The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1883-10-02
=GsTABLIsHED AUGUST "a, 1852.

CeetUF Vi dOVbEuOF hOOuy, WuUu Lue
on the cars, did not estimate the arabl
lands high. bat thought, 1t might rul
fully one third OF the area of the State.
should have spoken about the frui
exhibit OF the fair in its proper place. Tn
exhibit OF apples was good but not extra
while that OF pears aud ounces was unu
sually good. Oregon is nota peach countr
yet there were a few good peaches on tn
tables. This Is an of year for apples.
is good apple State, and they tell me tina
their apples are never worny, to the leas
degree. The country orchards that saw
both on the east and west sides OF the VII
lamette river, are very rough, dwarfy ant
wild looking, showing apparently no car
whatever. Yet saw some very small ant
seemingly very young trees oysrburdeueC
with good looking frSit. The value Of th'
orchard products OF Oregon for 1880 is pu
down at $3.50, ,063.
INDIFFERENT GARDENS.
A thing that l have everywhere remarked
in such portions Of the country aq have
seen is the very indifferent gardens they
have. 1 have no. seen yet garden tina
an Ohio Valley farmer would consider
worthy of the name. And yet l am tolC
that the gtound produces abnndantly al
most every variety OF garden truck except
tomatoes. All garden vegetables ars late
here. We are now eating green beans and
peas, water and musk melons. The melons
are small and poor. / miss in the stalls Of
Portland the large, plump heads Of cab
bage that one sees in the Wheeling market.
But it is only fair to say that this is a year
OF drouth in Oregon. speak OF things as
l find them coupled with this explanation.
was shown gardens at Roseburg, in the
Umpqua Valley, were the ground, although
looking black and rich, was all cracked
into seams Of one TO three inches, and moth
ing had done well. Asa general thing the
land here holds wonderful reserve OF
moisture-so much so that the houses are
cellarless. What would farmers house,
or even town house, be in your country
without cellari The soil in the Villa
mette and Umpqua Valleysis, for the most
part, vegetable mould with clay SUBJ
soil, and II 1t was tile drained and its crops
rotated aud fertilizsd would be smong the
best farming lands in the country in point
OF productiyeness. But the present occu-
pants, like The old Virginia tobacco rsisers.
have only one idea, and that is to get as
much for nothing as possible with the least
possible amount Of work.
on THE COLUMBIA RIVER.
You see by the date Of this letter that l
am afioat on the Columbia riyer-tha
matchlees and peerlefs Columbia. l re.
turned to Portland from the Salem fair and
the next morning set ont on a journey up
this river to the Walla Walla country in
Washington Territory. We are tied up at
the "Dalles," the head otnavigation for
the lower Colum bia, and instead Of going
ashore tonight | am utilizing wax candle
in my state room by writing up these notes.
We have bad most interesting trip to-day
from Portland here, starting out at 7 in the
morning on the steamer "B0nita"-passing
en- route, Fort Vancouver, where Lieut..
Charley Williams, OF Wheeling, Is stationed
with part OF the 2lst Infantry, under Col.
Morrow, and stopping at the Cascades,
where we shifted ~ portage OF six miles
on the narrow guage railroad, at the end Of
which we took this good steamer, the
Harvest Q1een," which has brought us
safely up us far as we can go by water.
Both steamers are stern WheeierS, ald OF
course felt all the more at home on their
decks on that account. About half u
dozen OF US have had the commodIops Har:
vest Queen mostly TO ourselves all the way
up from the portage and have pjlyed
the benefits Of the good natured purser's
thirty years experience on the river and
sat under his teachings on the bow Of the
boat. The Columbia, for the fifty miles Of
its passage thraugh the Cascade mountains,
10 the most attractive river on the CONT.
nent. Broad, green, deep and majestic, it
moves mysteriously down to the sea through
succession OF wild, bold and towering
cliffs and peaks. Unfortunately thesmoke
OF the burning forests obscnred many
views to-day, but With all the smoke and
all the wind that swept down the great
pass Of the river, as il by suction, we all
thoroughly enjoyed the trip. A.wc.