Evening star., 1909-09-13

reach 100000 bushels day.
The harvest begins about the 1st of
July and continues until well into Oc-
tober, because there is no danger of the
grain falling from the sheaf as in or
dinary wheat fields. nor is there any
exposure to storms. Thousands upon
thousands of acres of ripe wheat are
allowed to stand for weeks where farm
ers are unable TO get help or for other
reasons have delayed their harvest.
Harvesting is conducted on a large
scale by combined reaperS and thrash
ers, which cut, thrash and sack the
grain automatically at the rate of from
twenty to forty acres per day There
are no elevators along the railways in
this part of the country. All grain IS
shipped in jute sacks made in the state
penitentiary at Walla Walla in order 10
preserve it from sweating during the
long ocean voyage around the Horn or
through the Straits of Magellan. Each
sack weighs 225 pounds. They are also
an advantage in permitting the skipper
Of vessel to shift his cargo when
necessary.
l have been assured over and over
again that the cost of raising wheat ana
sacking it for market does not exceed 80
cents a bushel, and that 30 per cent Oh
the farmers in this country are able TO
get their crop on board ocean vessels for
that price Therefore. when you consider
the price that wheat is now selling Tor
you can realize how the people OF this
country gained their wealth.
There is a great deal of fruit raised
here. particularly apples and cherries'
which are equally profitable. Inc or
chards and the gardens are irrigated, but
the wheat is cultivated by the same meth
DDS that are known as dry farming IN
Nebra ska, Wyoming and Colorado. Ihe
annual rainfall will average sixteen
inches.
Reclaiming the Desert.
East of Walla Walla is a repulsive des-
ert, rolling. sandy plateau of basaltlc
origin. underlaid with gravel and occa-
sionally lava outcrop. The sand is loose
and drifting and the surface of the earth
for sixty or seventy miles is absolutely
barren. Not even sage brush can exist
there. But the sanctifying grace or wa
ter is rapidly redeeming that terrlple
area. The reclamation service Of the gov
ernment has built dam and created q
reservoir fed from the Umatilla river,
branch of the Columbia, which VIII re-
deem 10000 acres of land and furnish
homes for 700 or 500 families who are now
taking up homesteads. 1t is called ofh-
cally the Umatilla project; the headquar-
ters are at Hermiston a new town l93
miles east of Portland on the O.. r. and
n. line. There are now about 11,OOO acres
under water, and applications have been
made for 5000 additional acres. This sea-
son 1900 acres are actually under culti-
walton. being planted to alfalfa and rye
chiefly. large number OF. orchards per-
haps 1000 acres altogether, have been set
out this spring and Strawberries have
been planted between the rows Of trees
No one has tried long enough to know
what the soil will produce, but the prom
iseS are favorable.
This is the most uninviting and repul-
sive country you ever saw. and you Won
der at rather than admire the courage and
confidence of people who have gone In
there and taken up homesteads. The hrst
7 asked n Mr. Newell. the gov
ernment engineer in charge, was what
possessed the department to locate prof.
ect here when so many millions of acres
of more inviting and accessible land are
crying for reclamation.
He explained that the site was selected
by a survey party in 1903 because it was
the only place In this section of Oregon
that was available, and the policy of
work as evenly as possible among the
different states. But there was a very
much more important reason, In that
the Umatilla project involves the most
extreme hopelessness of any that had
been undertaken. If this territory can
be reclaimed and made to produce wealth
by the application Of water, it will be
safe to conclude that all things are pos
sible to irrigation science. Another i'm
portant reason was that this tract. lying
only 45O feet above the level of the sea,
has a long growing season and will be
capable of producing certain crops which
are not possible In higher attitudes and
less sunshine.
The water supply is not very abundant,
but is sufficient for all purposes required.
The Umatilla river, a wide, clear, beau
tiful stream, flows from the Blue noun
tains through the deserts of Oregon, but
after it reaches them it runs too low
for irrigation, except in few places.
The water cannot be lifted to the land
on either bank without great expense.
while the current isn't sufficient to fur
nish much power. The land on both
sides is barren, and the only attempt at
irrigation is the "Umatilla project at
Hemiston.
Agreement With Land Owners.
About As per cent of the 10000 acres
which will be reclaimed was unoccupied
public land at the time its reclamation
was decided upon, and the owners of
the remainder Of the tract incorporated