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About Willamette farmer. (Salem, Or.) 1869-1887 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 6, 1882)
.. .-i 'j,swart!-aiiaiac'swBESia-at Wft u Vr H ?; WILLAMETTE FARMER: PORTLAND, OREGON, JANUARY 6, 1882. LW ii.? . L" SV 1-S Iv IF.' afflKfi-'- BfiiHtFftt yrrLfeagiiSS Issued every Week by the iixuiirrn: FAniiRit ri miisiiixg co. tiiiims or sunscnirnoii. Jno roar. (rentage pIJ), In wltanco $2.60 III months, (I'cwtaxo paid), In advance 1.25 jus than eii months will be, per month 25 ADVEItSISINO RATES : AdTcrtls.Mnriitalll bo lncrtcJ, providing tn are reapectoMc, at tho follow Ins table of rates : Jne Inch of p ice per month 8 2 w fhreo Inchon of sjneo per month 6 00 Jno half column per month 15.00 Jno column per month 30 00 F"8vniilo copies sont free on application. 1'utflicatlon Oillce: No. 6 Vvashl.igton Street, up Ulrs, rooms Ha. b ana r OUR FOURTEENTH VOLUME Tho Wii.i.amftk Fai.mkb has now been going abroad to visit the homes of its friends for thirteen years, and ouinmences tho four teenth year with tho early weeks of 1882. As tho world goes, a dozen or so ears aro not much, measured by tho great record of time, but considered in the light of local events our existence Govern a period during which tho population of the Columbia region has trebled, and from a comparatively non ex porting country wo havo passed on to become exporters of twenty millions of dollars worth mutually. When tho Farmer wa Btarted wo bad no railroads, except tho portages around tho Cascades and Dalles of tho Columbia; tho Willumetto river, as well as the Colum- bia, was owned by companies who monopO' licd tho portages; we exported no flour or wheat to foreign countries; sold only a small quantity of wool that went to California, ami such a thing as selling a million or tun dol lars worth annually of eattlo, horses and sheep, to bo dtivtn East, was not even ilrcamcd of. Times havo changed sinco tho Willamette Kaumku was a small sheet and started in for a precaiious existence; for now tho wholo Pa cifio Northwest teems with cnterpiise, and tho nuwspapcr goes to hundreds of places that then had not even name. Tho expan sion of our columns has kept pace with tho growth and development of the region wo aro proud to loproscut, and wu feel justifiable satisfaction v. lien wo lccoguizo that this papor will compare favorably with similar journals published in older sottled couutrica. Whatever tho Farmer has been in tho past, wo desire to inaleo it in ovcry respect more usoful and moro valuablo in the future, There is a limit to human enterprise, how ever, and in our case that limit is financial ability. Wo stand roady to dovoto every dollar of income to improving tho character of the papor und in adding to its practical value, and as it is impossible to canvass the whole country, wo depend on the kindmss of ourfticudsto take somo pains to show tho papor to otlioij, and so increase its circula tion. Oue brain can do but so much, and to employ other Inuins requires money, (live us tho meaiis, and wo can fully supply the want of a first-class newspaper. If a lifctimo of education and experience, are of any value, it 'is at your hcivico if you w ill furnish means. Tliis.iogioti now has a population of oue liun bundled ami fifty thousand farmers, and ought to bo abundantly nble to support a journal that will cover the whole Held of inde pendent thought, improved agriculture, ecion tillo progress mid gcncr.il news of tho world. The age, standing and influence of this journal aiu a guaiantco that it will not go backwaid or Bland still, To go forward wo must have support to justify it, and if evt-j-subsctiber will take intwwit In procuring moro nuU-"'icnj, It will soou iijercaso our circulation, which will also increase our ad vcitising patiouagc, and wu shall maku tho F.Uimkii conoapond with its support. Onu gi.itif) iug fact that wo note is that tho majoiity of thoao who tako tho paper remain its linn mtppottorg. Wu fool grateful fur every kind wuid and act, and iceeivo many enoouiagiug expressions that give us coinage to do. l'loa-m remember tint wu offer a good coin mission on all new subset ibers sent us, and do not expect scivico without remuneration; but nil the sainu wo feci obliged to thoao who accept our terms ami add new names to our lilt. UUAUTIFUL WINTER WEATHER. If wo Invo any tovoro Winter weather, it invariably comes punctually with Christmas, It is frequently tho case that holiday week is ijuitu sharply cold, but