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About Willamette farmer. (Salem, Or.) 1869-1887 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 12, 1881)
iilMf Issued svtry Week by the rilMWUTTK FAKMKR PI IIUHIIIMJ CO. TKHMS OK 8UI1SCR1PTIOS. Inejcar, (rostaxo paid) Inadlanco !.W lit months. (I'ontiwe paid), In advance .... 1.2'p Len than six months will he. per month 2 ADVEIMISINO IIATT-S : Advertisements kIII te Inwtnl, providing til arc respectable, at the follow Inir Ulile o! rateii : One Inch of since per month . . fc ? Mi Three inches of space per month . One-half column per month Ose. column ht month fiO lr, w 30 00 sartsainpie copies seni ireo on anpiieuuun l'uMlcallon Office No 5 Washl iton htriet. 1 ' stair, rooms No. G and fl. Wo commenccil publication of the ciop rn ports, from tlio Willamette Valley on the in sula of tliis issue, and the reports received last will be found on this side of the papT. lio'li inside and outside arc nearly full of lntcic-t-ing facts relating to the country. To Eastm Realcrs. Any person who miy road this number of the I'Anwun at the Kast is informed that we will nceivu fiom subscribers Host of tin ltocky Mountains pay at tlio rate of 2.00 a year, or 51.00 for six months. Also : Whoever wishes futthci inform itinu concerning thii country, or the wiy to get here, and co-it of tiavel, can be fully inform il if they will write to A. h. Stoke", &2 Claik atreit, Chictgu, an 1 ask for maps, document .md pipers. Oim CR P KETUK1IS. Wufcel rather pi mid of our efToi ts to socuio inform ition concerning growing etops in tin grim distrh ts of Oregon and Washington, n they have brought us tillable nifoi initio fiom almost every ncigliboihood of the im menso teiiitory involved. These u turns ale not ut .til speculative or unreliable, fur they ("line in over) instance from practiuil f.uniirs ami bear the stiougcst iinpicss of truth. We doubt if as u.ilisf.1 loiy n turns have bei n githcrcd fiom any other poition of the I'mt'il States. In all instuices vvu addiessod the in (juirii.s to our own subscribe is, intending to have them i cpic'scnt, as far as possible, i iHi Mcinity of a post office or town, and although tiey were ovci looked by many in the hurt) of lurvost work, we still have a good rcpiesi'iiti Uou of tl'O whole eouiitiy that ma) be coi'sid (rod grain producing. If these returns wcie cmivci .tally good their would bo cause to suspect that they were partial, but nil through them theie is a token that they teflei t tha truth and make no elloit ntellect. Many of the fariueis in Western Oregon speak of small yield, and some of t!i m plainly discuss the cause of it, w Inch is til it sound has got foul with weeds ami wild oats, junl should be efloctually summer-fallowed, oi cultivated in hoed crops, which cannot he done with huge fields in this section, to good advantage. The teports from this valley uui fonuly show that where there has been piopei iiiltivatioii thuyield hits been excellent. I'roin .'10 to I." bushils is nothing lumaikiblu foi good laud will tilled, and even Spiing whuit often goes 110 bushels, and despite the grat drawback of counting in a great ileal of laud that should not have in cultivation this vtar, wo believe the uvc'iagti of all the wheat giovvii in the Willamette valley will ho 22 luisluls, nt which ligure, after careful calculation, we c hi p t d it in lbSO. i l'luui thesu ivtuins we learn, also, that oits, all thiougli the Tactile Nmthwi'st, .ue tins year a wonderful nop, the hist evti known, soiuo asset t, which do not look much .ut if tlio laud was vvotu out. Wo also Icain that b u ley is a favonto crop to Im raised 1'ist of the mountain;,; that lla culture iceeives attention for both sred and lihei; that vegota bios and flints ato liixui i.iut and of the gie.it est excellence; that clover is becoming iiniui. hally popular, and tliu onl shoit crop that is mentioned is timothy hav, which was this year iiijiued by diy weather in May. Unit of the luoiiutaiiis thuy talk, as a mat tei ol cmiise, about wheat lii Ids th.it will go .'III to ,'( bushels to the acre, and the lTm itilla r.irm (commonly called the Portland i.mch) will till n oil fiO.OOU bushels of wheat fiom '.', (100 acn s of laml that is slighting!) eallid "sago and siud," We icpublish an up eountiy ulitoi's no c unit of his visit to this lam h; mid hue we mi) s will add tint while some Portland nu'icli nits thought lit to iiivn.it in this i ithtr 1 u ! sized f u iiiiug hi'heme, tin i e iu e v in few In go faiinj 111 Oiegou or Washington, and not imvmptom of what cm bo called "I utd mo ll ipuly." II iviug studitd thee many