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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1911)
THE MORNING OREGOXIAX, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1911. DOUGLAS, LANE AND LINN COMPRISE FAVORED SECTION CLI MAT E AND SOIL COMBINE TO MAKE LIFE OF RESIDENTS IN CENTRAL WESTERN OREGON PLEASANT AS WELL AS PROFITABLE. DEVELOPMENT IS RAPID 1 Mr i All. . i P CLIMATE UNEXCELLED, ASSERTION INDOUGLAS Conditions Favorable for Apples. Pears and Peaches, for Which Fertile Umpqua Valley Is Famed Afar. IMtf. I. 14 I OIMT. Location Southwestern Ore- J (on. Including I'mpqua Valley. Are a.;.4 irrf, Population !.;- DOUGI.AS rOI'.NTT and Inip-iua Valley are. practically speaking. Intrrdiaogeahle term. II la true trial the entire rounty la not In 1'ie I'mpqua Valley, far lHurta l one of She. tare segregatlona of lrrnn. Ail f the I'mpqua Valley. however. Ilea In lKugte County. It la the IMrd valley la In Wratern iwegon. th Wltlam- etta and Rogue Valley being larger. It la camlai to be known a one of tha moat frt:le l!trU t In the alate. espe rially In fruit production. Coupld with rtrhnre of soli, cli mate I cltej by the people of Iouglae County aa their moat valuable aet. While tha weather In all parta f West era Oregon la one of the great attrar tlona. rondlttona probably come nearer perfection In the t'mqua Vatlcy tt-an etaawhere. The early ninn permit growers of fruit ana vegetables to get their products In the mark! before thoM of less favored sections have rip ened, thereby ccmniAndtng the highest prlrea. The average rainfall la 3 Inches, aufi'lent to make Irrigation unncccarv but not enough to le un pleasant. Wind there la ald to he fie lowent recorded k the I nited htate. In addition to tin thrra are no ex tramaa of heat or told. Tha co!dt temperature recorded In the laat five year waa It d-gre-a above aero, while tha mean temperature for Auut for tha pat 1 year waa t degree, aa announced by the atatlon of the I'tiltcd' tttalea. Weather Bureau at Roeburg. Thla Ideal climate la more than a help In a commercial way: It la one of tha big fartora In making the I'mpqua Valley a desirable plate of residence. Many Eastern people who are seeking aa equable cllmat are selecting rwug laa County their home. Tlie climate la aiao an aid In making linutUi ruada among tha bt In the elate, and tha f 1 I - people are assisting nature in thla par ticular. In 1909 the rounty collected a apactal road tax of SUS.ooo. and In 110. tha apeclal tax waa IIi).O0. Every, where highways are being graded and Improved with crushed rock, while steep Inclines are being eliminated by laying out routea alonic new survey. 1l tht way the farmer I being brought la cloaer touch with the market, and tha pleasure of automoblllng and driv ing ta enhanced pouglaa County contain 400 quare mllea and tta geological formation la peculiar. The t'mptua li not one broad. weeping valley. Indeed, tha traveler who paaaea through by train aeea only m narrow atrip of level and aloping land along tha xiver. and la certain to won der If tha agricultural district la not limited to amall area. The explanation la that along tha l'mpnua la a aerlea of valleys, varying In viae and extend ing back from the river. These val leys, or Intervalea. aa they are called, ra vary numerous and ea.-h la a proa peroua farming district. The only way to gala n, correct Impression of tha country la In drive through It. Small at ream In nearly all of the valleya empty Into tha North and youth branches of tha I'mp.iua whit h have their confluence near Rosehurg. There are also large mountainoua dlatrlrt. tha county extending from tha summit of the Cascade range to the Coast. All fruits, except the citrus varletlr. thrive In tha l'mpiun Valley. Straw berries ripen early In the Spring. In fact before they mature In any other part of Oregon. Thla makea It possible for Pougla growers to get their output ea the market early and to command top prices. Strawberries have been old la Portland for aa Mgh aa Si a crate. No attempt la made to ship them East, but there la a ready market for all that caa be produrad. LoeasberrUs. raspberries, blarkberrlra and gooeelw-r-rleo are also shipped out. viulte a quan tity cf a;ooaeberrlea la shipped each mho to Alaska. They net the grow er about 0 cents a crate and tha yield la very large. Raspberries sell for about IT a crate, and blackberries for from (I SO to II a crate. Cnerrlea are aiao a money-maker. Richmond. Royal Ann and King being tha principal varletlesi There are aev eraj commercial orchards, and nearly every farmer haa a half dosn or more tree on hi land. A few Inetancea will show that there la a good opportunity Ijr preXita la cherries- Lr. George A. Uradburn last Pprtng sold the product of ten trees, on Irs than one-fifth acre f r tl'10. 