tho present season we wore struck with a moderately cold wave iu Novemlier, though it would have been consid ei cd mild for that month iu tho same latitude east of tho Itocky mountains, and since then, we have neither had cold or rain in great de gree, but though occasionally foggy and rather raw, our December was unusually pleasant to bear that name. The new year commenced with a Spring tempeiatuiu. If it continues wo shall have picmaturo bloom on poach trees, if not other fruit, We remember to havo sccu peach trves in bloom Iu Portland gardens at a very early daj.ln tho month of February, and ludicwtiou faor a similar occurrence tho present year. If thlt wtvtther continues our fanners will itmnodiMely K'tfiu their Spring plowing, and an umuiml acreage of Spring grain will bo put in, While we expect to have mild Wiu " Wr Hi Western Oregon, this season, so far, lmi In t few predecessors of equally moderate t(liioi-tuli', It will sound strine to persons iu the 4Vi latitude elaott hero to read of Mow ers ill Koom In our giidcut at Christmas, but such it tho fact, The lawns and door )nrdi of ..IVrtlaiid ro gw;n anl beautiful ai if it wu May. Pastures rro nil bettor than usual, and stock ge: eioll) eloiujj well. Fall sown grain lias mi df 01 grow th ami promises to whiter muo'.i IrlUr thtn Ut yea-. (live us good prices atiot'jri yc.-.r, and this whole Northwett corutry will W on t. etop wave of prosperity. 1. 1 ' i . i i. n Thar are stld tc moro pure Hate f .Short'..! ni) females iu the vicinity of Mt. btorliii,:, Kv., than there are iu Kmdu d and the rv: id AmencA coniuiuto. THE NEW TEAR. The advent of another year is a fit time to consider many things; to glean experience from the past, and make resolves for tin future. Our readers aro found far and near among farmers, and this season it usually the time when the farmer has loss pressure of work and less demands upon his attention than any other. Tiie work of the past year is fully completed. Whatever tho harvest has been, it is all gatheied, and as a general fact our people of both Oregon and Washington have been blessed with fair returns from the soil. The Fall work is done, and you now wait for tho "turn of the year" acd tho "breaking of Winter" to commence plowing and seeding for Spring grain. If we have any advice to give, or suggestion to make, based oil personal experience, general kttowledgo of fanning matters and many years dev oted to conducting this journal, it is to hope that our farmers will appreciate tho vakjo to them selves individually and to the State at largo of moro careful husbandry and more deter mination to vary tho class of products. Tho timo has come when careless farming and propagation of wild oats and weeds tell heavily on soils that are not impoverished, but waste their fertility in producing such pests, and as a result disappoint tho hard-working fanner w ho hopes for a good yield. We look upon it that in 'tho coming years the world will see greater competition in the lino of breadstufls, wool and meat than has ever been known. Vast districts of North iVinerica, that possess uncounted possibilities, besides those opening up on this Northwest I Coast, aro being made-available by railroads, and besides this, other portions of the world aro iucrtasinv production and also increasing areas for cultivation. Russia is putting mil lions of acres into wheat that never havo been cropped, and tho constitution of railroads will make tire Russian Empire n greatly in creasing ptoducer of grain for a century to come. Not only so, but India and parts of Asia that havo dono little in that way, but ato in or near the mountains, having secured transpoitation by railroad building, are now beginning to push their grain into the markets of Kuiopc. Wo read quite lately that tho coast of Africa, bordering the Mediterranean, is to become wheat producing, and wo see no reason why development shall not mcko South America, before many years, a com petitor in this branch of agriculture, and in every other. During tho two past years our farmers havo had to pay heavy toll to ocean transportation, but it is only natuial to bclievo that this fault will bo remedied, simply for the reason that abundant capital is satisfied with moderate dividends, and our comineicial wants need only to bo known to be amply supplied in timo. When commencing a now year wo ought to look all probabilities fairly in tho face and prepare to meet 'them successfully. The farmer needs an active brain, perhaps not as constantly, but