in a picturesque spot on the bank of the Willamette Riv er, at the foot of a chain of rolling hills, which run eastward to the Three Sisters of the Cascade Range. The country east is a continuous chain of hills covered from top to bottom with Oregon fir timber: formerly one of the best fir belts in Oregon; while a little to the south of east, the hills are brok en, forming a crooked and roundabout canyon, through which the waters of the middle fork of the Willamette flow and which Is the general course of the Natron extension. To the south, across the Willamette River for several miles is a rolling ag ricultural section, known as the Pleas ant Hill country, which was the nrt settlement made in Lane County. To tho southwest extends the Willamette Valley, which is drained by the Coast fork of the Willamette, while to tho west lie Springfield and Eugene and that sectlon of the Willamette Valley extending westward to the Coast Moun tains. Natron three months ago consisted of a railroad . station - and about three dwelling-houses. It has become a busy center for construction work. On the very arrival of the Utah Construction Company every available man. horso and mule were pressed into service, and within two weeks houses by the dozens and scores were scattered up and djown the right of way, and in Natron. With in a few weeks nearly 1000 men were on the job. Horses and mules were brought in, a few carloads at a time, until now, about 1000 are at work. Nearly every foot of ground around on 150-Mile Extension of Southern County to Klamath. Natron is covered with tools and ma chlnerj". There are traction engines, large and small, locomotives, narrow gauge and wide-gauge, wagons by the hundred, scrapers, both wheel and drag, drilling machines, several huge steam shovels and scores of dump wagons and -dump cars. Subcontractors have the work in charge with the exception of a dis tance of 13,500 feet between stations 700 and 835, and there are about 33 camps along the line. A place of Inter est Is the general supply house, where provisions for laborers and teams are utored for distribution among the camps. Flour, sugar and potatoes have " been brought in . by the tcn; lard, canned fruit and condensed milk by the carload and hay and grain by the trainload. The construction company has established Its headquarters at Na tron. LandAlong Lake Is Skeltered Winter Mountains Protect 23-Mile Strip of Ideal I'ruit Acreage. UNDER the shelter of the Winter Ridge of Mountains, on the west shore of Summer Lake, is one of the most prosperous communities of inte rior Oregon. The Winter Ridge, or Rim Rocky Mountains, as the range is also known, rises abruptly about two miles back from the west shore of the lake, leaving a strip along the lake shore perhaps 20 miles long. The rim rock of this range rises in places per pendicularly more than 1000 feet high. '. anrj to the edge extends the pine for ests of the Fremont forest reserve. Out of this ridge gush almost innu merable springs, some of them furnish ing water power that Is now applied in generating electric current for cream separators, churns and other dairy ma chinery. The waters are used for irri gating puposes. The high range holds the warm temperature of, the Summer days during the nights, and Summer frosts are unknown. Peaches and other delicate fruits are grown success fully. Wild plums cover hundreds of acres, and ranchers come for many miles in season to gather the wild fruit for canning.