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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1916)
3 THE MORNING OREGONIAN. SATURDAY. JANTARY' 1. 191G. S S A . V A 1 a. - - - - ' - - - - . Repiamation of Arid Lands in Oregon Is Great Stimulus to Intensive Development Iannne Area Reclaimed by Priral EnterprLsM, Irrigation Districts and GoTemraent Projects. SUte Cleaned With Abandonee of Water and Rich SoiL ' . v - : v, v. is " '' t -' v V.T"- -"-'v" """l .:- v --r' Vi-Li .- - c . . - , o. ... - . - y ' 1 . - v-.0; - . . jtcJa iv. - - . . ..-- " T---- 7 V2 & - " - :-.v-- - . .- .-i.- - ja!zjn3t?2 y , ..... ; - ... .-- . , ... . , . . , , . . ; ' . . I '. ' '.'' - i .- . : , , v-: ' . t ' , ; ' ' --' j V ?: . .'.J' r ;.i . . . j a- s . ' t ' i ; ' v ' i ' ' i' . f i V toVTC tujttc V , y -( cotjfry - ""T 7" . 1 1 J f- . , ; . t-;l' .1 I-, I. , Nw-ivik- 3.:ri t .. , 1 - - f , . " It e a IKT.'.ltri tna aaeaae of 4J n materially ta l'.ea m.' M.ev tKeoexeade of acres f .ttereb. a4 al e.le)'lve lAa.is ai-e aw arv44'tng ev".tleat erii. treugt direct Veeeite eC fee Um4lia. irr-aettM. ir.e m M... wita aa " af wat.r e4 wexi Its a4rd. ef 1krM4al ef acre ef eeft.ar4 taaf tt ln bat eapl'.l ts aelag te two t.t'r aj a gerdea where tasro h. a d.ee't. Tee te. lUf. are a .aiM m4 lrl'. f..tlewie d' t.ril( meiae4e wlt btt IeI.ttee.t sttf.-e. la eertiee waerv avaee.se aieU W -ra J . 1 tea-nee. em ml aad eliautie e.l twa in. aei a.e4 ta farmer. rw..r"e le trrattee. :e Mfl tt.e 4 etrte ara te f.rvlei aaa T.el n..-e la t '1U C.. S'.l atsiaag seer J . a.r wM.-a ae Hew are now 1 1.-- p.rirli.. end te lattee ti Infill itait S- a-re. . Ike Ae.av, d'.trt.-t la J.Per ... r.ntt. eaet.i.me 5r. ieateir -ee a.'r. iei-ij ft a.r.e a- d-e re tlv.t eav Te fr-eera la t S t arerfie e-'t .a kave alr.ad. veted aa Imiit nt e)ietr. aad ae ea ae I.HT are eell VeJ. will rerlaloa r -t : y all ef 1 1 ) are T"ve Te-I d'lrU- e veed ee eee Uia.lv akKl "HI eoea be pieced ea tae aierk.t. Tale peejert will after e.r.uent opert.di' e. wReaj aad.e eai.r. aa te -. I Watioa. rlte:e aad so 1 .p. very deeire. J7.reej inur? feriwees are Me iai tn midst ef a 3a't f te feeeateaj ef aa tr .th. a.tri. '-. If reaaeed. will me ef t!e rwhaet t:eas la t jk'.X lf ef taeea r!t rse be le.veeti.tel reewaeteat f"ier. wa-e ee e.pet4 fifeai ae t f-eei-Mlitr a.4 t"eie n. ave. . pka.'e4 aaaWr Irrtna. n-v I a4 4rv-rer'ulag asxaeele saw l aa th.ee tracts a average y'M ef will raw trees el ta 11 ku.Ku see acre, la meay nm not keilag t the ea af predacteeav. X,r ti tea tv.ca-.t r ra tae .tef te ka.l pcHa L la K:amate I'wr. ad tavat'lia m la l me" a l'.olT Te k,ds.il v."e-avj pretest eealais aeaij zj7 Jmcja.'tx.cL JDzsZJrz.ct e- - f ' y -,'V I - -.'. " t scree, ef wkKa ( ! acree J aro new aad.r cu:t'vatlaa. ! 1 acree of new laal were re rtaiaMd deriag Iks year af 11. Alfalfa, wkest. eats and eerier are he lag reed wlta marsed sucre.e. II I rMe.rvattv.ir eetiavated that the prod et. raised aa-tme Uad dunes tae pe.t vear aaoat-d ta va.'oe ta llle. ea. Mack new worh is aeiag planned far Ikis (to There are a abr ef large hotd'ege woder thla prol.ct isat ara Iring idle r being lad.tfar ently faresed by rest. re- la order le ! tka beet out of tka project tree- i i . ta sad hould hw rat lata email tra with claeer atl.ntleei ta good farming aaeb4. a greatly Increased y.eM e-4ld aa lernrei. T. Ciratnta project In tee viclnliy ef ll.rejiietea. la I'mat Ha County. r talaa aiprevimately l.ed acrea. This project before Its reclamattoai waa a 4eeert en vn t ractica.ly Botaing aas raieei loneg Its last year It has prwdered abo.t ll;iee In airalfa. fruit, grataa aad llveettwk. b" before aere wae wet a reeM.et. r.ew there is a pupuialiew ef aearlr ?e people. A4Vtstg t."e arigiaal ftoJt le the a est I ntattlia ebtea.lon Bow ader t:eetrect!ea hv lie ll rnin.fiL Tl. wiu lac 1.4 k-oBl It.fra twtuj of 1sa4 3 - 1 'At, h . ; , i. . ii. . -,a e..Vvie.. . VJ. ' ' td It Is antldvateu wi:i be thrown pen for eettleraeal aometlme during the coming year. farey Art l-aada Key Is I .4. Xthle much land haa been reclaimed and.r the trsy act segregations, yet the Carey act Its If has not proved a eaocer. Little I lama caa be placed el on anvore for the apparent fsiluree illd.r the Carey act contrsrta. Moat ef Ihe Carey act contrail In Oregon aere entered Into shortly after tha passage of the hill and the partiea who had the admlal;ratlon wera not familiar with the provision, nor had i .a. the contractora aufflcient experience In reclamation work lo gauae properly the cost of construction and operation. 