as certainly as the inei chant. Tho coming years will see a great strugglo on tho part of producers to hold their own, and economical management, and that sort of cultivation that will bring sure returns will eventually win. Tho man who puts all His land to wheat takos gteat chances, whilo the man who has a 'ood orchard nnd garden; good meadows and pastures; who keeps stock with good judgment especially sheep; whoso management makes him in as gieat measure us poasiUosolf-siistaiuing, and with something nt all seasons to sell, has the safest, surest and far tho pleasantcst lot in life. The pos session of such varied interests not only givis pleasant variety of occupation, but stimulates energies and ideas into constant and healthy exercise. Tho great change that has como upon this legion within threo yeais past is simply won derful, It looks as if wu should soon have little left to desire in the way of internal im provements, and a groat area of country will be nude available for settlement and cultiva tion. Tho l'acillo Northwest has qualities that will bo rapidly developed, nnd will yield enormous products, to supply the wants of the world. There is no leasonvvh) our farmers should not bo propctous and happy, but wo insist upon it that they need to study eco nomic methods. Kcouomy docs not simply mean parsimony, cither, but tho w old signi fies w hat is best. Political economy takes iu all that pertains to the prosperity of a nation, und farm economy means mot hods that will pay best in the long run; not a penurious, hand-to-mouth way of living that looks only to the wants of the present. Tho farmer should plan liis work for years ahead, and farm to preserve hit family as well as his land in tlrst-rato condition. It may not seem very lively to commence tho Now Year with a sermon, but there is no better time for ouo than now. Yet it is pleasant to reach out a hand and grasp that of every reader, and, with hearty good w ill, wish you all a "Hippy New xear, and imagine a full and hearty response. May tho year bo bountiful with blessings, and may it bring not merely health and happiness in au ordinary acceptation, but may it bring relia ble prosperity to us all, and the possession of the best pnvilegos to every homo. 1st) far as the Wiilamktte I'AltMhH goes, we will try to bring you cause for Welcomo every week, and endeavor moro and more, as we havo ex perience to qualify it, toeoutiibuta to your actual prosptiity and lucrease your iutel i-ctual resources. Attorneys for tho N, r. R. R- Tlw firm of McNsujht, Kerry. MoXaught, of this city, haw Wen employed as Mtorucja lor the Northern l'acilic Railroad Company, counsel of the Con twuv. making tho appoint iiient, the nufstiui of i imputation, wtivthor fee or salary, ws left to the hnn, anil they chose the latter. James McNanght v. ill go Host of the mount i us early iu January ou tha Company's bttfine, to bo gone a couple J of weeks. iSYuHc- iHttlli-jtnttr, on a salary, and now have full chargo of all that Company's legal business iu Washington Territory, both Kast and Wist of the luoun- taitia. in the utter oi urorce lira v. cenerai REVIEW OF THE TEAR 1881. Standing on the threshold of the New Year, till in the shadow of the old, wo can look back with satisfaction on the advanco the Co lumbian region has made in 1881. The previ ous year was remarkable for the short crops that followed an uncommonly dry season Kast of tho mountains, which worked a decided hardship on the farmers there who made wheat taising a specialty. They claim, in the Umatilla, Walla Walla and Palouse regions, that, oning to the vtry great product.on from their soil, where wheat fairly put in averages thirty bushels to tho acre, they can do w ell when their wheat brings 50 cents a bushel at tho nearest station. Owing to various causes, during tho year following the harvest of 1880, wheat did not command more than 35 to 40 cents a bushel, and times were hard with farmers. Also, along tho Columbia and to tho North of it, there w as a very severe Win ter ono year ago, and a ereat deal of stock died from cold and starvation. The unusually dry Summer had left the pastures bare, and stock entered the Winter poor, hence the loss iu that section; but those who have read our articles on stock in Wasco county, will see that in all Middle and Southern Oregon the Winter was mild, the pastures gooJ, and that scarce any stock was lost. So through tho greater portion of Eastern Oregon stock Wintered' well on tho native ranges, oven in that unusually