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
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All. . i
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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
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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