3. W. Harris- sold In Portland 12 li pounj boxes of Hlnga for 145. or IJ Ti a box. and also 20 boxes at II a box. One tree In Roseburg. owned by Mrs. M. Y. Kd wards, produced laat sea son too pounds of cherries. Peaches are one of the main cropa of tha l'nixua Valley. The early Craw fords are In the market by the last of June and their season extends to the last of August. They are followed by the lemon cling which la In bearing until tne middle of September. There la a larger area In bearing peach or vhard than In any other klud of fruit, and they bring the grower from IS centa to SI a box. The normal rld to tne acre I Sue boxes. W. K. laven port. of Oakland, last season, sold a large crop uf pearlies In the Chicago market at cents a box. net. Pouglaa County Is one of the beet prune districts In the Northwest. About rarloada of dried prunes and a con siderable ouantity of green prunea are shipped from Itosebura each rar. Small dryrrs are located all over the rouily and two large packing com tantes operate. I'lum are also raised In considerable quantities, but are not as profitable aa other fruits. This In dustry will soon be stimulated by the et-ibllhment of a rannery In Itone burg which will also handle other frulta and vegetables. More new orchard In lHUKla Coun ty are being stt to pears than to any other nnt fruit. Hartlett. Ccmlce and I'Anlou all are larce producers and conditions are J'jst rmht for them. It Is acrtrd by I'oustla orchardl.tts that the Cornice takes tn a red tint there better than In any other locality, in one orchard last season a single llart lett tree bore II boxes of first-grade fruit. One 10-acre tract. with 100 tree, produced net $i00 an acre. The firet car of Hartletts shipped last Kali, brought 11740 or ti 0 a box I:- Chi cago, a higher figure than pears from other sections of the country were com manding. Apples are alio coming to the front as a Oouclas County product. Only a small quantity about la carloads la now shipped out. but there Is a large area of youni; orchards. Spllxenberg and Yellow Newtown Pippins are the most popular varieties, although a good many Gravenstelna and other early applea are raided. Frull-ralalng In I'ouglaa County la nut an experiment. Kor more than 3$ years here have been producing or chards, but It Is only In the last fen years that horticulture has received the attention It deserves. Only once have the more tender fruits been dam aged by frost, and peach and prune growers, on the lower levels, now pro tect their treea against thla possibility by equipping their orchards with smudge-pots. Most of the fruit of the valley la handled by the OoukIss Coun ty Fruit Orowera' I'nlon. recently or-" gantxed. Thla I'nlon ships In carload lota both to the Kast and to Pacific Coast cities. Irrigation la practically unknown In l'mpnua Valley and experta testify that It is not necessary, eltner for fruit or other farm product. The soli is deep and loose, and. although the Summers are long and dry, moisture stays In the ground. Thla aoll la a aandy loam, and there Is considerable red ahot soil In the southern part of the county. Practically the only irrigated district In the rounty at present Is In the Kouther Un Valley, north of ltoseburg. There artificial watering haa been found ad vantageous and a prosperous communi ty Is being established with the town .of Southrrlln as Its renter. Considera ble fruit Is being put out on Irrigated land around Southcrlln. touglas Is one of a number of Ore gon counties where conditions are right for the development of dairying. At present dairy products do not meet the need a of the people within tha border ' of the county. There are four cream eries In the county, but if dairying were carried on as extensively as con ditions Justify It would require several times a many planta. There la now on foot In Koseburg a project to es tablish a plant for the manufacture of powdered milk by a new process. More alfalfa la bring raised now than ever before. producing three crops each season. Vetch, field peas, clover and other dairy feeds also do well, while there ta green pasture ! months In the year. Iouglas County la the best known poultry section of Oregon. It la prob able that Ita production of chickens and eggs Is not so large as that of some other counties, but as a turkey raising district It stands alone. Oak land. In the valley of the Calapoola. la the northern part of the county, la f &f ... irrn jf 4 Ml.;:-..;.--; -ly,sl M sAM$$t H & tM V' - J rll VV--- : . rv-tf'. wf ymm lltg&A iipf JHiMv - m & , " ; k JiL: TOC Ik iff v . .1 lJZz?szZ iu - - -t-. -,-i t tL 71 i" x '.' the renter of the poultry dlstrlcC More turkeys are shipped from Oakland than from any other point In Oregon. Poultry shipments from Oakland aver age more than JOn pounds for every day In the year. Thure is big profit In poultry-raising and It will be many years before even the demand In Ore gon is supplied. The state ships In great quantities of chlcnen and eggs from the Middle West each year and prices are high. Thore are alsd opportunities In the raising of fancy poultry In Pouglaa County. One poultry fancier at Rose burg sells eggs at SO rents each and blooded chickens at from S2.B0 to S7 each, and the demand for both eggs and chickens Is greater than he can aupply. ' Cheap land la available for stock raising, but big herda are becoming fewer, aa farmers crowd the graxcr back to