East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1922-09-22

+ Soou' Few Oh LIle IafiilS III the DeS
} localities are offered for sale, bu
! tracts of Indian lands, some of tn
t best acreages, are put up for salt
$ each year, and there still remail
| some acreage formerly used fo
5 grazing which is being brought int
+ cultivation
The Umatilla Indian Reservation
} lands in the most fertile part of tn,
, grain belt, and tracts owned b,
, lestates or retired farmers are LEASED
for share or cash rentals, but a
most of the leases require the tenant
to own the large amount of equip
ment necessary to run the wheat
farm, some capital is essential.
Umatilla county wheat lands are
capable of supporting many time.
the present number of farmers in To-
calities where soil and moisture con-
ditionS are unusually favorable
While it probably cannot be more
profitably wheat farmed than in the
present large units, the time is com
ing when smaller aCreages with di-
versified farming and farmers living
and working on their farms the year
round growing forage crops as well
as grain crops and carrying suffi-
cient livestock to consume the feed
will be more prevalent. There are
thousands of acres capable of pro-
ducing a good tonnage of alfalfa, q
fair yield of corn, as we'll as beans,
peas, potatoes and other intertilled
crops.
Irrigated Diversified Farming.
Mild winters, long frost free sea-
son, fertile soil and plenty of wa
ter for irrigation and almost any
crop will grow ID abundance. Out
of the desert lands, through irriga
tion, has been created some of the
most highly productive districts in
the West filled with thrifty farmers,
happy homes and good schools and
in close proximity to progressive
towns and main lines of railroad
transportation. In all there are &c.
04O acres in the county on which
irrigation water is applied. Part Of
this is located in narrow strips along
the Umatilla river and its tributaries
above Echo, extending through the
heart of the wheat belt to the Blue
Mountains. This widely scattered
acreage is irrigated only during the
spring and the early part of the
summer before the streams get low,
but yields an average of three tons
per acre of alfalfa, which is grown
almost exclusively,
Most of tho irrigated lands are in
the west end of the county and come
under three main irrigation projects,
the Umatilla Project around Her
miston, the Furnish Project around
Stanfield and the Westland Irriga-
ton District west of Echo, all bord-
ering on each other in one compact
body. The first named, consisting of
about 1900 acres, is a L. S. Re
clamation Project The other two
are projects developed with private
capital.
In the Furnish Project near stan
field there are about 1000 acres un-
der cultivation. Although alfalfa
forms the PRINCIPAL crop-much of
it being fed to dairy cows, beef cat
tie and sheep-corn, fruit and root
crops are raised with profit. Border
ing on good winter range, with very
mild winters, the Stanficld district
makes an ideal feeding ground for
Eastern Oregon stockmen. The
farms are sufficiently large to be
worked profitably. Corn, silos, and
cows found on many of the farms
are good indications Of the pcrma-
ncncy and soundness of the system
of farming practiced.
Only a small part of the acreage
which can be irrigated, when the
dam and reservoir on Mckay creek,
near Pendleton, is constructed, is
now under cultivation. Although the
present storage reservoir for the Fur
nish ditch is not sufficiently large
to provide water. for the entire sea-
son for all the land which might be
irrigated BY this canal, the pussiDili
ties are evident when one sees the
phenomenal yields obtaincdon the
improved tracts on which water is
now used.
The Westland Irrigation District
west of Echo, including the Uma- /
tilla meadows across the river from (
Stanfield, lower Butter Creek and a
tract across the river from Hermis-
ton. comprises 1900 acres, Of
which about 5000 is under cult /
yation and irrigation, the balance /
being unimproved land, owned by
various parties. All Of the $4,000 /
acres has adjudicatcd flood water
rights which arc sufficient during
the spring and early summer. For
some of the land this is sufficient on
account Of the good water holding
capacity of the soil; but some will
require later summer water. which
will be supplied from the proposed
government Mckay storage system. .
which is expected will soon be con
structcd.
Cnimproved land Of good soil and
topography can be bought at prices
ranging from SIS to 500 per acre,
including water right; improved land
with water right at from $3.50 10
$500 per acre.
Like the Furnish Project, tho
farms in the Wcstiand Irrigation Dis
trict border on good winter range,
are comparatively large with excel
leut soil and are utilized extensively
for stock feeding grounds TEuus-
ands II head Of cattle are wintsred
and fattened on the alfalfa hay pro-
duced and thousands uf sheep are
wintered and Iambed IL this section .