114 tbe authorttlee been more thor oughly ronverssnt with the pro-i!un or tits act irere I lltll doh that many af the vb.iarlee thai were presented might have l-eon overrorae and tha final re.ult would have been dirfrrent. Te Central Oregon Irrigation Com pany. In Crook County, ha been able to reclaim more land than any other i are? act e-aregat ion. At tha outset the cost of r.clmstlon was very morn and.reettmated. tha result being a rlea in me lien price from (14 7S to 146 a acre. In nit of thie rt . about K.tv acraa ara aow under cuiuva- "I tloo. IMI urti of wblcli la bw land t'odrr thi Mrrccatloo thr arc j about acr of Irrigable land, of nicn aoouc u.vn arrra ara ' "a atr and 42. acraa aold. Alfalfa and potatwa ara tba ataodard cropa rauad. rloMly followed by clovar. root eraM and rrainL Tba aDoroXlaaata valua of cropa ralaed In 11 on IMa ia mi o aj. lncrcaaa of noar' It IIS 606 over Kit. Dalrylnc and hot ralalnc ara vary Important Indua Ui la tola diiUlcc lata rrajrt a airra Tha atato Tumalo project. In Crook County, containing S2.06 acraa, u completad rar its and Uia landa plafad on tba market. Thla la tha ona toataac) whra tha atata haa raterad dlrarllr Into tba reclamation of arid laiMta, Thla project ooet 4M.ao. bring- a dtieci appropriation by tha Ore on LiIlura. Uttla adrtlln baa been dona, and thla. coupled with the fact that the anticipated Immigration A'mI haa been Tery light during; the paat threa yearn, haa reaultt la tba dlenoaal of n comparatively .mail acreage. However, a number of new aetUere have taken up land on tha project ail much haa been done In the war of general development. About tsee a-rea ara under cultivation, of wblch 206a acre la new land reclaimed during tha laet year. Tba general climatic and eot! condltlona are very eimllar to thoee on tha Central Oregon Cary act aegregatlon. Alfalfa, clovar and root cropa ara auoceaafully railed and many farmera on tha project ara now engaging In dairying and bog bueln.ee eztea.lvely. Tba Palelay project, at Paialey, In Lake County, baa been tied up on ae rount of litigation aver water righta, and development greatly ratarded. but final aettleroent la In eight, and It la probable work will begin In tba aariy Knring. There ara 11.000 acraa In tbla project, about one-eixth of wblch la now being furnished with water and andar cultivation. It la estimated It will coal approximately I ;i to complete the ay.tem aa now outlined. The money la available to do thla work, and aa eoon aa tha legal obeiaclea are cleared up.lt will be puabed to com pletion. Prliite reafeeta Make Calaa. There are a large number of private Irrigation projecta In the atata. eome of wbl-h have been very aucreeefuL Many of theee. on account of tha coat In financing, aro of email acreage, yet. taken ae a a hole, have reclaimed many thoueand acres. The aame difficulty In financing la experienced by the pri vate enterprise, aa by Carey act or other companlea. Probably the largest or tha private projerte la tba Oooae Lake. In tha southern part of Lake County, with water ready for about 64.600 acraa. Much of thla land baa been mora or lees successfully farmed under dry farming method for maoy years, but when watered tha yields will be ma terially Increased. While much grain and bay nave been produced, livestock rtlD-IX CAIMTAl. UTOCK Of ORKUO.e BASK. 1M.16.US.:S I 11I1I. ?. lll 17.113. 3S0 I'll- lS.SiJ.tJ4 H1J. i;.T0.JO6 lli ralalnc I tha principal Industry. With water will come general diversified farming and growing of alfalfa and tha atimulation of the dairying Indus try. Tha water righta ara selling for II an acre, with long time for pay ment. Tha price of land with water rarrgea from tlS to I5i an acre. Bet ter transportation la needed In the (loose Laka Valley In order to reach broader markets. Tha Wamlc project la located In the southern part of Waco County and contain over l.0Vv acre, of which more than l:.00J acraa are under cul tivation. A good portion of thla project Is being farmed under dry-farming method. The principal cropa at tha present lime ara wheat, oata and bar ley. II le coneervatlvrly estimated that thla dl.trlct produced about ll').0v worth of grain during tha last year. Much new construction la contemplated, and eome of tbla work will be dona during lflt. The Western Land at Irrigation Company's project In Cmatllla County Joins tha Government projeot anJ contains approximately 1S.UO0 acre, of which 70ua acres ara In cultivation. About SOW acraa of new land war reclaimed during tha past year. Al falfa, grain and fruit are the prin cipal products, and about 1350.000 worth wera produced during tha last year. While water Is ample for early Irrigation, storage rerolr ara needed In order to take cars of tha late cropa. Tha yield on tba project would be Increased about 40 par cant by the atorag: of flood water. 