inclement season. In Western Oregon tho harvest of 1880 was magnificent. Suddenly thera was a scarcity of tonnage to satisfy tho demands of Cali fornia and the Columbia river trade, for the two States had a surplus of over 50,000,000 bushels of wheat to export, and all the ton nage nvailablo could not transport two-thuds of that quantity, so that the two States cat ried over a surplus of twenty millions of bush els, or more, to the present harvest year Of course, with such a lack of tonnage, the ship owners had it all their own way, and freights were simply enormous, much to the disgust of our honest and hard worked producers, who sold a magnificent crop of wheat at an aver ago of about sixty cents a bushel, when they had hoped to get a dollar; and if freights had remained at a reasonable figure they would have received 85 cents to 00 cents per bushel. High .freights cost our Northern Pacific farm cisnotfar from $3,000,000 that year. Tho Winter season of JSS0 and 1881 was not so seve'ro iu Western Oregon as in Eastern Ore gon; with us stock uiu weil, but stock hero can always bo housed and fed in inclement weather, as stock raising is not carried on as it is East of tho mountains. An abundant yield of cereals in that sec tion has mado 1881 a prosperous year for Eastern Oregon and Washington. Fortu nately, they had in their favor improved transportation facilities, a reduction in freight charges and partial failui o of productiou over much of the world, gave wheat a price that netted the farmer everywhere in all this re gion a much better piico than in 1880. The heavy yield was marketable at 75 to 85 cents iu this valley during tho eatly Fall months, and at 55 to GO oouU lAb of tho Cascades. Despite freights of extoitionatechares, wheat this year was made to aid the producer, aud was encouragement for further labor. Still, tho overcharge on freights, above a good pay ing rate, dipped into producers' pockets to the tune of about two millions of dollars, oven though not so hear as iu 1880. California in 1SS1 failed to produce even an urcrago fair crop, and did not havo a total of ouo half as much an in IbSl. Only for tho im mense quantity held over from 18S0, freights would now be abundant and cheap, but while we exported from tho coast less than a million tons of giain in 1880, wo commenced with at least fifteen hundred thousand tons of wheat on hand, after tho recent harvest. The latest reports of tonnage goes to show that nearly enough vessels are on the way hero to take away all this immeuso surplus, but still tho tonnage question rules the day, because there is not known jet tu bo a full supply of ships to answer our nccels. Our expoits include lumber, timber, canned aud salted salmon and many other proilucts, so that our growiug commerce seems to bo a U on producers, as it creates a demand for ships. Take wheat pioduction in 1881 and it may bo considered a fair business, though not a remunerative one, but tho world needs our wheat, and pays a premium for it ou account of its extra qual ity. Soon, this transportation problem will bo solved, and with the Southern Pacific road to take away part of the California surplus and ship it to Europe via the Gulf of Mexico, and with the prospect of a ship canal, or ship railroad, across the Isthmus of Darieu as soou as human energy can accomplish them, we may consider that beforo many years pass we shall have cheaper transportation for our grain, and also a more ccrtafn market for it. Wool has been a great and increasing staple with us, and our w ool is favorably Luown in the markets of the w orld. We have for years been breeding up in Merino, until we havo in many instances the best quality of clothing wool for sale. Last ye-ar we had probably 8, 000,000 pounds of wool worth $2,000,000, which added to the sum of money netted by the farmer for his wheat, made a total of ten millions of dollars that went to producers of these two staples alone. While wool growing it carried on extensively East of the rnoun tains, as a specialty, here, in Western Oregon, aud iu all farming districts, farmers generally find it profitable to combiuo sheeu with their operations, as scavengers and gleaners, to clear their Summer-fallow of weeds, so to in. urv good crops and to sustain the fertility of the soil by tho returns that sheep alw ays give to it. At years pass our agriculture it becoming more divcrsitied, We grow more grass and clover mow good pasture and gooel meadow; more well cultivated gardens aud well assort vj