Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1894-08-17

20 on with scoelerating rapidity. AS
we have intimated it will be found
necessary TO apply more intelligence to
the management Of these small farms
than has been used on the large farms,
but the time is fast coming when the
men on the big farms will have to do a
good deal of thinking to get living
and their taxes out of their farms.
Very few fruit growers Of the Will
lamette valley try to raise apricots but
it is a fact that a promising apricot
seeding has originated in the Mt.
Tabor district. Mr.. H. A. Lewis, Of
Russelville, brought into Portland
samples of the fruit of this seeding. In
size and appearance it compares favor
ably with the Moorpark as grown in
California. Some Of our nurserymen,
among them Mr.. w. s. Failing, say
that apricots can be grown with fair
degree of success here, AT Tue Dalles
very tiue apricots are grown.
Some five years ago there was planted
on the lawn of q certain piece of Port
land residence property a small shrub
of Hydrangea paniculata granditiora.
The plant, during its second season out,
was not more than 20 inches high and
IA inches across the top, and had not
more than six medium sized clusters OF
flowers. Today that shrub IL four and
one half feet high aud six and one'lialf
feet across the top and is literally COW
cred with large white clusters of flow ers,
numbering about $50. IL is justly the
pride of home lawn.
One of the newspapers Of Oregon
cheerfully informs its farmer readers
hat " heIt is worth dollar bushel
10 feed b, g. The paper in question is
very good newspaper but its advice
to farmers on agricultural topics is not
always strictly reliable. An average
& in VI one pound in live weight for
five pounds of wheat IL about as much
us can be expected in feeding hogs.
| =
pound in Portland and probably about
81 cents at points up the Willamette
valley. The actual value of wheat for
feeding is about 40 cents per bushel al
the present time In the Willamette
valley. - ..
The conditions found in the William
cite valley are specially adapted to
small farms and in great part of the
valley arei speciallyiiIunfavorable ito
large farms. The fact has frequently
been pointed out in this paper that the
A; greatest obstacle to getting good. roads
in the valley is the sparseness of the
population. The men who farm half
a section of land are doing little more
than making bare living. They can
really afford to pay little or any more
for road making than the men who
are living on twenty-acre farms. With
only two or three farms on each section
of land the building and maintenance
of good roads is and will remain an
impossibility.
1t Is said that the management of the
Oregon state fair is to be better this
year than 1t has been for some years
before. 1t is certainly to be hoped
so. There has been q steadily growing
feeling of dissatisfaction with the man.
agement of the fair for several years
which eliminated in an exhibition
last year which, though good enough
In some features. was a melancholy
failure as state agricultural fair. AS
a matter of fact the exhibits did not do
anything like justice to Marion county
alone. While the blame for this state
Of affairs must first be laid at the doors
Of those who have charge of the fair,
the farmers, fruit growers and stock
men Of the state are not wholly blame
less. There should be little more
public spirit in the matter of making
exhibitions and good deal more de-
termination to demand proper recog-
milton.
We do not know what encourage
ment there will be for dairymen to
make exhibits at the Oregon state fair
this year. Nor do we know, whether
there would be any exhibit worth mem
tioning, even If proper arrangements
were made by the management of the
fair. We do know however, that the
arrangements for an exhibit could not
be worse than they were last year and
there is not decent county fair in the
country that would not be ashamed Of
so meag-e an exhibit as the one made
last year at Salem. 1t is useless to ex-
pect dairymen to send their products
to be placed on exhibition as one of the
least attractive features Of household
products. There ought to be sSpar-
ate building, even though II be very
small and cheap one, for dairy exhibits.