1 roofs la Maaaear Cseir. Malheur County has made rapid progress during tha last year, and eotl and climatic condltlona ara such that hay. grain and fruit are raleed with marked uccea For several yeara pat many experiments In com ralalng have been made. A reault there ara a number or recorded yield ot over 16 bushel per acre of ahelled corn. With tha exception of tha Jor dan Valley project all Irrigation In thla county has been by private enterprises. There I aa Immense area In tha dis trict susceptible of Irrigation and for which water Is available, but too ex tensive In character to ba taken car of by private capital. In order to reclaim thla land It will ba necessary to form Irrigation dis tricts and adopt some plan whereby an Investment of outside capital caa be made attractive. Many of the) ex isting prttate projects In this county have made great progreaa during tha last year. The Kingman Colony project, though containing but J500 acrea. has livo under cultivation, and raised during the last year about till. eve worth of hay. besides livestock and grain. The history of this littla project la the history of practically all tha Northern Malheur County Irrigated lands. Irrigation aa VA ret aide. It haa been thought for many year that Irrigation west of tha Cascade Mountain was not necessary, but dur ing the past few yeara It haa been thoroughly demonstrated that water rightly applied will greatly Increase production In the Willamette Valley lands. Rven more Important baa been found the necessity of Irrigation In tha Kngoe Klv.r Valley. The largest scheme west of tha mountains la tha Rogue River Canal Company. In tha vicinity of Med ford. Thla company la now Increasing the slsa of Ita reservoir to a rapacity of J J.0'M-arre feet. There are approximately 15.000 acrea la thla project susceptible of Irrigation and which will ultimately ba put andar water. An Irrigation project covering about SO.OoO acres la being developed la the vicinity of Crania Pasa. This project Involves the construction of a reservoir holding about lO.OuO-acre feat of water. The preliminary coat of this project will be In tba neighborhood of IJ'HI.IWO. There ara a number of Important problems that must ba solved to In sure the last word In Irrigation effi ciency In Oregon. The land, eoll and climate are awaiting capital, not only for tbe reclamation of the land, but to provide transportation, markets and soma way to finance the email farmer, either through a workable rural credit system or so roe similar plan. Theae communities ara Inviting the farmer to a home, daslre to help him and hia family toward ureas, and It only ood aome plan whereby Investments of thla character caa be made safe, ao that not only tba fanner himself, but Investor can -e aome return for bis laoacy and labor axjtcsuad. - - Sheep-Raising Industry Is Made Profitable With Improved Methods and Better Breeds With Passing of Ranges, New Conditions Change, Methods in Industry More Sheep Raised on Small Farms Marketing Facilities Satisfactory. . I'll- ' .. " v .. W,a. so- ." . r. ;h.... v' '.. hi I - - . - i 0 . ; . . 1 I 1 - - 1 I ' I . r . ' ' - ' ' " t " r M : ' -ik L. cl By K. Tt. Maaneld. ef Maafleld. Oregea. THERB ever haa been a constant change of method In tha ralalng of aheep In Oregon due to the chang ing of condition: not that thla la an exception, because tha same has been true In all parte of the world. Early In the 18th century Merino sheep were Introduced Into America. These aheep wera crossed upon the common mongrel sheep and from them were bred a better type, and hearing greater quantltiea of finer wool: and ao It wa In Oregon In the early 0a when tha principal aheep ralalng district was In Western Oregon. At that time those hardy pioneers and flock-masters began to bring their small flocks of sheep across the Caa cada Mountains Into Eastern Oregon. They Imported tha fine-blood Merino sheep and crossed them upon the long- legged, thln-wooled sheep mat were flrt common to the country. This course of breeding waa followed until the principal sheep of Oregon hud be come what was known aa hlgh-rrade, or pure-blood Mirlt.o sheep. Oregon became famoua as the producer of some of the best types of this sheep, and thla fame extended to foreign