orchards, Gardening near large cities has become profession; so has the cultivation of tuiaU fruits. We find good hop yanlt turning off immense yields and payiug tome years a heavy profit. Last year wt fortune in every respect for hop growers. This industry has become a permanent thing, and many men give careful study to it, and produce and pre pare their hops in the very best manner. The hop crop of the Sound and this valley was worth hundreds of thousands of dollars the past year. The price of stock cattle has advanced from $10 a head to about 15, and wo have active demand for all we can afford to sell. Tho Bame is true of horses and sheep, and it is not too much to claim that the stock sales' of the Columbia and Willamette regions have aggro gated two millions of dollars in 1831 for that year's transactions. It is not an overestimate to suppose that the products of agriculture, sold for foreign markets, including shipments to California and Eastern trade, foot up S15, 000,000 the past year. During the year passed by, our country has been on a top wave of progress and develop ment. Kailroads have been extended, and the system undertaken insures for this region speedy connection with the world in all direc tions. It looks as if we should soon have nothing left to wish for. Money comes here by millions to be invested in all safe ways; to encourage industry in every form; to but.d railroads; to start commercial banks; to make great improvements everywhere; to develop coal fields, build saw and grist mills, buy homes and improve them, and as fast as rail roads offer opportunity, settlement progresses and agriculture is maintained. It is not possible in a single article propor tioned to a newspaper's means, to do justice to this wide region wo denominate the Pacific Northwest. Early in the Spiing wo shall see tho railroad a through line from Portland to Walla Walla, and to Northern Montana. By Fall tho gap will bo closed between Portland and Kalama, giving thiouph connection to Pugct Sound; also, by Fall the Northern Pa cific will be completed to beyond Missolua, in Montana; the Blue Mountain branch of the O. R. & N. Co.'s roads will be built from the Col umbia river to Baker City, criving connection with the Oregon branch of the Union Pacific and a through route to Chicago and New York. The work of 1882 will finish the sys tern by which tho O. R. & N. Co. will develop tho Palouse and Walla Wulla valleys. Jan uary, 1883, will see less than 300 miles of gap remaining unfinished in tho great Northern Pacific route, and the Summer of 1883 will doubtless see that road completed and in full operation. Also, 1883 will see the union of the Oregon and California road and the Ore gon branch of the Central Pacific at the Stato lino, and speedy connection between Portland and San Francisco. We have briefly recapitulated the facts of our production and development, and shown what advantages projected transportation en terprises offer us. We are rapidly growing iu population, and shall soon possess facilities for transportation in every direction. The great Columbian valley will no longer be an unknown land, but will be thoroughly pros pected and rapidly developed. A great deal of our progress has been accomplished by the energy and ambition of a single man who had tho genius to grasp tho subject comprehensive. ly, and recognizing the capacities of this great region has had the courage and ability to uu dcrtake its development. Mr. Vilbrd has certainly accomplished much, and this recion has benefitted by his ambition and enterpirso. If he keeps his promises with us, we shall benefit still more. Let us hope that our future progress will be identified with his continued success, and that the farmers of Oregon and Washington will also find buccess crown their efiorts. INSANE ASYLUM BUILDING. The people were determined to have a State Institutiou erected, and iu consequence of that determination the last Legislature passeel a Building Act appropriating one hun dred thousand dollars ni money, and the use of convict labor so far as it could be employed, and with this scant appropriation the work was commenced. We say "scant," because we have so often been told that tho usual ex penditure was $1,000 for each patient, and when our State Board undertook to put up an asylum that would accommodate four hundred patients with that sum of money at command, it really did appear that it was a "scant" appropriation for so important a purpose. The Stato Board, consisting of Governor