Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1904-07-27
EDITOR
MAKES
TRIP
On a Drive From Salem to
YaquiDa Bay
Especial Correspondence

A@CN ACNOAAs YIN SOuubg July So
We crossed the Salem bridge at
Sis a m. Monday. The Willamette
lay smooth as a mirror, like the pic
ture Sam Simpson has painted in his
immortal poem. A light veil of hazy
smoky mist lay on the hills, the mass
es of green fir forest and squares of
golden grain shimmering through and
merging into the smoke from the
slashings rising from the hills.
1t took seven minutes to walk the
horse across the long steel bridge and
its approaches. Our horse had not
been driven much for a week, and was
inclined to dance and prance at every
piece of torn paper hanging down from
the sides of the bridge. Mailing and
painting advertisements on our beau
tiful bridge should be forbidden, as
they are never cared for afterward
and become nuisance tapping in the
wind, and frightening horses. the
horse SHE'D once when he was really
excusable He sighted a young wQ.
man in a green dress with red scoop
hat, and chewing gum, and tried to
climb the roadside fence until the per.
ambulating color scheme got safely
past
Going to Eola we met a number of
wagons loaded with baled hay, valu-
able crop this year, but likely to turn
out larger supply than some are
counting on. The dry weather in May
and June enabled the farmers to save
all the early hay like orchard grass.
blue grass, mesquite and clover. Large
fields of timothy (Hurd grass) and
clover were got in without a shower,
and a great deal of fall sown grain
hay. Spring sown grain will be mostly
too short for the harvester to tie into
DuhuiCos anu Will bC tub lOl DdJs lhClt
is still a great acreage of late spring
grain to be cut that will swell the hay
crop immensely.
In spite of these additions to the hay
crop it will bring a good price. Indi-
cations are that 1t will not go below
$S to $40 per ton, and much of the
time for the year to come it will go
along that price.
The roadside and countryside are
rich with elements of beauty at this
time of the year. Summer is at the
glory of its fullness. The grain fields
are either ripe and golden for the
harvest, or the stubble glistens like
Furnished silver under the mellow
ing sunshine. Nature has finished her
years labors, and her wealth and
bounty are spread on every hand, and
she views her work with beaming sat
isfactiom All the fields are fringed
with golden-rod yellow and purple as
ters, The wild parsnip has gone TO
bloom, and lifts its white seed pods
above the grass, storing a harvest of
seeds for the birds in winter
On the road to independence we no
ticed a few very fine hop yards. But
most of the yards show the need of
rain and more thorough cultivation.
The berries are slender, and the foil
age has a light green or yellowish
cast that betokens light crop.
The view looking north from the
Top of the hill just beyond the lone fir
Is beautiful. In all directions lie great |
reaches of grain fields, laid off in
squares of yellow, green grain and
brown pastures, fiecked>with groves of
)ak and fir and the Coast range and !
Cascade range of mountains for ,
background east and west.
The grain crops from Monmouth to |
4ewisville and toward Airlie and Suv.
,r are very fine in quality, and the fall
grain will be an average crop. Late /
'own oats is yet in the making, and is
loing we'll
We stopped for dinner on a high
idge above Burns mill, shaded with
mighty oaks, the sea breeze tanning
'ur dinner table-a IA Adam and Eve
tyle. The view in all directions was
the coast mountains loom
ng up grandly.
This afternoon we drive up Kings
alley, and tonight will camp under
he trees in the mountains. We have
INVADED the cougar country.