Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1912-10-17
THE ERA OF SMALL FARMS.

heretofore the most careless and
wasteful Of any In the world, is aware
Of It, and preparing himself for the
new conditions. Our fathers and
theirs had a vast area of virgin land
open to their exploitation. 1t required
no economies, no care, no effort to
increase yield ana multiply produc-
ton. II quarter-section did not pro-
duce enough, there was another l6O
acres convenient, or more If the set
tier wanted to go to the trouble OF
acquiring 1t.
This is now changed, and while
there is still government land to be
obtained, it is not that rich, open
prairie, that awaited the plows of our
parents and grandparents, We are
getting down to the condition of the
older countries, where as more land Is
not available, that we have must be
made to produce up to its limit.
Here in oregon this is particularly
noticeable, and here, owing to climatic
conditions, this tending towards in
tensified farming, getting, If not more
products, different products Of more
coin value has given wonderful i'm
petus to fruit and berry growing,
Hood River set the example and also
the pace, making her lands that were
practically idle and yalueless twenty
years ago, worth thousands of dollars
per acre now, by planting them to or
chards and small fruits. Rogue river
tells the same story, and now the big
Willamette valley comes to the front,
to eventually eclipse them all, not
perhaps in quality, but certainly in
quantity.
The whole Waldo Hills, thousands
of acres, will eventually be one vast
orchard. The lower parts of the val
ley will be devoted more largely to
small fruits, though there are thou
sands of acres of the very best or
chard lands.
This means small farms, with inten-
sifled cultivation, and big returns
from small areas, 1t means dozens of
families where there is now one, 1t
means dense population, with CON
venient churches and school houses.
1t means perfect highways, electric
lights and power on every farm 1t
means--this back TO the farm idea
also the taking back to 1t city COM
forts and conyeniences, and modern
aids in smoothing the acerbites of
country life.
It means the covering of the great
Willamette valley and the productive
foothills with a network Of electric
railroads. 1t means comfort and con-
tent, yielded by every ten or twenty
acre tract to some entire family.
We hardly notice that this has be-
gun, for while many small tracts are
being dotted with homes, the territory
Gtill devoted to wheat to sheep and
stock growing, and TO nothing at all,
is still so large that the small tracts
DO not draw our attention. They are
here just the same, and they are be-
coming more numerous every day
But while fruit and berries are a
large factor in making the small farm
support family, there are some other
things that will prove to be an impor-
tant factor along this line,
with the greatest and richest forest
area of any state in the Union, Ore
gon has an immense bank account,
upon which, If It is properly conserved
she can draw indefinitely, and the
grand total value Of which IL it could
be known and expressed in figures,
would be unbelievable. It is probable
from present indications the southeast
ern portion Of the state is to be a
great oil producer Her mineral
wealth, so far scarcely begun to be
prospected, will sometime prove enor-
nous. Her water powers, the finest in
the world will, with their tremendous
power sometime prove vertable
mnts Each and every one OF them
Is great, but all combined as wealth.
producers will be overtopped and left
In the shade, when the day comes
when the crop CT small farms now
being planted, so to speak, get ripe II
will take time, of course, but the
youngsters now attending school will
by middle life have seen change
that neither they nor we, can even
imagine
Here. however, is little suggestion.
Estimating the cultiyable area Of the
willamette valley at 100 miles long by
80 wide, and II is much more than
that, we have three thousand sections,
or in round numbers, 100000 acres
Every dollar an acre increase added to
the yield Of this land means S2,OOO,O0O
and when land that has heretofore
yielded ten to twenty dollars an acre
is made to turn off from 800 to $1,000
an acre-well, get out your pencil
and do some figuring for yourself.