Thayer, Secretary Earhart and Treasurer Hirsch, went to work determined to see what economy and prudence could do in the way of building such au asylum. They selecte-d W. F. Boothby, of Salem, an experienced builder and accomplished architect, to plan anil super vise the construction, and, so far, results achieved fully endorse this as a most judicious selection. They also appointed Dr. H. Car penter, late of Salem and now of Portland, as Medical Superintendent to advise as to the best mode of construction for sanitary pur poses, a Board of Consulting Physicians hav ing met and decided on a geucral plan at the outset. With this orgauization the building of the Asylum has progressed through the year lbsl, and is now enclosed, roofed and tho windows partly iu. Partitions are being put up, and very soon the heating apparatus, consisting of hot air furnaces, pipes, etc., will be put in place and ready for operation. It will thus be apparent that work has pro gressed already so rapidly that there will be no difficulty in finishing the construction next Summer, to tliat the Legislature can provide iu September for fitting and furnishing it for occupation as au Asylum when the Hawthorne contract shall expire in December. To satisfy themselves as to the value of their plant, Dr. Carpenter and architect Boothby lately made an official journey to California and visited both tho asylums of that State, at Stockton and Napa, and we learn that in each instance the officers in charge of these asylums pronounce the plan oi the Salem Asylum quite superior to their own, and in fact combining more perfect aud convenient arrangements tlian any known institution of the kind. We are prepared to believe this, because wo have known that Mr. Boothby and Dr. Cvpentcr hare cb. tained plans and specifications of the best in stitutions of the kind in tho world, and hare devoted a great deal of study to combining in their plan the best features and most ap proved modern ideas known in the building art and in medical science. Dr. Carpenter has had wide experience as well as professional learning, and has entered into this matter with great earnestness; the result will be seen in a perfect asylum for those unfortunates that come upon the State. Experts everywhere pronounce this a model plan; the building will be better lighted and arranged than most asylums; there is more space allotted each patient than in California asylums. Besides, it is the best building ever erected, in Europe or America, for this amount of money; thero has been no chance for jobbery or speculation, and the Stato Board, tl at has inspected and passed on all items of expense, is entitled to great credit for tho faithful and economical manner in which the work has been done. Of tho total 100,000 appropriated $02,000 has been expended, leaving $38,000 to bo used, with nearly all the expensive material bought and paid for. When the building shall bo finished and furnished, the total cost, including a fair valuation of convict labor' will bo about $150,000; of this $100,000 will be tho cash cost of the building; $25,000 will bo the estimated value of convict labor, and $23,000 will bo Required to furnish it. The asylum is calculated for 400 patients, and, dividing this amount by that number, gives $400, or lesj, as the cost for each patient, and, deducting convict labor, not much more than $300 for each patient. The cost of tho Napa institution was $2,000 each patient, there being a great deal of ornamentation about the edifice; the avcrago cost in most countries is placed at $1,000, but our asylum costs less than half the usual outlay, while it still, though a plain edifice, possesses great architectural beauty, and its adaptabil ity to the use intended is equal to any known asylum, and far superior to most. It will be a great credit to our State, as well as to the officers superintending the work, that we can put so thoroughly com petent a building so cheaply and stfll possess so much excellence, and we venture to be lieve that when built and in operation, our asylum can be conducted efficiently and hu manely and with the same economy that has characterized its construction. THE QUITEAU TRIAL. This miserable performance drags on and costs the country an immense sum, much more than Guiteau's lifo is worth, but this nation is vindicating its claim to be of a high order of civilization And possessed of the magnanim ity tnat becomes a great people. The assassin is protected as carefully by the law as if he were entitled te