countries. Theae fine - woolcd. h-vy - shearing sheep wera never popular In Western Oregon as they did not seem to endure tha lalny eeason as well aa the coarser brtads and long-wooled sheep. Chaag la Industry et-4. In the paat ten yeara we have seen tha passing of the breeding of these high-grade Merino al-eep from a large Industry: now only a few far-sighted brcedera continue to raise them. This change has been due to tha passing of tha large range holdings and the changing of the aheep Industry from that of a strlctiy range proposition to a dual-f-rra buslne. Also the great demand of the consuming; public for tbe milk lamb In preference to tha ma ture mutton h-ep and tha unfavorable prices which the woolgrowcr received for big wool, due to being thrown In open competition with the whf.le world with the removal of the tariff., have affected the Industry. Today the question of most Import ance to the breeder Is what crosa or what method of breeding will produce the largest aheep. Formerly It was which would produce the beet and greatest amount of wooL I do not mean lo say ihat tha breeder gives no con sideration to the wooU but rather, it IS a secondary consideration which it receives, for almost without exception the breeder has first In mind the lamD that he expects to offer on the market, snd thla ha resulted In a different method of handling sheep on the rackt-s Where they formerly had the lamba born In April and May. and dropped out In the open ranges, a kreat many of tha breeders are now breeding their ewea M a to drop their lambs in February'wfcen tha ewea are kept under cover. The ewes with their lamba roust be fed until the grass has come freh and green on the rangea. and they are given every attention pos sible to hasten an early matunty. This iamb should, ba properly fatted and grown so as to be placed t n the market when It 1 from 1,,v t0 110 "y old and in order to obtain tHi result. It must have every condition aa nearly perfect as possible and not experience ven a single day of neglect. A good lamb, properly produced, should weigh from TO to II pounds when between three and four months old. Most breeders favor the Hampshire. Shropshire, Lincoln and CotUwold cT-osn. ard 1 would a' that among that par titular breads that tha black faces, or the Hampzhlres and Shrop- hlrea. are decidedly the most profit able, and to my mind unquestionably produce the hardie&t and best shipping lambs. Brcedera Deserve Credit. There are certain sections in Oregon that are so remote from the railroad aa to make It Impractical to attempt to bring the lambs to market for mutton purposes, and it is probably to these breeders that we will owe the perma nency of the sheep Industry in our state, for their duty in their line of production will be that of raising the lamb that is to become the breeding ewe. Slaughtering of the lamb, of course, results in the curtailment of the increase. These breeders must depend upon some one else to produce the ewe which they must have to refill their bands aa their ewes grow old or to make up their natural losses. What la known as the cross-bred ewe has become very popular among the breeders- This sheep Is produced by crossing the Merino ewe with a coarse-wooled ram, the most popular of which Is what is known as the Lincoln or Cottswold cross. This cross brings a large, smooth ewe which produces a long and fairly heavy fleece of wool. It seems that with the shortage of breeding ewes, the breeder who Is pro ducing; thla kind of aheep is receiving his reward: for almost the first time in the history ot the sheep industry these range lambs have sold for as great a price as tbe lambs that were fit for mutton use. :' Oregon has long been the breeding ground for her sister states of Idaho and Montana. However, with the de creased production of breeding sheep and In the Increased production of mut ton lambs. It seems that Oregon will do well In the future to produce enough breeding aheep to supply her own ne cessities. All sheepmen admit the Merino blood should be mingled with that of the coarse wool in order to have a proper ranjre sheep, and so I prophesy that the breeder of pure Merino sheep, who waa not lured away by tbe comparatively high prices that are being paid for the cross-bred type, will reap his re ward forv continuing to breed Merino sheep. Day af the Free Range Caae. The change of breeding has -been only one of the problems -with which the sheepmen has had to cope. Of late yeara there has been the policy of the range, aa brought about by the control. of what are