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About Willamette farmer. (Salem, Or.) 1869-1887 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 4, 1881)
'I . . re? in Ly 1 HP it I k It i ffi WlLLAMKTTK FAItMKR; POiiltAMf), ORrlClofr, FK1WUARV 4. Is5. . Mtmr Thcro is no necessity to go over tho facts nud show how Improvable tlio coiisiinnii ition of this hyp'lhosis may lio, but the writer nlhul Gil to has made pmsiblo ii much more reason. lilo nml equally satisfactory supposition t That If ouo-tuiith of tlio suppoaeil nr.tblo laud that mo included in government sur veys up to tlio present time, can lie inndo n baud of sheep is necessary for good farming. The advantage of slucp in ft suintiipr fallow is 1h oikI n question, ami In this conntiy where fall sowed giaiu often grown all winter, It is necessary tu havo tlio superabundant growth eaten down in tlio spring, or there, will ho long straw aim llltlo grain, oouio menu minus thuothcr day o( picturing a Held with hogs and other stock until May, and then nuking ... n-M r .. .. i . - 1.. .t L .1.-..I 1 l ...:n ami oilier suiCK mull iay, nun men ih.kiiik valla Ho for whatiodictln. tloyWdw.il extraordinary ha.v.st, hut llulit-foitai f ffS h ' W Titrf W Vt nl f?, l" "I'fP "'. tl.u best, and they eiulcli all tin nla, with tlio y.ild of Western Oregon and w,,it, tMp t) ' in,,,. 'l-Yon, what wo Washington to ho added. This shows how Import-int tlio epilation of ocean trampoitn tl'iii is for our future. WIIKAT t'Ul.TUUK IN TIIK WIIXAMETTK. Whll'i wheat culhiru is much thu same in nil regions, 1 lino nru qiiistlons of climate and soil that a lire t it every w hero. In our w esteni valleyH wo have tlio saiuo climate, and tlio soils gcnnnlly Invo tho snine ulayoychatnctor istlcn that mako tlieni tuiporior and lasting, hut tiLo thu WRlaiuctto Valley and wo find timWI.incUuitli exciwsof vegetable mould, tho ll.tt prnn io ivachcs that luck drainage, with plv wi eru water lias stood in winter nud left what is oill.il white land that re- have said It Is eviduit that who it farming must ho studied from the stand point of thu iuimediato locality ami coils. Thcso dlller greatly through all tho region West of the Cascades, anil the mind of the farmer must master nil tho circumstances heforo ho can aitcccMfalty produce the host results, though tho oxpinicncu of those hi fore him in that lo cality will nuswcratl questions. No man need hesltato to locatu in any w heat pioducing re- Sieii if ho Ixdiuvo hv can do w lint others have ono. CULTIVATION AND lllll.ir.IST OT TIIK MOUN TAIN)!. Fast of tho mountains tho soil lacks tho clay that stitfens that of tlio Meat, and Is much lighter. Tho capacity for production seems niMiiiila ii-miiIv to cultivation, and tho rest of such pmiriiM nued' to ho thrown up in hrdi stimulated and tho hills mid plains that nre M... ..... .i... 1 ..I . -l... r.n '. .' r.iil ...8. . I i i . ,i . "tickled with n plow" soon "laugh lack lug and fall wing possible. People who ,. , ..... , . , ,.., fanu tliotu lands have genensHy practiced with a harvest." It remains to ho seen if they lining plowing nml sowing of vprnig vitriolic. ' possess lasting ipialitics, hut it is known that wuaiis viuieii sjihiu uniu is very popular, nml as wu aio apt to li.ivo rami all tlio spring It is nothing unusual In he.tr in tho month of .May that these lauds hr-va not yet Wen town. Much lands aru found on French l'rairio In Marion county mid to a forgo ex tent in l.inn and I.-iuu enmities, hut not to a great txtuut t-lnuwlici- I 'I lieu wo liavu n great deal of hili or rolling praliiu laud that can Ik) luiiiiuer-fnllimtil mid full-iowii, which pro duce with much gte.iter eel tain ty. Too hill regions of thv valley tilTcr thu limit certain ro turns, with natural drill -ngo so that they can tu plowed at any tiuiu niidsuui-d when tho ground is in giKidoulcr. Tho Waldo Hills of Marion county lo'oiuhlu thu daik soil of the hunt pir.il io lauds, while tho red hills s-uth of alcni. in llm wiinu einiiiiy, n.i u a soil strong ly impiegitcd with iron, which is indeed red, tho soil is deep mid yields with