the best acts of our people, and all the while he is looked upon with loathing and execrated as a depraved villain that has no right to live. But while wo arAvindicating our houor by granting this human fiend an impartial trial, at an immense expense, there is no reason why, week after week, and day by day, ho should be allowed to blaspheme by claiming inspiration for his act, and asserting his alli ance with God; nor should he be allowed to use scurrilous language by insulting witnesses aud counsel, as he constantly docs. Judge Cox may be honest and impartial, but he lacks judgment and forgets what is due to the Court, what is due to the people, and what is so evideutly due to the cowardly assassin who stands so infamously condemned by the world. Something is also due to the murdered Presi dent, who stood so high in the esteem of all good citizens, and whose fate has been so sor rowfully mourned. This pitiful wretch, that would not have tho courage to attack any en emy openly, seems to havo reached the very hight of his earthly ambition when ablo to insult tho memory of tho dad and outrage the feelings of tho living. It is the day he has lived for, planned for, and, standing in the prisoner's dock loading the air with foul mouthed profanity, his vanity is intensely satisfied becauso his low-flung and ribald utterances are telegraphed all over tho conti nent and the world. Tako up an Eastern journal two weeks old and compare it with the dispatches of to-day, and they read almost alike. The constant in terruption, unchecked insults and degraded utterances seem stereotyped; and we wonder how long human patience can endure. Before the days of mourning have gone by in Washington, this human vampire is heard iu open court, and allowed unhindered to gloat over the assassination. It is an insult to justice and civilization; to the nation and to the martyred dead, that such a course is pursued. The ribaldry that he affects as in sanity is assumed with too much skill. The popular verdict has long been rendered that he never was insane, but that depravity has run unchecked until murder was the outcome. We shall all be glad when this despicable farce shall be ended, and the spirit of Gar field be allowed to rest iu peace. Lousiness. The cheapest and one of the best means of ridding stock of lice, consists in tho free ap plication of ordinary wood ashes, frequent bruthing, removal of old or dirty bedding, occasional application of boiling hot water to the wood-work of stalls, sheds and sties, or lime-washing of the same. All loose hairs aud dirt removed from tho bodies of animtlt by brushing, as well as old bedding, should bo collected in a heap and burned. The prcs ence of vermin or live stock can never be successfully combatted by simply applying a certain reniady to the body of the animals, and not 1 1 tin same time attending to the general clcanlinus of these, as well as of their surround).!. li.-.Stoch Journal Cabbage it tho best and cheapest (jreen food which can bo fed to raaltry iu Winter. It is not necessary to fd t'o best heads, but the loose, soft spociuieus that are not extotly marketable. RAILROAD MATTERS. We hear considerable speculation concern ing tho intentions of railroad managers, that may not bo worth noting, but aa the publie likes to be informed of all tuch current gossip we will sum up the floating talk for what it it worth. Hon. A. L. Williams, of Kansas, attorney for the Union Pacific and Oregon Short Line railroads, has been in this city attending to the incorporation of an Oregon Company, so that they can build railroads in this State. The local board are D. P. Thompson, M. S. Burrell, Ellis G. Hughes and B. J. Penirra who aro organized merely to comply with the laws of our Stato. Mr. Williams was inter viewed and announced that his company in tend not only to meet tho O. R. & N. Co. at Baker City, as agreed between the companies, but also to put a road through either to the Columbia and down that river to Portland, or else push west from Boise City, cross the Blue mountains, and enter this valley by the San tiam pass of the Cascades. He plainly says that such work is conditioned on whether Villard pushes his road eat through Idaho and Wyoming from Baker City; in which case tho Short Line must return the'compliment by coming to Portland. It is pretty safe to conclude that the respective managers will come to a mutual understanding not to inter fere with each other's plans, and that the Un. ion.Pacifio Short Line will end at Baker City, Thero