icpoits cnitful I), wo oui riidoiM) them as lelublc, ami thej Miie fiom nun whose stake in the mtiutiy is p.'iuiiuent, and who huvo no Induei limit to cvi-eiate. They aio practiial t mm is, ami speik plainly of faihins and thur cause. We got t l.om up Miuprv to seo what a little entei piiso would illeut, mid mo so will satislud that wn shill lepuit thuexpeiinie'iit m various i) whuicvir tlinn is need of lnfoim..tiim that is thoroughly tuliiblo. Sinco tliev have t iiiiim in. wo have uceived an order fui a lugu edition t i oontiiu all the iron icpoits ol foul lijues 'id nil such other inform vtiou n vio i mi compile from our ciitoiiipomiios,' and vu 'lliwi tint tliu extra issue will contain a gn.it Miss of limit Ititoii'stiug matter, and will do uiiuli to kotp the mind of pmplu in the Unt tin nod this w i). As this will im et thu eyes of in in) whore eeivo lufoiiiiatioii eoiK-vriiiug Oregon and Washington with interest, wo lepeat, with emphasis, that tlieiv is notluiii; seiis.Uion.il in tin issue of tlio I'.vitvint, nothing but will m;et the fullest investigation l'linit will bring us unexampled prosperity, but just now tlio ui-tmtv of e'ouimi'iw the woihl over stands in tlio w iy of priies for wheat U-uig what thoy bivo Itriii l'l eights on the oeean ale very high, ami wo look iviriie.tly towards the .South, fur tlio success of some of the projects that liavo Ih'oii advanced for cutting the isth mus and hoi tilling transportation to Kuuiw. Tint must come soon -ami with It will ionic cheaper oooiu fi eights and l-utter prii'ts for w htMt. Usually w o have realinvl at I'ortlaiul the prices paid foi wheat at Chicago. Last v-vir high li rights cut down prices Ur Uluw Chicago. EAST OF THE MOUNTAINS. The present year shows fai more favorabU crop prospi-cts cast of tlio Cascades, both in Oiegon and Washington, than existed last year. Then a very unusual dry season pre vented the proper maturing of grain unless it was sowed in tlio previuis 1 all and grown under very fnoiablo eiiciimstances. This was not true- of all the eaftern country for there was said to be a good jield in the l'a .ouso country and along the foot hills of the 'Hue Mountains in the Walla Walla region, tail in ccitam valleys the yield was good but not what is usually expected in that rich andpiolific soil. Such a failme, or paitisl failure, is not usual time, and when tbeii ag- ricultuie has become well sjstematied, ami the nieds and capacity of the soil and pecul larities of the clinuto aie moro fully under stood, we believe it will be possible for such failme to be in a great measure avoided. Ovv iitotlicpicssiiigdemaudsof theluivest, no doubt, fanners to whom we addressed in quiries have delayed their ausweis fiom that section, but we arc now leceiving many le ports from eastern counties cf this State and Washington, ami expect many mole lij another week's lime. So far .as ictutns come in it is veiy evident that goodciops piev.iil in all directions, i'roin Wasco and Klickitat, close to the mountains on both sides of the Columbia, it seems that the vield is good and that thy lauds, whcie noiirigatiou is pos H'ble, which weio planted to grain ill the i'all, aie making excellent clops, 'I'nat is encour agement foi settlement of much hill laud whcie it vv i" not a ceitaiuty what the vield would be Lcaiisu it had lievcr been tested sufhciuitlv, hut tlie picsentjeu answers such doubts Tat in aid. Oui loorts fiom Uuntilla count) show thai clops tlieie aie v.o ideifully piollfic and full) sustain all that has been ilalimil for that wheat irodiicing legion. iicpoits covir all parts of the eountiy east of tlio Umatilla liver. The l'oitland rauchc, which is mar Umatilla .ind not conflicted the be-.t legn u by any means, h is '.',000 aoiei m wheat that is being tin eahed in the lit Id and tm us oil 'J."i to HO btisluls to tlio actc, so that our con e spondeiit exclaims: "So much for sagu brush and sand," which fully explains tlio ehai.actei of the soil cultivated. Such a yield on sue'1 sod is simply wonderful, and if such soil re cives this piactical endorsement by actual cultivation it shows that u great portion of tlio upper country can be made available for settlement on the same terms, for the gi eater portion of eastern Umatilla county isappir ently much bettci soil. We are told that good cultivation ill eastern Umatilla county will bung a jield in some in stances of Go bushels pi r acic, and ll'i to 45 is often mentioned, whilosevei.il cortespondeuts asset t that a yield of 'JO to .'id bushels to the acio will be had wheie tliu seed was simply sown ami hallowed, or the laud run over with a