East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-07-28

OrONlHS is rust.
Portland. The time has arrived
when the people of the Willamette
valley must look to irrigation as the
only means to a proper cultivation Of
their land"
This may sound like an attempt at
joking to those who are aware that
an average of A inches of rain falls
in the Willamette valley every year,
yet it is a statement made in all Sc
robustness by Alex Mcpherson "the
man who made Twin Falls" and con-
Cured in by A. p. Stover in charge
of irrigation work in oregon for the
government.
Mr.. Mcpherson, who Is in charge
of the experiment stations for the
Twin Falls Land & Water company
and connected with irrigation enter
prises in the Owyhee Lost River and
other semi-arid districts. yesterday
concluded an investigation of con-
ditions in the Willamette valley,
|
ment reclamation service in this state.
| when I received the invitation to
come to the Willamette valley and
investigate the needs for irrigation,
the proposition seemed so ridiculous
to me that l laughed, 1 think, for
nearly an hour" said Mr.. Mcpherson
yesterday.
"But since seeing the valley and
studying the conditions there, I am
convinced the matter is one of vast
importance to the valley, to Portland
and to oregon at large.
Must Change Farming.
For years wheat has been the
standard crop in the valley. Wheat
il is a cereal that natures early in the
season and until the qualities of the
soil necessary for profitable wheat
growing become exhausted. there was
no great need for irrigation. But the
time has come when the attention of
the farmers of the valley must be
turned to diversified farming. An
investigation of the character Of the
soil, the frost periods and other fac
tors convinces me that the william
ette valley is capable of producing
almost any kind of crop. But when
diversified crops are attempted,
there must be water during the grow
ing period for their successful pro-
duction.
at is a fact not generally known,
and one l have just learned myself,
that the rainfall in the Willamette
valley during the growing period or
summer months. is less than that in
the Twin Falls, Owyhee or Lost River
countries, which are considered arid.
81 was SURPRISED by the condition of
the crops in the Willamette valley.
They have a dried-out, burned-up ap-
pearance that speaks for half crop
TIL farms of the far-famed william
cite valley are today not to be COM
pared with the irrigated farms of
Twin Falls. There every inch is un-
der cultivation and the green crops
are running riot. Yet the Willamette
valley has the soil and all it needs is
water during the crop-growing Pc
riod.
Irrigation Will Double Yield.
"When one considers that irrigation
in the Willamette valley will increase
the productive power Of the land from
two to four times, increase the value
of the land from two to four times
and make possible an increase in pop
ulatlon of from four to ten times the
present population, he will become
convinced that irrigation is an urgent
matter.
"In urging irrigation in this valley
1 would not be harsh on the men who
have lived on and cultivated their
farms for 40 years or more. They
have done their work and done 1t
WELL but they should be induced to
divide their 1000-acre holdings and
dispose of them in small tracts to the
younger generations, who will edu-
: cate themselves in the necessities for
irrigation and the growing Of diversi-
fled crops. Thus will western Ore
gon continue to grow and become
more populous and more prosperous
to the benefit of the whole state"
1--WE would like to see the people OF
the willamette valley awakened on
the irrigation question" said Mr..
Stover last night 1.-THE tables giving
the average monthly precipitation in
the Willamette valley show that while
an average of A inches of rain falls
annually, the average in June, July
and August, the crop growing
months, is but two and one-half
inches. The summer rainfall comes
as a rule in the form of showers and
does the growing crops no particular
good. Take this year, for instance
The dry season began practically
about April 20 We have had nothing
: but showers thereafter until July b,
and all that rain did was to spoil
many tons Of hay. The need of irri-
CATION is not determined by the total
amount of rainfall, but by it's distri-
button throughout the year. There
are numerous localities in which wa
ter Is impounded in the Willamette
valley and in my judgment, the valley
must adopt irrigation for its saliva
ton. The sooner this is done, the
| better for weatern Oregon"