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Western Oregon has the advantage over Eastern Oregon in its more 
abundant facilities of transportation. The eligible Government lands 
are here mostly appropriated by settlers. Many of them came out 
to the country under the strong inducements held out by the Govern- 
ment from 1845 to 1854, when permanent bona-fide settlers were en- 
dowed with 640 acres each. This policy covered Western Oregon with 
large farms, but there is an increasing disposition among these land- 
owners to dispose of their real estate. Good lands in the Willamette 
Valley can be had at prices ranging from $10 to $30 per acre. 
Mr. William H. Barnhart, of Pendleton, Umatilla County, in a 
letter to Mr. Reed, states that in Eastern Oregon sheep, with few ex- 
ceptions, are low grades of Cotswold and Merino, kept in flocks of 1,000 
to 2,000. Within two or three years several hundred full-blooded Cots- 
wold and Merino rams have been imported, a measure which cannot 
fail to raise the grade of sheep in this region. Indeed, a decided im- 
provement is already noted in the average weights of fleece and in the 
length and fineness of the fiber. The clip of 1876, a favorable year, 
will probably average six pounds per head, against less than five pounds 
in 1875, when the flocks were in comparatively low condition. The 
lambing-season commences about March 25; the average per cent. of 
lambs that survive the inclemencies of the weather is about 70. Tie 
price of wool has averaged about 25 cents per pound for the last ten 
years. Mr. Barnhart’s estimates of cost do not differ greatly from those 
of Mr. Watson. The wool-production of Hastern Oregon suffers from a 
very awkward and unscientific handling of immense natural resources. 
The greatest drawback to sheep-raising here is found in the deep snows 
in certain localities. Forty to sixty days’ feeding is esteemed a very hard 
winter by farmers, who generally calculate upon an open range during 
almost all the year. 
ir. Watson says that the wool-product of the Umpqua, Willamette, 
and Rogue River Valleys is of a high quality, both of long and short 
staple, and commands the highest price in the Pacific and eastern mar- 
kets. After many years’ experience, he gives preference to long-wooled 
sheep in those valleys, such as the Leicester, Lincoln, and Cotswold. 
New Oxfords have been successfully domesticated, yielding very excel- 
lent wool. The fleeces of any one of these breeds may easily be made 
to average 12 to 15 pounds each, where the sheep are properly cared 
for. The increase may be raised to 120 per cent., or even 150 per cent. 
In 1874, some Leicester ewes, only one year old, averaged 15 pounds of 
wool, and Cotswolds from 17 to 20 pounds. For Eastern Oregon, the 
cross of any one of these breeds with high-grade Merino ewes presents 
the most desirable qualities. The weight of fleeces in Eastern Oregon 
averages from 4 to 7 pounds per head, and the increase of lambs may 
be made to reach from 70 to 120 percent. In Eastern Oregon, upon 
natural grasses, about two sheep to every three acres of pasturage is the 
limit beyond which flocks should not be increased. In Rogue River 
Valley, if land were properly laid down to alfalfa, it would probably be 
practicable to subsist seven sheep for seven months on the product of a 
single acre. They should then be removed for the other five months to 
the rich pastures east of the Cascade Mountains. Alfalfa can be made 
to yield from 6 to 10 tons of hay per acre. When the crop is raised and 
secured, the sheep should be brought back and fed upon it, thoroughly 
chopped. Improvements in transportation will soon reduce the cost of 
marketing wool in San Francisco from 5 cents per pound to 2 cents. 
This will also open up a demand for mutton-sheep, yielding the farmer 
8 to 12 cents per pound. The grasses of Oregon, it is claimed, are finer 
and more nutritious than those of California, hence at the close of win 