astonishing prodigality. Wherever mahle land is found, over all that wida area, it seems to possess this ipiick, vivifying principle, and under fav orablo circumstances yields well. So (triu wo aro aware, thcio is littl" iliHorcnce in toll through tho counties In nil Knitcin Oregon nml Washington that lisnUrou the Coluiii hia. New land is ollen hroken up in tho Spring and sown in.thocnrlv Full produces well. llains are not sncertMii thcio either early in tho Fall oi Into in tho .Spring, so tho si ason for sow nig grain is'not so ptutraedd as West of tho mouiitiiii', Iiud l iiukIi cAiicr worked tlieiu. and as the country is haru of t nil largo growth to n great nxieut, tho now comer unlutclics Lis team lioin tlio wngou, when his location is mad, duly to hitch tlcm to tho plow, ami ho plows mid sows wheat without lot or lilinlrauco. I Ills, oi course. mint not ho taken too literally, hut conveys tho idea, Fencing is a matter that conns for hut furl islm ipnliMiis ill thu prodiation of heat cauiint he oxcjljml Mueh of tho Wil lamette Viilln , i'.rlK-ci.tlly thu hills region, is umlri laid with lt op ill lunits of mail, which r.. .i.i-i..... . -., n:. .!.... ii. . ...,.... i....i...i. ....i indicites tint u means of r.xnpt ration Is at ' After considointiou, nud is tho most dilllcult hand if tho soil I o ,.itie. inipoverUed. I l'rohlem ho has to solve. If you travel fsr Woluvonvicrtcdtli.tnuieh iwur fnnnlns ' '," wiU ; fi,,.in'"t cconoiiilcM us of tliiiUr, could ho frail ho,, mm have oium Wen dis-1 tlit im to ho hrought from tho mountains, i eoiiiH'd lio'nallv rusts eoinofii.niear.fiilw.il. In some luc.lltlcslt ro set mm ft low lulls lisucl on.niin wo no- con Id ho i.eo.1 l,oi,m avo olu-n Wen dis-1 t",1 ,M ", """'S1'1 ""''"' ''"'! gutted nt thu sight of lields oholieil with sor- ,i",,1"y, ''" iw" m' n"'tt' felor piniieio.is wied. Fiil.U aru too often ' ,,1.l1c1,,i, fro ",' "V.'1 ""U. I'""'. ? ' run for n lifithne. wheiias tho he.t resulU with l.ts and tails, and oecMionaly is found to work will to plow in f.illorwin ter nml replow and tow- in the spring. Tho most Kit tiuctoiy methoil seems tu Im to sum mer fallow every third year It may not ho n rule withsilt exci ptlons, hut wu consider it nearly cut tain that wheat well put in in Octo ber is woitli I'uo hiiahels an aero more nt har vest than if putlus.ftiTtli.it. Yet wohavo actually known years when tho yield of spring-sow it grain oxcuiUd that of fall-sown. This must hau Veen Imc.iiue, not being put in properly or tulllcicntly tlialuetl, tlio Inll wheat was drowned out or winter killed. Draining lauds for liiuniugh mil successful cultivation liccd an oecatlounl nttoiupt nt n hnlge. The gtont attraction for tho new comer lies in Hit fact that llio country is all open, though often thcio are steep hill sides, hut wheio ft plow can go ami ft lieailer can follow to snro tlio grain, wheat fields nro growing and harvests in ulo. It is truly won h rf ill how prolific tho soil is nml how it icspouils to the efforts of nan. Kven in thu ohlot legions wo saw few , weeds in tho growing wheat. More dilliculty is onticiuteil fnnu drouth than ttipcnihund nueoof rain fill. While tho praiu'es of tho WilUmette can ho sowiil until lato in May, thu Uistcrn farmer takes no chance hu can has not yet trouhled the minds of our fanners IH,U! ' X "- ""' l" L". Kn'V " V to any great extent. Tlieio at o some gravelly P'l'l- 1 ho whe.,t planting seosm closes lands, though not extensive and not Reiiernlly J.0 ""V "', ",u Ntihk wM thould closn with ,i..,i...i i,. ...,.i wi,, .. r.,...!, .!... ,.;. i l'eliruary, Drouth need not Iw feanil when clay in tho toll I wluat Kvt ft K'KK' '-irt i tho fall. Thoru is am, hut thu clay mlcn upland theto; mid as tho soaking rains tain lootlulls tliiTo Is lets . I.I..I. t. I.Ul... ...n... ,tf I.V.... I.i.f i... i... lauds of tho Wilhimetto Valley aro then. " lacking hero is no oxcuso for delay in plus ultra for wheat cultivation. , buhmi.u rAl.uiwiso with iir.Er, Wo havo shown thu ilillertut soils of West ern Oregon, and tho methods of wheat cul ture followed hcr, and how