the hill and bench land. Cheap erasing la available In the forest re aerves and many ranchers turn their stock in the reserves for the slx-month season. Sheep fatten well and pro duce wool of a superior grade. Goat ralslng la becoming more general, these animals being useful In clearing brush land. One of the largest thoroughbred-horse farms In the state 1 near Rosoburg. All hogs, sheep and cattle, above local demand, find ready market at the Portland packing plants. Grain has long been a staple product of Pouglaa County, but It does not ray aa do general farming, dairying and horticulture, and farmere are gradually converting their flelda into more pro ductive areas. Besides wheat, oats and barley, considerable corn la raised, the laat named cereal averaging SO bushels -to the acre thla past year. , Commer cial clubs throughout the county are encouraging farmers to go out of grain-raising and use their land for other purposes. There Is considerable mineral wealth In LKiuglaa County, but the mines are not being generally developed. There are several exceptions to this, notably a nickel mine near Glenbrook which Is said to ponsejs the largest vein of nickel In the United States. There are also quarts properties in the Bohemia. Myrtle Creek and Mount Reuben dis tricts, but In general quarts mining Is being worked In only a small way. There are also valuable placer mines, some of which have been tied up by litigation over riparian rights. Coal Is being mined as an experiment, but not yet In sufficient quantities to aup ply Ihe local demand. Oil prospecting has been conducted In the southwestern . r- i " l Vs 'I' f ; . TOT :.-?.vrkv- .5 St'h CH . ,s-.rt. "r Si part of the county, and there are large deposits of first-class building stone Jn the Myrtle Creek district, where sev eral quarries are In operation. Roseburg the county-aeat. Is the chief city In f Douglas County. Its progress In building and general Im provement during 110 was marked. Fifty blocks of sewers were laldWlth In the year, and a number of streets were hard-surfaced, while other Btreeta are to be paved the present year. The town has an abundant supply of water, piped eight miles from the North Ump qua. This water was analyxed last August by the State Board of Health and pronounced pure. Glendale boasts the largest payroll lrt the atate. population considered. Kight aawmilla are In operation there, and the town la also backed by some good mining properties. Glendale has macadamized streets and electric Ughta. Oakland la the center of a fine poul try and fruit section. It has water works and electric lights, and Is now figuring on street paving and sewers. Considerable stock Is raise- In the vi cinity. Mvrtle Creek Is about the same size as Oakland. It Is located 18 miles south of Roseburg. near the junction of Myrtle Creek and the South Umpqua. It Is one of the largest prune-shipping points In the state and also Is In a ORF.GON COISTIES IX 1B5. Numerically the Oregon coun ties have almost doubled since 1S59. In the meantime the num ber of postofflcea haa much more I than doubled. A list of the coun- i f tics In 1859. with the numDer or. postoffices In each, follows: I Benton Clackamas 4 i Clatsop J J Coos - 1 J Curry J t T Columbia 1 J I Pouglas ln,ciihlti . ..... ... 2 Jackson.... 4 t Ijine 10 t l-inn J Marion 8 Multnomah 3 J A fOIK : I I'mpqua .' S T, I Washington I I Wasco 2 I S Yamhill 9 J t Total ..'2 I good poultry district. Electric lights and a gravity water system are among Its assets. Riddles, In Cow Creek Valley, is ad jacent to a fine body of standing tim ber. The town Is the gateway to the Canyonvllle and Days Creek Valleys. Yoncalla, 32 miles north of Roseburg. Is In a fine fruit, dairying and poultry district. It has a fruit cannery, saw mllls and water system. Gardner is a small town on the coast. 25 miles north of Coos Bay. It has a large payroll. Its Industries including large sawmills, tannery, packing plant and creamery. Coasting vessels enter the harbor at Gardner, and practically all Its shipping is by water. Southerlln is a new town, in a fertile irrigated district: Southerlln has grad ed streets and the roads leading out from It are' especially well improved. It suffered a disastrous fire two months ago. One of the most im. rtant towns in the county Is Drain, which is one of the gateways to Coos Bay. The Harri rran lines several years ago surveyed a line from Drain to Coos Bay and lullt several miles of It, but suspended work. Residents of Coos County hav.j since been endeavoring to influence the Harrlman people to resume work, and hope that the road may be con structed during the present year. A stable line now runs from Drain o Coos Bay. There are several lumber mills in the vicinity of Drain and ' some fine fruit land tributary to It. There are 60 postoffices in Douglas County. The communities that have not been mentioned above Include Elk ton. Soottsburg, Wilbur, Winchester and Dlllard. Roseburg. as well as Drain. Is a gateway to the Coos Bay country. A mall stage makes dally trips through out the year from Roseburg to Myrtle Point, and