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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1915)
.!' i ! I 1A0"R FOUR rTCT)170RT MATT) TRTTttrtfR MnTTORD; ORTJaON. PRTDAY, JANUARY win IteeiaATroNlNK'OQoc (Settle or thaC3)iq 1S ..... Sill ffi oitie 01 inaoif trfenHiwe ikaf wi filter Moiiraiidi i cra,t of rcftarcM ivcDmi - A.if) Yt.'A 2Sb J TOT'S i4v- Wfft "'V 'Vj ' 1U .; "v. & Mw If k ! . S $& i S &i ?v5 i04 I IV ui sr$ HK3kB HKU xllFS SjMlllKfrS-' : V L vfeS " M'SI FJh A . ' : a-u, ltttf fea i catfpLETZosiccv&tor XeoaucKtvf;? vaui:yC4Nai CO'J M'JPOA HOHXANAL irwe msg ifcZ) 01 uvr HZorov, titUiyf KAJT or ii vrif' p wJj- ' 1? ffy -tj I A7KT VfjfH IV n ZfOVW 7XEE HWW jrJOUJro THAT. ps4jart ta "Y4-m-r tsssgpzmg vf tw WJ" Long continued agitation for Irri gation for tho entire valley has cul minated In tlio appointment of a com mittee at a recent mass meeting of( farmers and fruit growers authorized to talco Initial steps for tho creation of an Irrigation district under tho Carey law. Tho county court 1U bo petitioned for tho creation of this district, tho formation of tho district, to bo followed by an cxhaustlvo In quiry Into tho several sources of water supply and tho cost of tho same. Preliminary steps will bo taken soon after tho first of tho year. Whllo Irrigation Is not a necessity In tho raising of fruit and other crops Jn tho rtoguo river valley, Its Yaluo Is recognized a crop Insur ance and as an essential In diversi fied lntcnslvo farming, towards which tho valley Is rapidly trending. Wherever Irrigation has heon prac ticed Jn connection with fruit grow ing, tho results have amply Justified tho expense, not only In tho quality and.quantlty of tho fruit, but also In tho health and vigor of tho trees. Tho greatest need of Irrigation In tho Roguo river valley Is found In tho moro shallow soils, nnd for tho pro duction of other crops than largo fruits. For Intensified cultivation tho greater part of tho land of tho valloy requires Irrigation to reach Its best productivity. Much of tho moro shallow land demands Irrigation be- foro any crops of Impqrtanco may be assured. With a few minor exceptions, tho sloping hlllstdo lands are naturally supplied with sufficient moisture by eeopago from higher lands to maturo tho tree fruits and to insuro In many places fair yields of tho cereals and small fruits. Tlio soils of tho valloy floor as a rulo retain moisture read ily, especially if cultivated, and those along tho streams are abundantly sup plied with moisture by tho drainage of tho country. With theso natural advantages, the need of a supply of irrigation water has not been press ing, though tho tlmo has arrived ?; m rTVSGZrj; ' iJA r,.vi . .,?. iV'.WaS . ait j-. -. r&. -l. .. - .-.. 't. lp&zz&sm, 1 fT ' A; .&rt'tJS .. e "-" Y fjour. Jiirrji jr vir OAtt hWTJPC rm WArsK ' tJFVWEO ONTO THE .AND BY ELKCWICtTYiBM StovamW mrJzrZmik nrTZSTT s . VbAmMpHRSH mMkmms:6M i && eoscs isjyce c-r. jlccamx lorctfJPtrj txpcuom the Vdcjzpt roe srvr.HU.Ej. &&rak .!. .V rs,i zzh i 'raw VtrSZ when the value of water Is thoroughly dltlon to selling water, tho company appreciated, particularly In a dry season llko that Just past. A largo portion of tho valloy Is al ready under tho Irrigation system of tho Hoguo River Canal company, a corporation owned by Patrick Welsh, J. D. Twohy and It. IC .Veil, Spokane capitalists, who have Invested $750, 000 In tho enterprise Water Is taken from I.lttlo Hutto creek, sup plemented by dams at rish I.ako and Four Mile I.ako." Plans aro under way for tho extension of this system to cover 00,000 acrcH of cultivated land at a total cost of $2,500,000, in cluding mountain reservoirs halng n combined storago capacity of 35,000 aero feet of water, a trunk canal 1C miles in length, threo main distrib uting canals aggregating 100 miles In length and 400 miles of laterals. The first effort to provide a water supply was Inaugurated nlno years ago by I. h. Hamilton, who formed tho Fish I.ako Wator company, and constructed tho main canal. Four cars ago Fred N. Cummlngs organ ized the Roguo River Canal company, Interesting tho present owners In tho project. Upon his retirement tM years ago, J. T. Sullivan, a former contractor, becamo manager. In ad- Is developing several hundred acres of orchard under tho namo of 'Roguelands." In addition to this project, con struction work is underway on tho l.cadwaters of Bear creek by tho Foot hills Irrigation company. Dams and conduits aro being built that will water 7500 acres of land In tho south end of tho valley at a cost of $250, 000. Tho project was promoted by T. W. Osgood and financed by Jacob-son-Dado company, tho well known contractors. In addition to this project the California-Oregon Power company has en couraged tho Installation of Individ ual pumping plants for tho purposo of furnishing wator for Irrigation and 4000 acres aro now irrigated in this manner in tho valloy. Soil Survey .Four hundred thousand acres of tlllablo land uro found In