wheat it being sowed on dillYicnt Uvationt from September until June. Thorough cultivation is needed, but even that can Ihi oenlouo. Some yearn ngo quite mi nrguuient iccurrvil iuoureol limns nnioiii! farmets a to tho best nietliod of summer fallowing, mid wo recollect that it was decidedly proved by ft fiieud living near llethel, 1'ulli county, that mora than ono plowing was injurious, Tlio tamo fact v-as mode plain to us a short tiuiu since by Hon. J, II. Smith, Statu Senator from Unu plowing after Full rains phau thu soil in prop vr coiiuiuuii METIIODH riUCTICM) ANll UK.SULTH EASTOrTIIE MOUNTAI.NB. With tho progress of railroads, tho increase of wheat culture will bo emriiiniis through all tho regions adapted to it, and they aro oxtcn tivo enough to kiep a good slice of tho world's population from starvation. Tho enterprises of tlioO. It. N. Co. and tho N. 1'. It. It. Co. will bring all tho Upper Columbia country within reach of maiket and pour imputa tion in to fill these regions up and cultivato thim. Our suhect lua mero with tho meth ods of wheat culture and tho success attained county, wholivM near II vrrithurg. One year liu tnetl to nil a pus- oi lanu oi wcviisaml than with men's Bx.vulatinu concerning tlio future. The iswsibilities do not uewl.to coma nut it in moat thorough cultivutiou. so he nave beforu us at thu present time. it a summer fallow, with as many plow nigs In the regions West of thu mountains thera and harrowings as wero necu-sary to kill tho is couaideroblo fern laud, that is generally ths weeds and put thu land in peifect garden Wit of soil, but is Jianl to suUluo so that it tilth. Across tlio lano from t is field a iicit-h- will produce good crops of wheat, but Fut of Ik alto had ft summer fallow, A htavy piecu thu mountains the whole country is clear of of cUjcysoil was thrown up in gnutelo.lt that, or of any other weed or plant that oh- tliat bUo.l in the sun, and nil thu salvation structt cultivation to any serious extent. It forth piece seemed to lie tho presence of may bo truly said tliat over a wide extent of sheep who kept down all growth. Hit own open country Nsturu has rendered farming field was towed to wheat eary iu tlio f.dl, in operations very simple and easy and has done the Ut manlier, while his ueighWr scattered much to induce rapid seitlemeut and cultiva- seed among the clodt, nud raked a harrow ever tiou. The ease with which farming is coin- theui without breaking them, but when thu nieucetl and prosecuted under ordinary cir- harvest ctuue tlie ueiglibor bail two bushels to cuuutancea is fully equalled by the exuber hia one. That seems to bo the caueral expe- anoe of yield. We have teen many practical risUKM, and uow it U an MteUisbtxl tt tkat (jwriUUTWtWsjniOrtjottliiHW homes to tho Kastward, who assert that thoy rcaliro douhlo tho returns for land grown to wheat that they used to havo In tho Wil lamette Valley, which is proUihly duo to tho fact that poor cultivation pajs bettor there than hero, and it mutt also bo concoded that tho soil is quicker and more proliflo under or dinary circumstances, though good seasons cannot ho so uniformly depended on. A pro tracted hot spell cut itown their yield in tho vitinitir nf aJIa Wslla. mid in manv narts of ilia' wide country, in I8S0, hut eei where they 'complaiuoil of having only lialf n crop they claimed an average of twenty bushels to tlio acre, and in favorable localities, or where well, put iu early in tlio Fall, they real i red from 30 to 40 bushels. We think it safe to couccdo that the beat farming lands of 1'alouso, Wnllu Walla or Umatilla, will easily avcrago :iO bushels with only fair cultivation, and wo aro assured, by what wo boliovo competent au thority, that &0 bushels U not uncommon, and that "5 can he swoin to. The varieties of wheat cultivated East of tho Mountains aro not so numerous as in Western Oregon. There Is nodiBCitty in so suiing the be-t of seed .wheat, or in obtaining tho best infoiiii.iUoii ns to how and when it should bo sown. Wulla Walla wheat com mands a flood price, nt least roual to beat Cal ifornia, and perhaps