cultivator. This cannot be eousideied in any sense good farming, but such a icsult fiom so little elloit shows that tho soil only meds fair cultivation to in ike ettiaoidinaiy rutin ns. Wo have often heiud it asset ted that twice us much wheat can bo produced theie, to the acre, as in tho Willamette alley, ami the claim is undo that they can faun tin to to a profit if they can he suio of ,)U cts. pei bushel. Hith assertions stem extiavag.iiit, nut ate not so fat fiom the truth as one would suppoie. That eountiy certainly possesses veiy iem.uk ably i ie.li soil; Tho Walla Walla region, including all the ngiiciiltui.il lauds to the bend of Snake liver, se'eiiis to be piodiicing iiiuch in the same pio. poitlou iu. what wo havodiHciibed in Umatil la county. Tliu most successful fanning is earned on near the llluo Mountains, or actual ly iu tliu foot lulls, but theto is no doubt that nearly all tho land from Snake nvci and the Columbia, l intr fi ou tho Umatilla live r east to Suiiko river, cjh bo made to produce ceieals when it is not too steep to be propel 1) culti vated, Tho region near Walla Walla, anil to the eastward of it, will from this time on bo v. iy productive and swell gioatl) the uxpoits of wheat from the Columbia liver. Ninth of niko liver, too, including all the I'alouso couuti), this is a suimisiiig veu for production andhiivest pioipeuts coiiespoud with the genefal lesults tiom the distncts south of theie to which wo have refeiied. So fir as we mil judgu by known facts, tho whole upper eountiy is producing well in all classes ol ideals and vegetables, and also of flints, l'ho testunonv wo ivccivu is tint all the pi od nets of tenipeiato ones are abundant iu Jield and excellent as to their ipialit). l!irle,v is tho favonto product for ftnliug horses and does mi well th it iu puts of tho upper eountiy it supnsedes oats altogether. When theio shall bo established thiougli connection with tliu 1' ist this prolulo legion will til ti I i sum maikct for lUiich and beauti ful flints iu giant l'-a-doni eiticsand will lull) tival tho fiiuu of Calif.uuu iu this connection. We look to this as oim ol tho gielt tooutces of the futuic. l'uiit culturo iuut lw mollt ab'e wheie nut can bo grown soeeitiinlt and of such siiiv'iilu cMcllenee, Not only will it lie (hliped as gii-eu flint to a coiisldirablo e tout, but It will become protitablo to can fnut foi the uiaikets of the vvoild. Wohavolatol) iii itcil fiom Califoinii journals to show tho gnat iiuii-.aso iu fruit growing, and that we-.althy men have taken hold of fnut (miiiiiiij and diying with the expevtation of tinding a jjrovving and iiioxhaustihlo uiaiket for such fnutit iu r.iuipe. Therefore, wo lool. conll deiitly to the tune when such a busiuess shall lio establishiil in tho Ctiluuihiaii region. Taking tlio iftunis itvetvod and all the news gatheied from other sources, we conclude that tlio cistern pattsof Oregon and Washing ton a IV as prosperous at can U o. peeled of a new i-ountry so situated. If inland and ewan freights weio reasonably clie-ap there could bo no ipiistiou as to tho prosperity of that people, limn will remedy such coiuntauits. OvtMii f roights will come down w hem '-relief is afford. ml by other avenues for shipments, iuh as Kads' railiooad across TVliuautepcv will allord, or when some change iu tlio vvoild's i-oiiiincrcc WILLAMETTE FARMER: PORTLAND, OREGON, AUGUST shsll set Ioo3e its fleets to como hither for our products, and it may be that the Southern Pacific railioad will jet bo a means of relief. The only way wc can see for inland freights to d eel ease will be for productions to grow iu volume so that incicoso of business will leave ua excuse for heavy freights. Wo must rec ognize that since tho days of the O. S. N. Co. facilities hate wonderfully increased, and fieight rates have sensibly decreased in some particular. VN hen this whole country is brought into1.! state of productiveness freight rates must correspond, and we now see rail roads pushed into every districtw here produc tion can be encouraged, and in advance, actually, of the population and business to support them. Capital has faith in the futuie and produccis can work out that future with confidence that the-y can always protect then own inteiests. WESTERN OREGON. The reports we have received from Western Oregon show that the crop prospects of this section of oui State are satisfactory. Last year we had veiy excellent crops, ami had tl e price paid for wheat been equal lo thoaver.igc for five v ears pi ev ions, the prosperity e f tin Willamette valliy would have been unexaiu pled. So fai in the histoi) of Oregon, it i show n that fair crops are the l nle. l'ho crops of the piescut jear seem to be about espial te last )i ir', and theio is little dillcience in acieage or ) icld. We estimated then that the aveiage ) teld of wheat wus about 22 budicls to tliu acie, and it looks as if vvu can expeel a much iu 1M. 