in Summer two automobile stages are In operation. Roseburg peo ple also hope in the next few years to have direct railroad connection with Coos Bay. Two surveys have been made by companies projecting electric lines, and it is also reported that Hill surveyors were at work laying out a route the past Fall. Besides serving a rich district at Coos Bay, such a line would pass through vast areas of fine timber. Douglas County also expects to have electric line' connection with Portland at no distant date. The Oregon Elec tric, which now has a road in opera tion between Portland and Salem, haa run a survey from the latter place to Eugene and thence to Roseburg. PROPERTY WORTH OVER $1000 TO EACH PERSOJNT Lane County Has Assessed Valuation of $34,745,540 Leads United States in Total of Standing Timber. LANE COl'STT. Location Centra Western Ore gon, extending from Cascade Mountains to Pacific Ocean. Area 2,714,500 acres. Population 33,783. LANE COUNTY has an assessed valu ation of 34.745.540. and a popula tion of 33.783 people, or an approx imate valuation of over J1000 to each inhabitant The third county of Oregon in pop ulation and wealth. Lane extends from the Pacific Ocean on the west to the summit of the Cascades on the east, a distance of about 160 miles, with an average length from north to south of 60 miles. This county, embracing a total of nearly 10.000 square miles, has on account of its two great mountain ranges. Its fertile valleys, and its coast line, a variety of soil, products, and scenic features that would rival any other equal area in the world. The principle mountain ranges are the Coast and Cascades. The Willamette Valley has Its head in this county, and the valleys of the Siujlaw, the Mc Kenzle and the Upper Willamette con stitute very rich and productive sec tions. The Coast line is. from a scenic standpoint, one of the most attractive In the Northwest, and the Suislaw Har bor. Which lies at the mouth of the Suislaw River, is rapidly becoming a commercial harbor. The people who live within Its reach have bonded their section of the county for $100,000 to improve the harbor, and the United States Government is now co-operating in the project. The principal present and prospective sources of wealth and Industry In Lane County are: Timber, agriculture, fish ing, mining and water, power. Agriculture is adding greatly to the wealth of the county, and the produc tion of the soil. Practically every crop that is a success in the temperate zones can be raised to perfection In some part of Lane County. The Willamette Val ley, the McKenzie, the Sluslaw, the Up per Willamette, and other smaller val leys contain thousands of acres of the finest soil, and these valley lands not only yield splendid crops during the Summer and Fall, but sustain the grasses and such Winter cropa as kale practically all during the Winter. Much of this land yields good "average crops without Irrigation, but many of the farmers, in order to provide for annual large crops, are undertaking the mat ter of irrigation with prospects of dis tributing water over thousands of acres within the next few years. Much of the river bottom land is so far removed from transportation lines that it does not pay to bring the crops to market. Land 15 and 16 miles from Eugene on the McKenzie that has pro duced from 500 to 600 bushels of po tatoes to the acre does not pay in such a crop because the cost and difficulty of getting the potatoes to market is so great. In the Sluslaw country and other sections of the county, apple and fruit crops that would net .from $300 to $600 an acre if within easy reach of transportation, go to waste on the ground or are fed to hogs. Transpor tation facilities already promised will solve this difficulty to a great extent. Wild hay. grain, grasses, hops and all kinds of vegetables grow to ad vantage in this section of Oregon, it is the raising of fruit which will be the great soil industry of the future. The comparatively few orchardlsts who have raised apples and pears have proved .that no section of the North west can excel Lane County In the pro duction of these two important fruits. Lane County has taken first prize both years at the annual Albany Apple Show, "and the highest reward has been given to the collective exhibit of cher ries made at the Salem cherry fair. Other fruits and berries do equally well in this county, and sufficient acreage Is now in course of development to as sure the growth of a real fruit section. This section of the Willamette Val ley seems particularly adapted to the raising of nuts. Filberts and walnuts, locally gr;own, are of superior quality. Mention may properly be made here of the asparagus farm of George A. Dorris. which Is situated about three miles from Eugene on the Willamette River. Mr. Dorris fof years had a small hop yard which held the ban ner record of the world for the qual ity of hops grown during six consecu tive years. On account of the fluctu ating price of hops, much to the amaze ment of his neighbors, Mr. Dorris plowed them out, and planted 27 acres of asparagus. This asparagus is