The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1893-02-18

70 :
pears, prunes, plums, apricots. nectarlnes
cherries, blackberries, straw berries, ect.,
+ the cultivation OF these fruits, since a
} market has been afforded them, has
become great industry. All these
fruits grow there in perfection. They
consider the prune one of the most
valuable. Ia the vicinity OF Ashland, q
pretty little town of $500 situated III
Southern Oregon in the Rogue River
Valley peaches do remarkably well.
South Western Oregon is not deficient 10
minerals, gold, silver, copper, IRON, TN,
lead. asbestos, cinuahar, coal, platinum,
kaolin and fine building stone are found
Besides these products OF the soil and
those OF the mines, fine timber consist
ing of sugar, yellow and white pine, fir
and cedar abound | continued my
Journey north ward until | reached Rose
burg, the coauty seat of Douglas county.
A historical interest attaches itself TO
the Umpqua Valley, in which Roseburg
is situated, for in its quiet confines lie
the remains of the brave soldier and
public spirited citizen Gen. Joseph Lane.
travelled good deal over this valley
and found the soil to be good but OF
such charaGter as to cut up badly dur
ing winter. | was surprised at not md
ing green wheat fields there but was told
that their general time OF seeding was in
February. An old settler told me that
within forty years past, he had out
once seen snow three inches deep IN the
valleys. The mean annual temperature at
Roseburg is 522 Fahrenheit, according
to the record kept by the United States
signal service. The mean temperature
for January, the coolest month during
| ba for
| July, the warmest month for the same
period was G5.9 above zero. The
Umpqua Valley and Douglas county, in
| general afford fine pasture, aud
stock raising and wool growing are
among It's most important industries,
In the vast area of hills and mountains,
either too rugged to be titled, Or moro
| profitable for grazing, and in creek bot
| toms where there is level land IN small
tracks not vet demanded for actual
settlers, cattle aud sheep lind ample
| susteuauco and fatten and thrive. The
| winters are 50 mild that it is not cxpen.
siye to keep stock in good condition.
| The wool clip in this section is said to
be the best produced in the United
States. Land in Douglas county ranges
in price according to location from s. to
$40 per acre. They have no such farm
| buildings out there as we have here.
They say they do not need them. No
grass seed is sown. They will SOW
field in wheat and the year following
cut heavy crop OF natural grass, wild
oats or something else indigenous to the
soil for hay Hay with them is not
special crop as it is with us. They Gu
only what they expect to feed to their
stock, and that is not very much, rs it
runs out nearly all winter. Besides the
| fruits | have mentioned, fine wheat,
barley, oats, rye, hops, potatoes, etc,
are grown. My journey having ended,
the recital of it necessarily comes to
close. In travelling distance OF 5000
miles a person meets great many
specimens of humanity. | c0nversed
with all, from the prize fighter to the
preacher. Returning from San Francisco
to Salt Lake, l occupied car with a
| theatrical troupe. They were truly
merry party. Very few amusing
Incidents occurred on the way, but per-
haps failed to see the ludicrOus, as
was suffering considerably with the
toothache. R ached home safely after
an interval of four weeks, deeply i'm
pressed with The vastness, capabilities
aud grandeur of our country.
| Comment on the essay being in order
Mr.. Jos. Coudon expressed his gratifiaa
tion at listening co the paper, and upon
his request Mr.. Gillespie described more
particularly the construction of the snow
sheds of the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
They are constructed of heavy girders,
and planking, resembling au almost
continuous line Of covered and closed
shedding, with occasional openings tor
light in extent about A miles, and
suggestive OF Il WOO isl bridge
Mr.. Mccullough said Mr.. sGillespio's
account of his trip had given him great
pleasure.
Mr.. Wilson also expressed his pleasure
at listening to the paper, and spoke at
sGme length of the snow breaks on the
Union Pacific Railroad, which were
! great in extent. The breaks are cor
structed like board fence, at an angle
Of 40 degrees, and are generally located
at cuts in the road, built 30 or 40 rods
TO the north OF the track.
Col. Noyes having spent some time on
the Pacific Coast some years ago, said Mr.
| Gillespie S article recalled familiar scenes.
| When he left the Pacific Coast III 1861.
those splendid bottoms lands, were
where the wheat WAS then grown, Soma
times the yield being 40 to GO bushels.
cover cattle. They grew nc hay, but
depended upon natural grass and wild
oats. The snow sheds, there called
licences" were generally closed Or made
tight on the north side.
Col john r. Bond, said Mr.. Glllespie's
article was interesting, and he had
shown his wisdom by avoiding the
shoals aud breakers of discussion and
hence excited 40 criticism on it.
Air. Michiner liked the essay and was
very much interested in it.
Mr.. El1ood BalderstOn said he felt
like asking MIR. Noyes while speaking OF
the wheat yield on the Pacltic-how
they harvested wheat there in the
sixties. Col. Noyes said they used
reapers Jhere and he thought his brother
bad put up the earliest machine.
AIr. Lloyd Balderstou rose to say. that
Mg. Gillespie had said everything 50 welt,
he had left little to say. When however he
stated that they turned up the soil to the
sun and air and made it more productive,
he did not understand how this could
result in Increased fertility. Mr.. Gillespie
also spoke of their sowing no grass crop
i'll Oregon, but reapirg a natural grass
crop, and wild oats. Mr. Gillespie ez
piaiued the fact as stated by him.
Mr.. John r. Bond rose to say that tn
practice of turning up soils to sunlight
and the action OF the atmosphere had
been for centuries in India the solt
method of fertilization.
Mr.. Lloyd Ba!derston replied by thu
expression of the opinion, that thu
stirring" of the soil referred to wa
more calculated to rob the soil of it:
Certilizing properties rather than increase
them, and that the continued practices
finally impoverished the soil. He cileC
the custom in vogue in Ireland to burr
, the sod on soils, and said the number o
buruings was restricted by landlords as
tending TO imp0veIish the soil. Tn
practice seemed analogous to tina
referred to by Mr.. Bond as prevailing il
j India, and thought the tendency to turr
| n.y. -, iSl