84 



AGlilCULTUEE IN LANE COUNTY, OEEGON. 



This county extends fiom the Pacific Ocean on the west to the Cas- 

 cade range on the east, and covers an area of 2,240,000 acres of hind, a 

 large amount of which is well adapted to grain growing, stock raising^ 

 and agriculture generally. 



It was first settled in 1840, but stiU contains large quantities of vacant 

 land, well adapted to agricultural and lumbering x)iu^poses. The soil in 

 the small valleys, and at the immediate foot of and between the hills and 

 mountains, is dark and porous, formed by the admixture of decayed 

 A^egetation and a grayish clay loam. This soil, though exceedingly pro- 

 ductive, seems to be of a thirsty nature, suffering if the summer drought 

 is of long duration. Along the banks of the rivers and more extended 

 vaUeys the soil is a rich alluvial dei)osit of decomposed earth and vege- 

 table mold, producing fine crops of grain, grass, fi'uit, garden vegeta- 

 bles, corn, roots, and, in fact, all the necessaries and luxuries of life. As 

 you leave these bottoms, the soil of the prairies, with but few excep- 

 tions, although showing strong alluvial indications, seems to be of a fine 

 quality, and composed of grayish, calcareous, sandy loam. 



These lands form a part of the great natural wheat fields of Oregon, 

 And although readily producing grass, fruit, and vegetables of almost 

 every variety, these prairie lands are especially adapted to the raising 

 of wheat, oats, barley, flax, and every kind of small gTain. 



The kinds of timber found in this county are chiefly fir, cedar, pine, 

 hemlock, oak, ash, maple, and alder, pretty well distributed, and of 

 quality and size adapted to all lumbering purposes. 



The population is estimated at about seven thousand. The number 

 of acres in cultivation is about sixty thousand. The yield of various 

 crops for 1868 was as follows: 



Wheat, bushels 169, 715 



Barley, bushels 10, 802 



Oats, bushels 74, 76» 



Corn, bushels , 8, 113 



Apples, bushels • 28, 818 



Potatoes, bushels 220, 263 



Butter, pounds 237, 454 



Cheese, pounds 15, 690 



Tobacco, pounds " 12, 888 



Wool, pounds 159, 715 



Hay, tons 4, 227 



The stock in the county, as estimated for the same year, was as fol- 

 lows: 



Cattle 15, OOC 



Horses 6, 000 



Hogs 12, 000 



Mules 300 



Sheep 60, 000 



There are thirteen saw-miUs and four grist-mills in the county. 



PEEMIUM CEOP. 



The New York Agricultural Society, at their winter exhibition, found 

 the following to be the best crop of wheat, though no award could be 

 given for less than five acres : 



E. S. Haywaid, of Kochester, exhibited a superior sample of Diehl 