'J hat is a gieatei y.cld than i avci.aed bj an) Statu in the Union in onliua iy yean, and twice as much as some of the gicat wheat glowing States of the West wib atciage the piesent jeir, while it is f.ai below the uvei lire1 of production V, ut of the Ca-cadi langc, in our own Stites. Another lemaikahle fact concerning t'ut )ciu s wlieat eiop iu tins valliy is, that it n le.alied as also the immense yield Hast of us iu a) car when California has failed to make much ovcrlulf thecrop lc.ilued in ISM). Then ouo of the leiding gi.u'u houses wroce us thru production would average 17 bushels, (when this State aveiaged 2-J) so that t'ds je-ai then )leld cannot go over 10 bushels to the acie. This illustiates the dilTcicnco in cliinite, which Dungs clops with so uiueh mole eel tainty iu Oregon than California, and show so much gi eater inducement for liiimigiauti t come to this State. While it seems title that vvu shall have i fair yield of all soits of products and a lint w heat surplus to export, we also notice thai our cm respondents speak freely of the ev ils poor cultivation, and wheio they g;ve smal' crop returns, almost invariably attribute tin fact to poor cultivation, which generalh means that the land was in need of stimmei fallowing to lid it of weeds, cheat or chess and wild oats, which were encoiu aged to grow hv the mild sc ison and eat ly Fall rains, and so took possession of the ground. Many fields sc allectcd wcie cut for hay, which was a good thing where the timothy meadows weie scant, as was the case this)e.u. They also spiak encouragingly of the fact that much more, land than usual is snininer-fallowcd. Tanners, they say, aie taking moie pains to e'ear their laud and improve their cultivation. Tliu fact it tint many have been veiy leniiss in thcil work, and seemed to expect Xatuio to favor them without thought or heed on their own put. The point we mako is that good fann ing letiuiis a good aveiago of yield, and wtnle we maintain uu.a,veiago of over 20 bush els per acre it is the fault of caieless w .ik and vci) poor fanning that the average is not higher. The oat crop iu this valley seems to bo a great improvement on ordinary years, ami with tho late tains to In ing forvvuid late sown oats tho jielil s ould bo ev en better than vv e have had leported to us. llarley is a favorite crop Kast of the Cas cade's, but has not been so much grown with us; but our ivpoiU show that more barley has been sow u than usual, and has done so web that fanners aie inclined to grow- moio of it pi futuie. Vegetable's of all kinds aro pel feet iu all respects and vield abundantly. Fruits aro (.omevv hat cut oil by late frosts, which alTeot apples geneiall), though th.ro will bo a gteat abundance, and moio than will bj ncidid for houio Mippl) l'ears and plums and piuiies jield well; ilicrnes weie a good crop ge.ieial 1) ; peaches and grapes aro not fruit that vie glow successfully, though they do well iu Southern and 1 'astern Oiegon, We Miiniiiine, as follows! Iu this vein, when eereils have been an uu citaiu ciop ill man) of Matoi 1' 1st of tlio Hock) inountuns, and when leiding pipcis iu California claim only half a ) ijd, Oiegon fully sustains her re put.tiou for good )le'ld, eace'lleneo of ipialit) and iiev ei -failing crops, and Utcrn Washing ton will come to tho front, with a ho.iv) expoit and a xciy hiav) vield of wheat that shows a plump and beautiful belt), as also does all Oiegon wheat. Wo loncludo that tho present season full) sustains all the claim ever undo in fatoi of the broad legion known as tho 1'aeitic Ninth west, as possessing aiv umspiallcd climito mid sod whoso prolitio ipiahtics insure woudtrful Tho railroads now projevted will open all this uga.ui to soitlciicnt, ami with through ceiiinivtion in hv2, vvo li ill petssess ever) ad vantage th it can bo desired. WHEAT OROWINQ IN EUROPE We se-e the statement fiasiuently mado that wheat c in no longer 1 raised iu tho old world tei compto with its production iu Amciica, and now wo lead tho crop report of Knglaiid and llurojto to le.un that there is not only a much greater average jield through Great Hiit.tiu and almost all Kuropcau countties, but that there has also Wen great increase of acreage submitted to wlu-at prvxluction, which inerely shows how unreliable are many of tho reports wo ivoeivo and how