The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-12-17
SHELTON COUNTY WASHINGTON. FRIDAY DECEMBER II 1897
How They Raise wheat.

IioOshpiy euO idi SOSe "hOoo SAO"SA
in the state Of Washington is w. HI.
Babcock, OF Eureka Flats, in Walla
Walla county, on the line of the Wash
ington and Columbia River railroad.
He has now 5000 acres in wheat.
With a soil OF great depth and fer
tility and the conditions of climate
most favorable the one great element
OF water was tile sole constituency
lacking to make the Eureka Flats the
ideal place for the farmer
When the Hunt system of railroads
was built into this great region it de-
veloped the country rapidly. The
Eureka Flats is the name applied to a
bunch grass valley from three to seven
miles wide and thirty miles long, with
rolling hills on the north from the
break of the Snake river; hills on the
south that form the divide between
the Eureka and Touchet rivers, the
latter still preserving its French pro-
nunciatlon, "Tou-chay," with the ac-
cent on the last syllable.
These hills are little more than high
rolling country. They are all farmed
more or less and are included under
the general title of Eureka Flats.
Between 100000 and 100000
bushels of wheat were grown on the
Eureka Flats this year, mostly blue
stem.
The railroad company has helped
the farmers out on the water question
by running regular water trains made
up OF large tanks on flat cars, hauled
from ten to thirty miles and sold at
the rate of $40 for 5000 gallons. The
farmers haul il from the trains in
large horizontal barrel tanks holding
from 400 to 600 gallons.
This water problem was one that ap-
pealed to a man of Mr.. Babcock s
makeup for solution, and he went to
prospecting. He has been there for
eighteen years and knows the country
thor oughly. 1t was some eight Or
nine years ago that he struck a flow
ing vein of water distant one and
three-quarter miles from his house.
The well was down lao feet when the
water was tapped. 1t is of good quail
ity. In order to have an abundant
supply at all times he drifted on the
vein of water sixty feet, SO that he has
storage reservoir at the bottom Of
the well sixty feet long, six feet wide
and six feet deep. The tunnel is well
braced to keep from caying.
From the we'll an inch and quar-
ter pipe leads to the house, and four
| windmills are used in the water sys-
tenn. One windmill raises the water
to the large cistern at the surface; a
second one pumps it from the cistern
into the pipe; third located half a
mile from the cistern, forces the water
along, and a fourth, placed mile
away, still further helps the distribu-
ton.
Men interested in pumps and water
works will understand that there is a
vacuum and air chamber at each wind
MILL With a fair breeze a solid flow
of an inch stream is secured.
At his house he has two tanks with
an aggregate capacity of $4,000 gal
Ions. He expects to increase the
capacity next spring to $4,000 gallons.
Mr.. Babcock has about 100 head of
work horses employed continuously.
He has forty head of dairy and stock
cattle and forty head Of hogs. Be-
sides supplying all the water for his
farm and domestic use, he supplies
some c.sthe neighboring ranches.
He has two steam threshing outfits
which threshed 275, 900 bushela this
season in 55 days run, He harvested
400 acres of wheat this year, using
headers, averaging thirty bushels to
the acre. It is understood that he
still has upwards of 100000 bushels of
wheat unsold
Wheat growing in this state is at
tended with some incidents and care
unknown in some of the other sect
ions. For Instance, the seed is dipped
in blue vitriol to prevent smut. Squir-
rels are great poachers on the seed
grain and they have to be regularly
poisoned with liberal sprinkling of
wheat dosed in strychnine. Estimates
of the cost of growing wheat vary, but,
without counting the investment for
land, it can be done from 80 to 33
cents per bushel.-Ledger.
-.
LAND Commissioner Bridges is au-
thority for the statement that in some