a little moro, when in best condition, which was not tho cose last J'car, but it is quoted -J to 0 cents a cental iclow the Wit Willamette Valley whito w heat. Methods of cultivation dilTcr materially In thu dillerint sections. Here wo find every known harvesters at work; Hcapcrs, Headers, Self-binders, each' aru busy from tho middlo of July, w hill harvest Wgins, to the filst of Oc tober, nnd often to tho middlo of that month, Wcnuso tho tamo former will have Fall grain ripeniuv; iu July, Winter-town Holds that conio In through August, .and hit Spring wheat comes along when It guts ready. Thus our haiscs'iug mv.liino.ry hiw a long run of it. Many of our largo fan run their header wagons diicct to tho thashcr, but irl this moist climate there aro ant to bo part of days, nud sometimes entire days, when tho sea damps give fogs or heavy dews so thathomlcrs CMiiiot run all the day, while in Kutcrn rvgioi.i the clear, dry climate imurcs tliat heading en bo oni ricd on all day and all night, if o minded. Hero the various harvesters cit the giaiu and it is hauled and stacked tin til the tune fot threshing is convenient, unless it Is hcadtd, when no time it lost in thresh ing Iv but Kajt of tho Mountains whore no dows or damps aro found, hooded giain is cut and stacked in immense ricks, not even being ut up in tho pointed and carefully built atackt, that need to be practically waterproof in our cliuiaU wheie rains in September soir.ctimot oause trouble and loss. So while here all harvesting machinery that is known comp'tfcs for me, there the only method' used is the huadcr, w hich they say hanrosU at a vii,g ef S to 7 cents a Imthel compared with a reaper or self-binder. Where trautporta ti n charges cut down the income so greatly, thoy say it it niiwii'ry to practice every econ omy posaille in production, and so the header it everywhere popular. In (raveling over 100 miles among Will Walla wheat fleldt we noticed but ono Held that had bound bundles, which induced us to iuvottlgate the methods of liar vetting In most popular ute. Tho telf-biudcr men hcioaro confident that they will msko their machines moro acceptable in tho futnrc, hut wo havo given the facta as we learned tliein on the ground. Iu this essay, if wo have placed Wfore the world the important facta relative to wheat production in the Columbian region, shown the different result of soil and climato and wqiliiucil our prospective relations to the wtchM when future traiitportution prohlcmi shall W solved, we have accomplithi-J all wu intended or dcsiied. i ii ! WHEAT PRODUCTION IN CALIFORNIA AND 0RE00H. Wo havo Wfore us tlio census figures that thnw the wheat product of Oregon for 1S78, alto a leading California Journal which gives tho luminary of wheat production in that Statu for the same year as returned by the Stato assessor. According to thcso returns j the total average to wheat in California in I 1870 was 2,013,003 acres and the total product was 29,014,033 buthels, or exactly elevm and i buthels per acre. For the same year tlio area in Ortgon, in wheat, was 441,063 acres, the total product returned by the U. S. cen sus was 7,300,01 buthels, and a conioarative statement show that while Oregon bad but .one aix'.h a much acreage, we hail one-fourth a muah wheat produced from it. To put it again in a more direct shape, while California had IU bushels to tlio acre, we hail 17 as an average of the two States, liut another very Important matter for consideration come in to further sustain the superiority of Oregon a a wheat producing State, wliich i that in 1879 there wa an almost total destruction of spring wheat in th WillametU Valley, which cat ahort the yield front two and a half to . amUlstjaUlM)s tot tU only tint U I the history of tho country wo had a failure of spring wheat, mid only for this wo should havo shown a yield of, over two bushols for out! raised iu California, Tho most sanguino claim madu for yield in California iu 1880. is 17 buthels per ncro, nud figuring for oursolvo from tho data they furnith, in will fully cover it. So that when their harvests mo