impiMsiblo it is to form intelligent ipuuoiis. Wo give this week much valuable information from our ex changes conoernmg crops and crop prospect generally tho world over. RAILROAD BOILDINO IN THE PACIFIC NORTH WEST. The railroad era woTvtliitedforand watched for through man) ) ears, but it fairly aston ished us when it did come. Two )ears ago it commenced. Before that we had u road South to ItosOmrg in the Umpqua, projected to lun through to California, and money enough was tuinished by German b ndholJeis t) put the road through, but schemcis, specu lator and jobbers uidd the moaey up and the Gei mans lost most of their investment, but Ore-gon was left with railroad facilities on both sides of the Willamette, and a veiy poor credit lo face tho world with. Veais went on and all railroad projects lingered. The North Pacific company became embar rassed and failed to connect with Oregon. Sud denly Mr. Villaul came upon the scene, bought out the old lines of the Oregon Steam Navigation Company and the ocean steamer lino to San Francisco, and then commenced building roads Kast of the Cascades to connect the distant wheat fields with the Columbia nvei trade, llefoie the ceat-is out we expect to see connected laihoad communication Ihst from Pottland, via the North Pacific, to Noithein Idaho; to see the great wheat pro ducing region of the Walla Walla, Umatilla, mil I'alouso v,allc)stied to Portland by bands of iron, and to sec a road well on towards Ciker City, to connect with the Oiegon ijianch of the Union Pacific. Theio will soon be rulroad eonnccti n complete to Puget sound; tho Noitltein Pacific promises to be finished as a connected lino in two )cars uoi c, and .lay 'iould's branch of tho Union Pacific, from Giangei, in W)oining, to liaker Cit), in Orrgon, will be completed next yen, ,utd probably will afioid us the fitst through cuiiit'tion lion I'regon to i.ist oi mo noes.) Mountains by tail. Th-' most lentarkable fiet in connection with nil this is tho part Mr. Villard has sus tained iu orguuiiig success for our railroad svtcm. Old) for his elicits the Columbia nvei would still lie owncil ancl managed ov he old 0. S. N. Co., with no cffoits to build lailrouls through the upper country such as wc now see. The scheme lie fiist planned was wondcful, simply to buy out the 0. S. N. Co. and develop the wheat fields of Kast in O.egon and Washington anil push a 'hrough connection to tho Union Pacific; but iiiceeeding operations have dwaifed even that ;ieaf schiim as he and his associates now ontiol the Noi them Pacific and have given in incruaseil impetus to its progi ess and vastly vidci scope to its plans. They own the jcean hue to San 1'ranci-co and have placed nagnificeiit steamships upon it; they own the .tenner lines on Ptiget Sound; the great coal ,'ields of that legion; the railroads that liavo iien built to develop them, and have im nense steamers built to fieight that coal vvheievei wanted. The old Holliday load to Rosebuig has passed into theii hands and is to be pushed through by their own route all the way to -ian I'lancisco. They have leased the Wil 1 unetto Valley Narrow Outgo roads for 09 )cais lo come, and thus liavuoigauiediiione rasp an immense network, or system, that ,v ill consist when complete of 0,000 miles of track, all under one management, reaching from Like Supciior to Portland, Oregon, and thence to San Fianeisco and l'ngi t Sound, and with ramifications to develop the country they wish to embrace in their scheme and thus feed their main lines w itli permanent business. Before two )tais after this shall have gone by wo may expect to soo the greater part of this great schcino completed, and by 1S84 the wlmlo 0,000 miles will be in shccessful opeia tion. It seems certain that the Villard 'cheme docs not propose to leave any portion of the Great Pacific Northwest unprovided foi, and vvo who have waited for a third of a century to see the railroad era fairly opened, begin now to think wc were only waiting for Villaul. MR VIIXARD'3 OIFT. Mi. Hour) Villard, having licud that the State University of Oiegon was embarrassed by a budding debt of -J7.000, recently w rote to Judge Deady, Piesident of the Board of Tiustees of that institution, authorising those inteiis'od to dt.avv on him for that amount, which libel al pi opoiition was aceptcd, and the State University of Ou'gon is theiefoio relieved of that embaiiassiiie'ut. Theie is no moie piopci and sensible way lor nun of wealth to do their put tow aids sustaining the character of any community, than by such public bene factions. This exam ple set by Mr. Villard shows that ho appre'ci. atcs