The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1895-05-10
EAsrERN oREeoN WHEAr:.

Senator Mitchell has prepared for the
National Geographical Magazine, pub
lished at Washington, D. c., an article
on Oregon, giving its history, geography
and resources. Regarding the great
at-producing Inland Empire, the
following incident is related:
''The productive capacity of the In
land Empire in Eastern Oregon is some
thing wonderful. Thirty years ago not
a bushel of wheat was raised in that en-
tire empire, although across the line,
near Walla WalIa, some 300 bushels of
wheat were raised by DIR. Whitman at
his mission in 1S41. Commodore Wilkes,
a portion of whose party visited this
mission Gin that year, 30 reports.
Twenty years ago the coming fall left
the Central Pacific railway near Salt
Lake and journeyed westward through
Northern Utah and Eastern Oregon.
The first wheat of any Importance was
grown in Eastern Oregon that year.
There was three-acre lot located near
where the town of Weston, Umatilla
county, now is and Immediately outside
of the Umatilla Indian reservation.
The crop had been taken off before my
arrival. The wheat stubble being SO
abundant, 1 was amazed and expressed
surprise to my host, with whom 1 re-
mained over night, that there should be
such fertile spot in this vast desert, as
the whole country seemed to me to be
little less than desert. He smiled and
replied that tt tract on which this
wheat had grown was the same charac-
ter of land as the whole surrounding
country, including the greater portion of
the Umatilla reservation, I obtained
sack, and Immediately outside the field,
digging down some six or eight inches,
flled it with peck of soil. l brought
it with me to Washington; took it to
the late Professor Henry, then secretary
of the Smithsonian institute, and re-
quested him to analyze it and tel. me
it's properties and what it was good for.
He inquired, Where did you get this
soil?' 1 replied, west of the Rocky
mountains Professor Henry re-
marked, That is rather Indefinite
But, Professor, said I, Il snail not tell
you whether it came from California,
Oregon, the Willamette valley, or the
top of Mt. Hood He made me very
interesting report, in which it was
stated that be regarded the soil as the
best heat-producing soil he had ever
examined; that it contained properties
very similar to the soil Of Sicily, where
wheat had been raised for 1000 years
without exhausting the soil. The re-
port further stated that-the soil was of
such character that it would fertilize it.
self as cultivated; that it would not be
necessary to let it rest after a crop or
two, as in many portions of the country,
or to fertilize it. The predictions made
in that report have been amply verified
Two years ago visited Umatilla county
and what was formerly the Umatilla In
dian reservation, and was told that
there had been raised and harvested
that year in that county alone over
1000, 600 bushels of wheat. That this
single county will produce 100000
bushels of the best quality of wheat the
present year, or an amount considera-
OAJ LAOAC Ohoh wac BAOOOCC0 III 1000 III
any one of twenty-one different states in
the union, ] have not the slightest
doubt.
t'In addition, it is estimated that there
will be shipped the present year from
the city of Pendleton. the county seat of
Umatilla county, located on the trans
continental railroad, 100000 pounds of
wool; while from The Dalles, the county
seat of Wasco county, an equal quantity
will be shipped, A large portion of the
state, notably UmatilIa, Union and
Baker counties, with several others in
the Eastern section, and Coos and Curry
counties, in the Southwestern portions,
are admirably adapted to sugar-beet
culture. The beets grown here are said
to yield larger percentage of saccharine
matter than those produced elsewhere;
while 20 tons per acre is moderate es-
innate of the annual crop.