The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1904-12-08
AGRICULTURE ON
INTENSIVE SCALE


from the pen OF Professor H. 5. Lyman
II is the idea Of what is often spoken
OF as intensive agriculture" that
space is not the. chief thing. Some
space, Of course, is necessary, But the
old idea that production must be in
creased by increase in space, is set aside
by the new--new at least here. Space
is one OF the least OF the elements in
production. Under Intensive agrienl-
ture about the first thing is to reduce
the size OF the farm. Only in this way
can or will the other necessary element
be brought to bear.
In the Hood River country the first
essential 10 the Intensive idea of farming
has been applied. The old sections, or
half OF quarter sections, have been cut up.
One farmer with whom | talked over
the fence as he paused IN his moving,
said in reply to my question that he
owned ten acres, but thought he wanted
fifteen. Another gave the size OF his
farm as 81. Another, and this the own
er of one Of The finest looking in the
valley, gave his as AZ acFes--but added,
apologetically, that this was TOO much
About ten to fifteen acres was regarded
as the average. From casual list Of
farms offered for sale over one hall are
OF 20 acres or under, and those over this
are manly cheap unimproyed places.
The valuable places are small. The
value il at once seen 10 be not in the
space covered, but in what comes off of
the space. One hundred dollars TO 500,
or up TO $500 per acre is asked for farm
lands in full cultivation. Bare land
bringing nothing back is worth SIS or
less. The element OF speculation or
speculative value, Is almost eliminated
1t Is scarcely considered.
Looking over the farms even at a
glance on dreamy morning walk one
sees why an acre OF farm land is valuable
at $500. Glover or, alfalfa, the sec
ond or third crop, makes many an acre
green now where twenty years ago the
ground was too bare at thia season to
sist the proverbial jack rabbit. Five
tons or more Of fodder now grow where
then was scant pasture, or occasionally
field Of wheat. The land has been
made productive nine months instead
Of three. But the clover is not grown
30 much for its eelf "a to improve the
soil. Even four or five tons OF hay per
acre is but an auxiliary crop, and this
when hay is worth So a ton.
Passing on one sees the strawberry
vines forming the covering OF about
half the farm lands 10 the valley. One
cultivat0r OF this fruit stated that last
year this brought him but $50 per acre.
But he marketed but half his crop; the
fault was not in the production, but in
a market badly glutted. Another
grower says that an average
crop brings 4 crate, and 100 to 100
crates per acre--sl00 to $500 IL thus a
conservative estimate Two poor years
have now come in auecession, last years
crop having been injured by rain fol-
lowed by heat in the picking season;
and this years rlpening at precisely |
the time that the main crop In the East |
was placed on the market. Like every |
industry, strsWbarry growing thus, has
Its ups and downs, It Is. also, more |
than any staple, subject TO change from
place TO place; making sudden spurts
here and there, and as suddenly declin-
ing. The strawberry, like many things
superfine, IL thus prone to he COY, and
tickle in Its favors.
For this reason the prefeFence now
is toward the cultivation. of apples.
Under proper encouragement this is no
wonder. An orchard now noticed, for
instance, is so heavily loaded that many
OF the branches are bent TO the ground
and nearly evrey tree Is supported by
props. Going In one finds the owner at
work on his applehouse. There are six
acresin the orchard, he says; seventy
trees TO the acre; not less than five
boxessto the tree; and he has already
sold his entire crop at 81, 20 per box, or
bushrl OF 40 pounds. The apples are
the Newtown pippips remarkable for its
keeping and shipping qualities. After
paying 5 cents per box for the sale, over
81, 1000 will be left; or $500 per acre for
one year. This may safely be divided
to aHarage up the crops and the markets,
and then place apple growing as safer
and sprer than strawberries: but the
berries, will not be superseded to an ex-
elusive extent, They, are the things
best adapted here to culture while pre-
pairing for the orchard.
All this time one has been observing
the immediate agent In bringing this land
up from a bare TO the, acre to q value
OF $500. II is the water. For space the
value may be assigned as not overSl0.
To find the other. S2Sb value we must
find dla0me other elemeEt beside the sur
face. Here at Hood River one cannot
assign much TO the soil. This ia light,
sandyor grayelly, and usually reckoned
poor, 1t has certain excellencies; but
canl0t compare with such soils as in
the Palouse country, forinstanee, which
is worth only $50 or $40 per acre, Much
of the value, In addition to that OF the
surface apdlsoil, must then, be attrib,
uted TO the element that has been |
brought upon the surfaee--the water.
This has been flowing in great quant-
ties In the river bed. lie now. distrih.
uted over the surface and has made the
intensiye agriculture possible here. Or
rather tits the new idea Of the inten-
Iive agriculture to put together in
mail and convenient space the scat
cred, or divided, elements that are
equiTed in production. II the water
md soil are separated, bring the water
% the soil. Do not make your plant
ry to find the soil in one place and the
water In another. Do the busipess all
n one place. II the plant food is not
ound in the ground in sufficient guam
.ity, bring 1t to the plant, DO not try
% make the plant reach over spaces ii
Ill thatis necessary may be put in one
space.
Water has thus. been. brought upon
.he surface, with the result that GER
ain space is now sufficient for ten times
he plant life, and plant work, and pro-
luction, that the same space afforded
before. This certainly is nothing new.
But here in Hood River there is new
application of the old principle or prac-
ice. This is under new and better
circumstances, and is a great success.
L is making land worth ten to twenty
lines what II has been, and is multiply
ing production equally
Here comparatively new theory of
he water has been applied. If the
water is the main agent OF bringing
and up to high value, 1t would seem
that to the water should go the pay.