his tclations to society and is disposed to to something to buret up this community, in which ho his aeouiied s eioit an inteust f . . . . . And this i e minds us that there can be found in Poitlmd quito .i number of millionaire men who hivo acqiiuid millions hero bv com menial lei itloiis with the people of tho Mate", but who never wim to have eiite-rUined the idea that they owed any dut es fuither than to push their ovv it. iggialidizenunt and to nun. Ister carefully tu their own pleasiues utiles, they aro so pernicious as even to neglect that. Wo doubt if ail) wealth) nun iu this city has ever given iu lus life-tune, to such put poses, tho sum that Mr illanl now disposes of. I'lid example might bo follow eel to .advanta-e. and it might lie possible for some of these wealthy citizens to lay up riches that moth mil rust cannot corrupt, .and endear them selves to au appreciating public, if they would show some such liberality, Tho public estimation is not far w rong, out side of thiscit), which looks upon Portland as an intensely i.oltiih town, whoso successful business meu look ouly to acquisition and care little or nothing for the country they deal with, except so far as it continues to swell their wealth. The feeling that the town grows rich out of all proportion to iucrvase of wealth in the country is a cause of bitterness through the State, and the more go as there is no lib eral Use of wealth shown to disann this preju dice. If the country devrlopts, it is not be cause tho wealth of 1'ortliud reaches out to 12, 1881. ' create facilities and increase production. No . effort is spared to defeat any attempt at inde- ' pendence, and to compel the whole region to pay continual tnouto i l'oitland, but the tow n lus never show n (except in case of Gold smith and the locks) any disposition to take the least chances with a desiie to accommo date and encourage producers. The rule hole isi "Show us where profit is certain, and we will furnish capital." "Put money in my puise." MIXEO FARMINO NEEDED. What can we laise besides wheat? This seems to be the most important ques tion, submitted by the times, for the action of Oregon producers. We have lit upon times when production on the Pacific coast has greatly increased, so 3 to lcipiiro very gleat Increase of transportation facilities to move wln-at to the foreign market wheie alone it can he sold, mere are tin ee iacts tvmcii an make against our wheat growers: 1st, pro duction thiougli the woild has increased bo as to gcneiully make bicad cheap; 2d, oui own production has overgrow n the ability to tecuie cheap transposition; lid, the woild's com merce is so ac ive that any expectation of cheaper ti.anspoitatiuii the piesent season is hopeless. So the only question left to answer is- Whit can we produce that will not tax tianspoitation facilities so hugely 1 Wool growing seems to be the most ccitiin ly icinuuerativo of all visible fanning ocupa tions, and wheat tarinti say they can keep as many sheep as they have acies and mako them prolitible, besides which they ran faim to bettui adv.int.ige. Now that we are winding up our haivest ycir and beginning another is the tunc to icsolve what can bo done foi the ) eai to i orni'. Fainieis say that sheep this car pai i I hem J 00 a head foi tho wool, and the increase p lid for the keeping. That has been done in many instances, and probably cm be done in most, if good sheep are kept. So that it appeals curtain that to keep sheep and summer-fall iw land is profitable. Sheep liclpthewhc.it and wheat helps sheep. The way lo srrow wheat, if we must grow it, is to grow it the cheapest way possible to get the most income from the land, and that is accom plished by cultivating fewer a.-iesand fanning them so well as to lealiso more actual profit for tho year's work. It has always sicmed to us that summer fallowing must be a waste of time and labor and idle land, and that somo s)stem that should change the crop and the kind of labor, would yield moio profit. Hape seed is sown by some who say they make it pay in keeping stock, and it leaves the ground in splendid oi der for wheat. Corn oi beans, or any hoed crop, will answer all the uses of a summer fallow' in clcaiing the land, and clover is known to bo a gieat advantage to soil and is a ci op that can be made to p iy well in various wa)s. Peas are grown for hog feed; flax pays well in some districts; fruits are to bo the gte.it resource of our near future; and certain ly eveiy fanner must see that he can ieali7e more money incouiso of time by combining stock with farming opet.it ions to the very gieatest limit' that it can