said to be as fine as has ever been raised, and is In demand by the best hotels of the country. It commands a better price on the market than any other asparagus grown. This experiment has demonstrated the value of river bottom land for the growth of asparagus. The dairy industry Is an important one In the western part of the county, particularly where the mild Coast cli mate maintains abundant green feed for cattle the year around. Last sea son from the Siuslaw Valley alone, hundreds of tons of cream and butter were brought to the Southern Pacific Railway by wagon over a distance varying from 10 to 60 miles. Lane County, according to the Gov ernment reports, has the greatest num ber of standing feet of timber of any county In the United States, the amount being estimated at 50,000,000,000 feet. In the past 10 years, the manufacture of timber Into lumber has been the greatest single industry of the county. The Booth-Kelly Lumber Company owns and operates five large plants, the Southern Pacific Company two, and other corporations and capitalists have mills in nearly every section of the timber belt. Most of the timber that is shipped out goes over the Southern Pacific lines. Fir and cedar are the principal kinds of timber. In the Western part of Lane County the salmon Industry has already reached considerable proportions. Last season on the Siuslaw River alone, more than 70,000 cases were packed and placed u"pon the market. While trout fishing is a popular recreation in many parts of the county and many Summer campers salt down trout for Winter, yet it is not considered an industry. There are two important groups of mines in Lane County, one the Blue River mines, and the other the Bohemia district. While a great deal of gold has already been taken out of these districts, much of this property has changed hands, and Indications ar that both regions will be quite thor oughly developed during the next few years. The water ' powers of Lane County have not only been recognized for a number of years as being among the most important on the Pacific Coast, but actual development Is now in pro cess, which, while It will utilize only a small percentage of available power, will make this section known far anuy wide as the site of some of the most important power projects in the coun try. The City of Eugene is just com pleting a power plant on the McKenzie River, about 15 miles from Eugene, which .will furnish the necessary power for pumping the city water. The H. M. Byllsby Company, incor porated here as the Northwestern Cor poration, is interested in a number of power sites, the principal one of which is known as the Martin's Rapids project. Considerable preliminary work has been done on this project, and the matter of its development will soon be determined definitel;-. This site is ca pable of the development of about 20. 000 horsepower, and the cost of con struction will be over $1,000,000. When completed. It will supply power to Eugene. Springfield, Coburg, Junction City, Harrisburg, Halsey. Shedds. Tan gent. Albany and Corvallis. Eugene Is located in about the mid dle of the county, and on the east the Cascade Mountain Range, which in cludes seven splendid snow-capped mountains, offers to campers a veri table Switzerland within easy reach. This section of the Cascades, known as the Three Sisters region, was the field for the annual outing of the Mazama mountain climbers in 1910. Members of this expedition who have visited the scenic sections of Europe and America, are united in their enthusiasm for thla interesting though comparatively un known region. The excellency of the school system of Lane County is not confined to the cities and towns, but the country dis tricts have taken advantage of the Ore gon School Fund law which enables them to have high schools of their own. Lane County was the first one to take advantage of this law, and the effort now Is to place within the reach of as many school children as possible, the advantages of a high school education. In some localities the pupils are gath ered upevery morning and taken to the schoolhouse in a community wagon. The average length of the terms of tha country schools is seven and one-half months. The principal cities and towns ol Lane County, in the order of their school population, are: Eugene, Spring field, Cottage Grove. Junction City, Coburg, Florence. Marcola, Creswell, Elmira. Goshen and Waltervllle. Eugene is the county seat, and Is the second city in size in Western Ore gon. It Is the home of the University of Oregon, and is often referred to aa the city of homes, schools and churches. From the earliest day to the present time many of Eugene's citizens have taken the greatest pride in the ap pearance and stability of their homes. Eugene possesses three parks so large and so well distributed, it is said, that no city in the western part of the United States has such a beginning for the development of a fine park system. The Southern Pacific Company, In con junction with the Eugene City Council and Commercial Club, has laid out a park at the depot which makes it the A