now known as the National Forests, by the Federal Government. Formerly these great mountain areas were the free Summer home . of the sheepman. He run his sheep as he willed and there was no one to tell him where he might go so long as he re mained on the public domain. The only opposition that bs bad was the cattle man. who liked to reserve certain areas for his herds, and in many Instances he found a very effective way of enforc ing bis desires, and many were the bat tles that were fought Detween tnose interested In these two branches of the livestock ludumry. When these large areas passed under the control of the Federal Government and became knewn aa the National Forest Re serves, the right was held to presribe and enforce rules and regulations for the uses of these ranees. The Federal authorities contend that the right to use the range should be based upon that of priority usage, and thus at one fell swoop was destroyed the oppor tunity for the launching of new men in the sheep industry. That is to say . , ...... It imnrittsible. hv that rule, lor any audden -Increase in - tho ...uiiDor ot sheep ihat misrut be grazed in Joret-t reserves. They contended, and quite properly, too, that the forests wete already overstocked and that in stead of increase in the grazing in the forests, It was necessary to bring about a reduction. This they proceeded to do by making cuts of certain per centage of the number of sheep that might be grazed in the reserves, in some instances as great as 30 per cent in one year. I think it Is conservative to say that for every breeding ewe that is being run in Oregon there is a mt ney invest ment of 115 a head. In former years this Investment was but slightly more than the value of the sheep itself, so with the pressure of heavier Investment, more taxes to pay. and then, too, an in crease in the cost of labor, the sheep man has been foroed to practice the greatest economy and develop the greatest efficiency. By economy and efficiency, he has been able to over come to a great extent the Increased coFt of production and besides the mar ket prices have advanced as this cost of production Increased until at tho present time the sheepman Is experi encing the greatest prosperity that he has ever known. . Sheepralalng la Profitable. The strong prices that sheep aro bringing today have induced the farm ers to engage in the sheep business where the sheep are run upon the farm the whole year round, and it is to these farmers rather than the range man that the markets must look for their future adequate supplies. The natural conditions In Oregon are ideal for farm-raising of sheep. The whole state is practicaly free of disease, and the most Ideal climatic conditions exist for the breeding and raising of sheep. I know of one large flock that tho gross return in the past year were more than $9 a head for each ewe, this being tbe amount received for the lamb and wool, and there were more than 8000 head of ewes in this outfit that showed this remarkable yield. 1 know of another band of 2700 sheep that were leased to a man who paid the owner two-fifths of the gross receipts for the use of the band of 2700 ewes and tho gross receipts from the 2700 ewes amounted to 119.600. Of course, these are exceptional cases, but they tend to show what can be done by em ploying the right system and proper methods of breeding and handling of sheep. Illustrative of the possibilities of the sheep industry. I wish to cite a case of a certain now prominent sheepman iu Eastern Oregon, who, with his two brothers, in 1908 were employed as sec tion hands on a railroad, where they conceived the desire to engage in the sheep business. They secured positions as Eheep herders, saving their wages until 1911 when they purchased about 800 old ewes. One of the brothers took them to herd while the others contin ued to work for wages until they were able to Increase this flock, by added purchases and natural Increase, until 1914 they were running more than 3000 ewes, and their holdings had so In creased that it required all of the time and attention of the three brothers. 1 understand at the present time that they are running more than 4000 good young ewes, and have sufficient money to carry them through until they will have marketed another crop from their sheep. I also understand that they have done all of this without taking advantage of any line of credit. Of course this. too. is an exceptional case, but it shows what can be done in Ore gon in the sheep industry by exerci- inf proper Judgtnent and thrift.