Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1890-12-29
THE AGRICULTURAL ASPECT
How Grain, Fruit, Hops and
Vegetables Thrive and
Yield.
A MARKET FOR NEARLY EVERYTHING.
Fortunes i'm Hops and Potatoes
Facts and Figures-Pos-
sibilities of Farming
Peaches Successful.

One of the great causes OF SSlein
prosperous advancement is the rich
farming country which surrounds 1t,
teeming with grain, hops, fruit and
vegetables, of which Salem is the
storing depot, the shipping point,
the sales mart and the consuming
place. Wheat is the only grain
which figures to any extent in stor-
age here and of this the Salem
FIGURING mills, the only house
handling it this season, took in 2l5,-
600 bushels of the crop of 1890.
There are numerous landing places
up and down the river and several
small stations on the railroads,
which are more convenient for
many of the farmers who are other
wise commercially tributary to this
city, hence the amount Of grain
stored here is no indication of the
amount raised within q compare
lively few miles of the city. The
oats are bought up by the livery
barns, truck and dray companies
and private horse owners almost as
fast rs brought in and at good prices,
hence the amount stored is merely
nominal.
THE HOP INDUSTRY,
The hop business is becoming one
of large dimensions. The transac-
tions in this commodity shipped
from this county Of the 1890 crop
amount to about $1,000 bales, which
brought in the neat little sum of
81, 10000. Marion county is the
paradise of the hop-raiser and the
Oregon hop now seems to lead the
market. The latest quotation seen
by the writer, from New York
commission house, quoted n. y.
hops at 30 to IS cents, and Oregon
hops "a to 3s cents per pound, thus
giving the latter a decided advan-
tage.
What can be done OF q hop farm
in this part OF the Willamette valley
is well illustrated by an article in
the CAPITAL JOURNAL of the 4th of
last September, which said:
"About four miles from Salem
where the Rickreall creek comesinto
the Willamette, is small cleared
farm, mostly bottom land slop-
ing up to the hills, the whole COM
prising not over forty acres of culti-
waited land in all. and yet it is one
of the richest mines of agricultural
wealth in the nation to-day.
The owner bought the land in
January 1882, and located on this
little tract near EOla. He found
about eight acres cleared and plant
ed to hops. By his own exertions
and without capital ne has cleared
this patch and extended his hop
farm to twenty-fOur acres. That
hop yard yields him sixty thousand
pounds of cured hops this year. for
which he is offered thirty-five cents
to-day. He may get forty cents the
way prices are going. You can
figure out the value of his hop crop
yourself. AT only thirty cents he
will have $4,000 for his hops or
1850 an acre. He has besides four
acres Of peaches, four acres OF prunes
and twenty acres Of hay, the pro-
ceeds Of which it is not necessary to
but they are alone sufficient
to render his farm self-sustaining.
on q first crop from one acre of
gooseberries he sold $50 worth of
fruit. The peaches and prunes net
from $3.50 to 500 al acre. These are
plain facts, with no fancy about |
them, and they speak for them
selves"
The same result as above given |
can he realized by any man of intelli-
gence and industry who selects a
proper location, thousands Of acres
Of the right kind Of land tor hops
being within reach OF reasonable
purchase in different parts of this
and Polk county.
In relation to general farming in
iustries, the following excerpt
aiken from a letter written from
mere by George NJ. Grilley to the
Kansas, Empire, Aug.
a, 1880, gives q fair idea: "Small
yrain is hardly as good with US as
ast year, but wheat will average at
east 25 bushels per acre; oats about
s bushels. Early potatoes yielded
veil: am selling now at soc Der