bo practiced. Clove-i and sheep, and cattle, and horses, and swine, and then laiso wheat liberally, but only when it can be done well No moie foul land and poor cultivation should bo allowed to pull down the average production. While we talk about mixed fanning, wc al ways cone back to wheat as the only staple, because it requires less thought and mental apprehension to raise wheat than to plan and execute any consistent idea of mixed fanning. That is not much to our credit as practical thinkers. There is ever so much to be said against continuous cultivation of wheat. In time it will exhaust the soil. It is a precari ous crop to get to market. Our farmers raise wheat, and our cities import Chicago hams and lard, and fru'ts, vegetables, cheese and butter come up fiom California legularly. We pay a heavy tiibuto to other countries for many things that can bo and should be pro duced or manufactured at home. We need mixed farming and mixed industries of all kinds. Wo need entei prise in all directions, and enterpiiso must bo guided by biains to mako it pay. It looks very much as if wo needed active ami judicious brains to plan and woik out our future. THE 0RE00N PAC.FIC RAILROAD, Mr. Wallis Nash, of Corvallis, Vice 1'iesi lent of the Oiegon Pacific Railroad, has re ceived a telegram from New York infonning him that tluce steamers had left Caulill bound for Yaquiin ba) with tix thousand tons of stetl rails for the Oiegon Pacific Railroad. Mr, Nash, statis that two nigim-cring patties under chaige of Mcssts K. 1'ihl and T. Bourne ,re ""' 'tl' "dd locating the line between P.M .nll.' 1 X- I..- 1. MM. . 1 .. Coivallis andiaquiua Ba). The road will bo of standard gauge, and laid with SO pound stielnils. TJie seivico of 1,000 Chiuamui has been seemed, and they will bo put to vvork.it grading within tluee weeks. Oflci hive Wen mado by 200 men with teuns to go to work immediately afier harvest at the same vv ages paid by the narrow gaugo com pany $.1 BO per da) . The road will have three tunnels, the greatest 240 feet long, Pel f orations vv ill hav e to be made through soft sandstone, and it is estinnted b) the enguieeis iu charge that progress will bo mado at the tate of IS feet per d iy 0 feet at each end. Bids have been recietcil for lUO.OOO hewn ami sawed fir ties more than enough for the line and pro posals are low in transit to New York for ap proval by the executive t-oani. Contracts require that the tics bedelivcred by Dec. 1st. The heat iest grado eastwanl w ill not exceed 100 feet to the mile, ami westward there will probably bo none half so heavy. Ten miles of tho road ts already graded. The chief engineer and the superintendent of e-onstniction, selected by the No -v York boanl, are en route to Oregon, aud their r rival hero is expected by the next steamer. Under a resolution passed by the directors, the Cortalis division mut lw completed hv January 1, 1SS2. This, Mr. Nash thinks, will bo accomplished. The money necessary to cvrrj. on the enterprise has been raised in KngUud and America. FRUIT CULTURE. The demand for our fruits will certainly in. crease when the world realizes their great and superior excellence. Wo have repeatedly call ed attention to the effects of climate in matur ing all things to perfection with us, and that is now here more noticeable than in connection with Oregon fruits. California does not any. wise near come up to the Columbia region in this lespect; yet California is obtaining a trreat name throughout the world for its dried and canned fruits, and wherever its fresh fruits san be sent they find a preference. This year the Kostern peach crop is so short that the de mand for California peaches is' active. We notice in exchanges from that State that can neis are buying up the crop of peaches at 4 to .-c per lb, and w u also see that they pay $1.50 to $2.50 per box for Bartlett pears. The price of peaches may depend upon the yield of Kastcru peach orchards, hut the demand for Bartlett pcais must be based on the general excellence of that fruit. Much of the country in Kistem Oregon and Washiiiutou grows peaches to perfection, while the climate of the Willamette, valley is ' not favorable, but wo can produco in one part or another of tho Columbia region all fruits know n iu the temperate ?one, to the very best advantage. Hcie we grow apples, pears, plums, pi lines, chsrries, and all the small fiuits, iu the greatest excellence and profu sion. Jackson county (Rogue River Valley) also laiscs giapes; both Jackson and Douglas (Umpqua) grow fine poaches; Kastein Oregon and Washington can grow thcin all, so that the future of this