tho val ley of Roguo river and In tho val leys along tho tributaries to this stream. In tho territory directly adjacent to Medford there aro about 100,000 acres. Attention Is called to tho productive capacity, per aero, of thin region, whether In fruit, grains or vgi'tnble crops. It Is much greater than In localities Intensively farmed In tho east, tho south, tho mlddlo west. It Is an undonlahlo fact tlint In lato years attention has been given to fruit production to tho exclusion of other crops. It Is equally trim that on Roguo River valloy lauds bounteous yields of corenl and hay products and all kinds of vcgotnbles may bo obtained. Wheat, oats, corn and barley yield largo crops. Flvo to eight tons of alfalfa in thrco cuttings aro had. Potatoes will avcrago moro than flvo tons to tho aero, onloiiH will givo greater returns and tomatoes will run as high as fifteen to twenty tons nnd over. Cabbago, turnips, parsnips, beans, peas, carrots, boots, squash, melons, cucumbors, cauliflower, cel ery, asparagiiB everything, Jn fact, will grow, Tho Roguo River valley Is not n one-crop section. It will produce anything grown In tho tomperato zono and will pay bettor returiiH for less labor than any other locality of which wo know. it - .v y m ' 'ill' f.k n Lv$k.L$7: V er v.a ArttAtf jrWA' K ttr$ m t& mm Raising 10H lliislicN of Corn to tho Ado on I'm Ion RiiikIi, i:gli Point IlKtrkt, 1 flHrfnRS&BHPnflPm wiimfWMlv, WmmMU Tho United Btaton government hns Issiiud a pamphlnt entitled "Roll .Sur vey of tho Medford Area," ilcsorlliliig the soils of tho Roguo River valley, which can ho had on application to tlio department of agriculture, Wash ington, 1), C. Oregon was tho first of tlio stntos to apply fur monoy under tho tonus of tho llourno bill, whorohy tho fed eral government appropriated $10, O00 to $20,000 put up hy Jadtsou county for Improvement of rural de livery postal roads. Work wiih finished last August un der Major W. A. CrosslnndH, senior engineer of the biiioau of highways, dopaituiout of ngrlctilturn. Fifty miles of postal road woro lmproied about flvo miles of permanent coti structlou being accomplished. tremes of temperature, a moderate This mill nils over 300,000 foot of rainfall, a llttlo snow and abundant) lumber per day for nlno mouths out huiihIiIiio. What moro do joii want! of tlio ionr. Poultry Openings Hog Raiding and Dallying Aiol early lin.iv.wjny ut iiuxuiiauio Jn tlio nuuo imtr VulicyT .ladtson c oituty has already gained considerable notlco ns a jiokhIIiIo poultry producing section. Said Pio fessoi' James Dryden, director of poultry nnd husbandry at tlin Oregon Agrlcultuial cellege: "I know of no section in tho United Hlnfes thut Is moro favored Jn a climatic way for tho raising of poultry thnn tho Roguo River valley. You havo jio ox-. In tho way of rllnmto? You have all tlio natural advauluges or both noli and climate," The production of poultry may woll liecouio a profllalilo side Industry with tlio caro of an or chard, and tliero aro trailH of land nultablo for poultry loloullng which aro of llttlo valuo for other use. The clliualo Is lilghly unliable, with tho almost rniitlnuniiH huiihIiIiio during nlno montlili of the year, and with tho mild winters. Tho best of food Is near at hand, considering tho pro duction of wheat, corn, alfalfa and other pioducts. AIho, the market. Up to 200 carloads of oggs and n considerable quantity of poultry. aro annually shipped Into Oregon, and a still larger quantity Into tho Pugct sound market coutois. Electrical Progress (Concluded fiom Page 3) working plant using over 2000 horeopowor of electric: power to op erato, this company having proved hy a scrlcin of tests that It was cheaper (o purchaso oleclrlo power from tho California-Oregon Power company tlmu to operato a slcam power plant. tiiUutlng syutoiuH, The ICIiunnth Manufacturing com pany, Klamalli I'iiIIh, also uses 1K5 horsopower In cdectrlc power to oper ato tholr woodworking plant, and tho lllg IIiihIii I.umlmr compiiuw uses 7ri-liorsepowor. .Mlhrcllancoiih iVes of lllechlo Vunvv Rleetrlc! motors aro being used for Inuumerublo power purposes, In cluding tho opeiatlug of quart?, mills, quarries and brickyards, planing mlllH, box factories and, ko plants and stteet nillwajH. Tho California-Oregon Powor com pany duilug tho seasQii or 1011 has built over t went j -flvo miles or cIIm ti Uniting lines along tho county roads of tho Rogue River valloy, imp plying electric cm rent to ranches, or cliaidH and country homes, tlui own ers of which aro quick to rcallo Hint eledilu em rent is no longer a luxuiy, but it necessity, hud (hat mi labor Is uuceilalu and high priced, every labor-saving dovlio In tho homo and on tlio ranch, Instead of being an oxuoiiho, Is a Into economy. Tho lino oxtiiiiHliuis built by tho company In tho Roguo River valloy In 101 1 cost over $10,000. In tiddl Hon, about $30,000 has heon spout In building now milw.lullojiH and for now tinuBrormors and scruiulaiy dlu t-vrr' iali! r -