'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