River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1913-01-16
FROM OUT WEST
Farming In The William cite
Valley
BY e. S REED


LAUNDERING is the foremost in
dustry of Western Oregon. No
other state has such a wealth of
timber. 1t is estimated that Oregon
has more than 300 billion feet of
standing timber, timber of the fin
est quality for building purposes.
The mills of Portland alone saw
over 700, 900, 900 feet Of lumber an
nually. This is transported in
ships or by RATS to California and
South American ports and across
the Pacific to all parts of the Orient.
Great quantities are sent by rail
over the mountains t o eastern
cities. While numbering is pursued
on a vast and increasing scale
agriculture is gaining in Importance
yearly. People n the crowded
eastern states looking for new
homes are finding an ideal farm
ing region in this state. Eastern
Oregon, that portion east of the
Cascade Mountains, area of
$4,000 square miles, is sparsely &C.
cupied and exploited mostly by
cattle and sheep men but in the
high tablelands and the valleys of
the northern portion there are vast
tracts of the finest wheat lands and
this region already ships annually
50,000,000 bushels of wheat. Wheat
fields here are found of thousands
Of acres in extent, the fields worked
by steam power.
The Willamette valley is the best
part of the state for general farm
ing. The soil, the climate, the
amount of moisture, combine to
make agriculture a successful VEN
ture. While the yields of crops are
satisfactory, farmers in the valley
say they have never known a fail
ure. There are many valleys in
the coast range suitable for dairy
ing and for the raising of fruit but
the Willamette valley is capable of
all phases of farming. Here a
diversity of field crops are grown
and all kinds of fruit except those
of the citrus family are produced
The small grains give satisfactory
returns. Wheat goes from % to so
bushels to the acre. The soil in
nearly all parts of the valley is we'll
adapted to the raising of potatoes
and this crop is largely cultivated
Corn is not a favorite crop, yet
most farmers plant some. Corn
will make a vigorous growth and
come to maturity, yielding as many
bushels of ears to an acre as will
the land in the Middle or eastern
states, but it is difficult to keep il
from molding after it is gathered.
The spring weather is too cool for
corn to get an early start and it is
soft when the rain sets in and after
this it is difficult to keep if husked
and piled in heaps Where it can
be fed to fatten hogs before it molds
it is a profitable crop.
Alfalfa and red clover are profit
able crops. This seems to be an
ideal country for clover. 1t makes
excellent hay and yields up to four
ton to the acre with weather always
favorable for curing. Glover pro.
duces wonderful amount of seed
in this valley. Along in October
l heard one farmer say to aneighbor
that he had traShed his second
crop of clover with the results that
the field produced on the average
nine bushels to the acre. listen
ed to the story with incredulity, but
when on the train from Corvallis to
Portland got into conversation
with man who had been a resid.
ent of Oregon for twenty years,
coming fr m Illinois originally
This man had operated a thrashine
outfit in this state for years and had
done much thrashing in Washing.
ton, Idaho and Montana. told
him this story of the mans saving
he had raised nine bushels of clio.
yer seed to an acre and expressed
my difficulty in accepting the
statment at its face value. This
man was in condition to know
what the usual and phenomina