is also a rumor that the Central Pa cific magnates, in pursuance of their scheme to transfer Oregon wheat, via the Southern Pacific road to tho Gulf of Mexico, and thence to Europe, aro negotiating for tho purchase of tho Oregon and California road and control of all tho lines in the Willamette valloy. It is apparently to tho interest of our producers that one company should own the route from here to the Gulf of Mexico, if it is possible to carry our wheat by that route. Without knowing anything authoritative, we should say that the scheme is reasonable on the face of it, but will hardly bo carried out except as a compromise between the Villard combina tion and the Central Pacific men, to prevent the latter building independent roads into Oregon and take away both the wheat of this valley and the surplus of Eastern Washington and Oregon. Four great corporations are in terested in the trade of this Northwest re gion: tho Northern Pacific, O. R. & N. Co., Union Pacific and Central Pacific, and who ever expects they will be apt to antagonize each other may as well abandon that idea, for it is only good business sense for them to compromise matters, so -that each will have distinct interests that the others will not en croach upon, and as all seem to have abundant means at command it is not safe for one to neglect the claims of another. What the Oregon Pacific will amount to re main to be seen. If it really comes into the field with immense capital at command, and determined to claim a share of this trade, we shall look for some compromise rather than that the producing class will have the benefit of competition and low freights. Men who swing tens of 'millions of capital are not apt to throw it away in fighting other capital, , The usual way with railroads is to harmonize their interests in some way or other, and as that is only common sense, in a business point of view, we cannot blame railroad men and need not foster any sanguine hopes of good to result to the producer from competition. e mako these suggestions as to railroad policy with perfect confidence that the future will bear them out, and what we have dished up has only been the railroad gossip of the hour. O. LATHROP ts CO. This celebrated Boston house has lately put us uuder obligation for favors. They issue the Wide Awake illustrated magazine, Baby land and several other periodicals for chil dren and youth that are fully equal to any thing of the kind we have ever seen. Their illustrated calendar, Day After Day, for 1882, is a convenieut thing to hang up in every home, and every day carries a lesson with it, as "golden texts" are printed on eaoh leaf, nnd there is a leaf for every day in the year. 'How wo wont Birds'-Nesting" is the title of one of the most charmingly written and most beautifully illustrated works we have ever met. It is written by Amanda B. Harris, and the illustrations are by G. F. Barnes, These pictures of birds of various kinds show them in all situations and different seasons, with their nests, and are of a choiming style of etching that exhibit natural features with great beauty. We should class these illustra tions as very happy efforts, displaying great artistio skill, and the book, as a whole, though inexpensive, is a beautiful and tasteful gift. The cover is a gem of itself. D. Lathrop & Co. are also publishig series of illustrated works, in which the his tory of different countries is given in a plain and pleasant manner, with numerous illustra tions. They send us a sample of this "Library of Entertaining History," which U devoted to Switzerland, a land we all like to read about. The book is a handsome size, nearly six hun dred pages, and contains one hundred engrav ings of places in that country. The history if written in easy and familiar style, and made attractive for young people. A library of such books would not only be an ornament to the household, but would entice the young oople into an understanding oi matters oi great importance that are often neglected, much to tue Joss ol tne luture man or woman. REDUCED BOBSCBIPWOH PRICE. Onr charge for subscription at home is in variably $2.50 a yetr, but as we wish to en courage Eastern people to read about tbii region we offer to tend to subscribers from other States for two dollar a year, or one dollar for six mouths. A wealtny company cf Belgian capitalists It about organizing a new concern for the manu facture oi beet-root sugar in th Province oi Quebec. ' X . - T-TL. Si --iwrir t ;nnMimrtiwiiwmiiTHTn r- -