The Yakima herald. [volume] (North Yakima, W.T. [Wash.]) 1889-1914, 1894-01-25
TRIP ALONG THH YAKIMA
Resources Now In Their Early Stage u
Development.
4 FINE Farm AND ITS PRODUCT.
sage Brush Land Transfsrmea luss
n Paradise by Irrigasien-An lasa
About How 10 start . fruits
Ranch.

A trip down the Yakima valley means 4
Journey through irrigated and irritable
lands. Two recent visits impress me
with the untold resources Of the region.
now only in their earliest stages Of devotion.
ment. The farming on the comparatively
small areas under the short bitches near thu
town are the chief means in building nm
the wonderfully live and thrifty city al
North Yakima. A volume could not s.v
more Tor irrigation. A drive with thu
genial Col. Hustler Benson showed n. IN.
system OF irrigated bitches, big and littls
that water the farms and orchards and
also the lawns and gardens in the town.
AT Messrs. Reed aud wheelers 40-ser.
fruit ranch we saw cellar of winter spnls.
That would have done honor TO the Y.k;m.
at the Worlds Fair, as an erbib;. :,
typical crop. In tho whole lot we found
no unsound or wormy specimens. Ths
Yakima apple cellar (this ia for e.sta,u
readers) isa away from buildings and CON.
structed roughly but carefully. The sxc.v,.
.ion is sided up and rooted with rough
lumber and over this several feet of straw
and earth are thrown. Frosts are rarslv
severe. hence ample ventilation IN e..y.
The fruit is stored 6 to 10 inches dean an
Slated shelves. supported by upriehts.
down the center and along the sides II the
cellar. The high prices obtained rewards
the utmost care. This place of 20 AGRA
planted chiefly with apples, prunss and
grapes, rs said to have sold for sl2, 900. and
to have paid the former owner an income Of
w. 600 to IS 600 per year. yet II can hardly
be over is years old today.
All oil the numerous small pretty nIsc..
around tho town owe their sxistence a.
irrigation, and the bitches that have
transformed the erstwhils sage brush land
INTO a paradise Of civilization are the
results OF efforts of men Of modest means
The big bitches came after the little opss
solved the problem. Now all the valleys
Observation-Disclosures, Ahtanum, Moxse.
Selah and Natcheez-are fast being brought
under cultivation. Alfalfa is yet the lead.
ng crop. 1t is easily and cheaply grown;
Yields to 10 tons per acre and il largely
bought up at good prices for paddock
eeding OF beef cattle, Of which one firm Of
butchers feed 1900 head for marketing In
.he Sound cities.
A day was proftably spent on the Sunny.
'ide lands with State Horticultural Score.
'ary Tonneson. The hospitality Of thu
thrifty farmers, Flint and Curtis, gave u, =
,oothsome appreciation of the varied and
delicious products Of the reclaimed old
axe beds OF alluvial soil, and much inter.
'st was gathered for further use in The
RANCH, Enough now is the lesson Of Mr..
.urtis' experience in beginning right,
OF raspberries, Strawberries. stc.,
which cost SO much to harvest, where man
ioes most OF his own work and capital 4.
'carce, lie would devote more land fsav
iaii) 70 alfalfa for butter making, put the
est Of his land in tree fruits and grapes.
dis winter apples and grapes have 80 far
proven the most satisfactory crops. Wa
must skip, for little. the great mane
orchards and hop yards. They demand
separate treatment.
In October visited the lower Yakima,
md have since confirmed my impressions
py another visit. Following are some notes
made at the time; After glimpses of great
wheat crops on irrigated lands among the
mountain valleys of Montana my appetite
developed for a closer inspection Of thu
irrigation system and its results. Az an
extreme example decided to see the new,
ust finished canal on the west bank
'f the Columbia, which takes lie
water from the Yakima river near iss
mouth. Here we found thrifty crops Of
alfalfa, oats, wheat. sorghum, cabbages,
parsnips and other roots; also . strawberry
bed Just set. As the plants will grow most
Ill winter, it is easy to believe that . fair
crop OF Strawberries will be sold next
hummer in market where very little
81 that fruit has heretofore been known.
To an eastern man reared within dozen
niles Of half a dozen towns, il is hard to
Iealize that the farmers-stockmen and
wheat crowers-on the naturally productive
ands not far distant are the beat. and good
customers for the fruits and vegetables
which are far the most profitable crops for
tho irrigated lands.
Later visited the older irrigated fields
At Kiona. There, four seasons had elapsed
since water first flowed over the felds and
gardens. Fields of alfalfa, ankle deep with
q thick rich growth. were being graEsd by
fat cattle and well rounded horses, though
four crops had already been harvested O.
hay, aggregating six tons per acre. Cot
tonwood trees were eight and ten inches in
diameter. Apple trees began to bear Last
year. Peach trees had borne for two years.
A row of grape vines set as rooted cuttings.
in the spring of 1892, were thrifty. stoeky
plants and had this year borne fruit.
The land chosen for irrigation 10 neees.
sarily but gently slopinR or nearly level.
As a rule, the only native growth upon ID
is saee-brush and few hardy herbaceous
plants. As these cover not 9 tenth part Of
The surface, and all are Of small growth. the
and is easy to clear and smooth In readi.
meas for planting, the whole scarcely. II
my, nnore laborioas or expensive than the
Of the virgin prairie solo the
Mississippi valley. by an eastern visitor
n The Ranch.
WIN does a. NJ McKiunsy sali 40