region, following lailroad connection with the Kast, includes an era of fi uit production that can bo expected to excel the leputition of California in production of the fruits named. Those who wish to practico mixed fanning can safely plant orchards. These w ill bo six or eight years in coming into good bearing, m d if varieties are chosen judid ous'y, to suit the wants of commerce for shipping gieeu to the Kist, or for canning or drying, they can not fail to be ieasonably leiuuncrative. A 1 ite invention in California consists of pocking green fi nit in caibonied wheat bian, or wheat bran tinned to coal, .and it is said to preserve them for an indefinite petiod of time in per fect condition. If this is so, it will enable us in timo to pack gncu fruits for shipment to Chicago or Now York, without danger of loss from their decay. ANSWERS TOORRESPONDENTS. We constantly reecho inquiries that we cannot answer as we have no time to spare, many of which seem decidedly frivolous, while others come in sensible form. To some wo send copies of the Fakmkr, and most of them w ould bo fully replied to by copies of the extia number wo published lost Fall. The singular part of it is that many men send us long strings of unanswerable questions who are not subscribers and not only so, but even neglect to furnish a stamp to pay postage. Such cannot be worth much to any country, so we feel safe in paying no attention to them. They seem to think we aie so anxious to have them come hero that we will not only neglect our business to answer them, but coutiibute postage stamps for the privilege of doing so. One )0tuig man lives in Alabama, and is greatly anxious to get among lespcctable peo ple and live a godly life, and he will come hei e if w o will hunt up a good paying situa tion for him; he encloses an envelope address ed back to himself, leaving us to stamp it. That young man will stay in Alabama awhile longer, ,despite his insinuating recital how a man from Oregon came there lately and told him to write to us, because we were "a kind of man that liked to help people that tried to help themselves." Pretty good soft soap but a little "too thin." Another writes from Nebraska, and will come here if we will engage him worse through the Winter at soniethinc, and find him a loca tion, or words to that effect, and if we will get him stock to keep on shares ho will be addi tionally thankful. He closes with a request: "Hand this to some man that bus a furnished farm to lent and have him writo to me." Of course, wo keep a lot of those kinds of men on hand just to accommodate such correspond ents. Another man sends his subscription, and vv ants to know if there is a wagon road from The Dalles to Pottland and what is the dis tance. The distance is about one hundred miles, direct, by the tailroad survey jut made. Thero will bo a railroad through, prob ably, this )car, and there is a trail all the way now, but the wagon load is not quite completed, though it certainly ought to be. Another man sends 6 mo's subscription and expects to be here befoie the time is up. In answer to him, we say that last Winter was unusually severe near the Columbia river, while rather mild one hundred miles, or less, away from it. It was followed by magnificent crops iu all directions. GEOGRAPHICAL DIVISIONS. The reitihr who seci the designations of sec tions named iu conuction with crop leports and general news, needs to be reminded that wo have different climates iu different geo graphical divisions. For iustauce, Western Oiegon and Washington include all the terri tory between the Cascade mountains and the ooe.an, which again differs, because the val leys of Rogje liver and Umpqua to the south, w here are Jackson aud Douglas counties, have earlier seasons and milder winter than tho Willamette, and all this region has the same rainy season. East of the Cascades is a dryer climate, wanner summers and cooler winters, w hero corn, peaches and grapes grow better than ti tho west, and where uew fields are opened for settlement The country Kast of the Mountains is very extensive and differs iu many particular as ou journey through it, but all possess the same general characteristics we have de scribed. It is in this section tliat railroad butldin; is now being pushed so rapidly, and from here fanners w rite in a very encour aging strain. The report from East of the Cascades cover a region about two -hundred miles wide and three hundred miles from east to west The reader must, if possiLle, pro cure a map of Oregon and Washington and locate the counties, and then he cm under stand what locality he reads about. m II