super nln.tdant, as they certainly nro this year, thef fall considciably short of tho average yield in Oregon in tho worst season ever known. In 1870 Linn county lost a million bushels over half her harvest by rust, and yot avoraged with California! Marion county lout ono third of her wlicat harvest and yr, avorngid 17 bushels; Lnno lost over one-third of lier wheat harvest and yot averaged 11J bushels) Folk averaged 10 bushels ami Benton tlio some, though heavy loser by rust, whilt Washington and Yimhill went 10 bushels all thcso in this valley w hero rust waa a des troyer. Fastern Oregon brought up the avor ngo as follows t Union county, 23 bushels) Umatilla county, 30 bushels) linker county 20 bushels. The acrengo in our Stnto for 1880. wo probably alxmt the sanio as for 1870, ami tho aggregate yield mutt bo over 10,000.000 bushels, with mi nvcrngo of over 22 bushels to tho acre, which ha novcr Wen exceeded in tliil State, and wo Wlievo never hat Wen equalled in any Stato in tho Union. It i chimed that our lands', somo of them, in thu valley hnvo Wen cropped too long, and that may bo truo iu lomo cases, but tho ag gregto harvest of 1SS0 docs not show much domago done. Tho fairest way to demon strato thu valuo of any county It by holiest comparison, and na the world has to hear much couotsiiiug the wonderful fertility of Odifornin, wo will nccept nchnlleugo nt any time to comuaro with Iter products, and giv her nt least IS per cent iu tho-gamo) that too, when wo know well that as ft freqeut fact, poor farming it douo in Oregon. We unhesitatingly assert that any good farmer wno will tummor-fnllow every, third year and work to fair advantage nml with good judgment can nverngu 2.1 bushels per ncro inOrogon nnd by discrving it by thoiough cultivation cau often realize 30 buihula cr acre. HORTICULTURAL. FRUITS, VEGETABLES AND FLOWERS. Early History of Frult-Tres Floating In Orecou -r-Mothods of Cultivation Buccettful Here What Fruit onl Veiotablo . . Buccstd Here. MANT CXOTIO I'LANTa AND rLOWKIM rUOVX IIAUUY IN ODIl CLIMATK. The following essay has bicii carefully and contcientioutly prcparsd for ut by Henry Miller, Ktq., tho well known florist of Port land, President of tho Statu Uonicultural So ciety, whoso long experience in tho nursery and orchard qualifies him to do tho subject juttice. No man can he mora impartial, and wo assure all reader that nl) his statement aro not only reasonable, but give the wont tide of our horticultur. , Iu times past wo used to mako the anertion with great confidence, that there a perhaps no country iu tho world that was Wttcr-i adapted for fruit raiting than Western Ore gon and Washington, hut of latu wo havo not Wsiuquite to boattful, for a formerly wo never knew an enemy to fruit, we have U contend the latt three or four years with th bark louse, and now with the npplo tree louse, or aphis. The bark louso ran it course, and haa mostly disappeared, application of .lime and salt in solution, applied with a brush, helping it along. The aphlt wa very de tructivo in the tiinWred parUof the Will amette valley and Washington Territory, but not on the prairiei. Tliii Winter's season, It it hoped, will have destroyed this post. The lady bug, a great enemy to tho aphis, ap peared on the sortie last fall and destroyed great numbers. Hut with all thete' draw backs, our tnaikct wcro abundantly. supplied. with fruit at usual price. Apple and pear are sent to market in boxes 13x15 Inches and ' 12 in depth j dried fruit in paper package of two ponud each, KAHLY HISTOUY TIIK rilWT NDKSMtTY Mott ol the old orchard in Oregon, and ,' Washington Territory originated from a nur tery brought aciosa the plain in 1847 by II. Luelling in an ox wagon, the tree growing in boxe. II came from Iowa, and mads luckily a good aeloction for this coast. In 1850 he . went back for a larger Importation, and he mad a large addition to his nursery in all braucheaof fruit, but, iu time, we came to," find out that but a ,f varietie wcro really . valuable for oar markets, and the more than -100 viUt of t?pl decreased to about 30 ' t I. irs
