UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. (OREGON.) 



787 



the taxes will be assessed by the several counties 

 at a ratio fixed by law. 



The receipts of the treasury for 1901 were $2,- 

 867,746.60; disbursements, $1,889,134.64; balance 

 Dec. 31, $828,297.25. 



The Treasurer's report for the six months end- 

 ing June 30, 1902, gives the receipts for that 

 time, including the balance at the close of 1901, 

 as $2,031,534.62; disbursements, $762,269.32; bal- 

 ance July 1, 1902, $1,269,265.30. The receipts of 

 the general fund were $633,696.32 ; disbursements, 

 $426,832.92. The receipts of the common-school 

 fund were, principal, $380,458.08; interest, $119,- 

 !)0!i.98; disbursements from the principal, $244,- 

 706.38; and from the interest, $6,189.54. The 

 other principal item, which marked a considerable 

 increase over the income from the same source 

 of the preceding year, was $15,133.55 added to 

 the 5-per-cent. United States land-sale fund. 



The Treasurer's report covering the six months 

 ending Dec. 30, 1902, gave the receipts for that 

 period, including the balance on hand July 1, as 

 * 2.1 35,998.72; disbursements, $1,013,202.61. The 

 balance on hand Jan. 1, 1903, was $1,122,796.11, 

 of which $234,687.76 was in the general fund and 

 $724,772.25 in the common-school fund, the 

 money in the general fund being sufficient to pay 

 all warrants up to the time of the receipt of the 

 spring taxes. The receipts of the general fund 

 in the second half-year were $341,137.98; disburse- 

 ments, $396,084.40. The common-school fund re- 

 ceipts were, principal, $351,197.05, interest, $117,- 

 721.04; disbursements from the principal, $323,- 

 300.04; and from the interest, $220,901.94. 



Resources and Products. An estimate of the 

 increase of wealth accruing to the State from five 

 of its principal industries lumber, wheat, wool, 

 hops, and salmon reaches $25,000,000. This 

 amount, together with the results from other 

 smaller industries, marks 1902 as the most pros- 

 perous year in the history of the State. 



A report on the forests by Henry Gannett, of 

 the Geological Survey, estimates the timber in the 

 State to be 213,398,000 feet, board measure, 

 an average stand per acre of timbered land of 

 12,200 feet. A wide difference exists between the 

 sections west and east of the crest of the Cas- 

 cade mountains, the former being 17,700 feet per 

 acre and the latter but 4,700 feet. Red fir consti- 

 tutes 66 per cent, of the Oregon timber, while 

 of pine, including the yellow and sugar varieties, 

 there is 18 per cent.; of spruce, 5 per cent.; hem- 

 lock, 5 per cent.; and cedar, 2 per cent. The re- 

 port gives a startling estimate of the loss sus- 

 tained by the State through forest fires. The 

 areas of burned timber (not including those of 

 1902) comprise not less than 6,095 square miles, 

 where approximately 54,000.000,000 feet of tim- 

 ber has been destroyed. The burned sections 

 west of the Cascades, which are well watered, are 

 in some stage of reforestration. Other sections, 

 burned from twenty-five to fifty years ago, bear 

 no vegetation larger than brush and ferns. 



No authoritative report of the lumber-cut of 

 1902 has been published, but a conservative esti- 

 mate places the cut at 1,000,000,000 feet, valued 

 approximately at $10,000,000. 



Statistics published by the Department of Agri- 

 cuture of the United States giving the acreage, 

 production, and value of the principal farm-crops 

 of the United States in 1902, give the following 

 for Oregon: Of winter wheat, from an acreage of 

 398.845, the production was 8,774,590 bushels, 

 with a total value of $5,878,975. Spring wheat- 

 acreage, 378,532; production, 6,737,870 bushels; 

 total value, $4,514,373. Oats acreage, 281,955; 

 production, 8,092,108 bushels; total value, $3,- 



317,764. Barley acreage, 281,955; production, 

 8,092,108 bushels; total value, $3,317,704. Corn 

 acreage, 17,045; production, 398,853 bushels; 

 total value, $263,243. Rye acreage, 11,026; pro- 

 duction, 147,748 bushels; total value, $107. *">;. 

 Potatoes acreage, 35,724; production, 3,679.572 

 bushels; total value, $2,023,765. Hay acreage, 

 343,537; production,700,815 tons; total value, $5,- 

 242,096. Flaxseed acreage, 2,300; production, 

 15,640 bushels; total value, $19,081. 



On June 1, 1900, the farms of the State num- 

 bered 35,837, and were valued at $132,337,514. 

 Of this amount 14.5 per cent, represents the 

 value of 'buildings and 85.5 per cent, the value of 

 land and improvements other than buildings. 

 The number of farms in 1900 was 40.4 per cent, 

 greater than in 1890, while the gain in acreage 

 was 45.8 per cent. The value of all live stock on 

 farms and ranges June 1, 1900, was $33,917,048, 

 of which 32.6 per cent, represents the value of 

 meat cattle other than dairy cows; 25.5 per cent, 

 that of horses; 22.3 per cent, that of sheep; 12.1 

 per cent, that of dairy cows; 3.1 per cent, that 

 of swine; and 4.4 per cent, that of all other live 

 stock. 



Increase was reported in the dairy industry, 

 the production of milk showing an increase of 

 94 per cent., the quantity of butter increasing 

 69.4 per cent., and that of cheese 75.9 per cent. 

 The production of wool has gained 83.8 per cent, 

 in ten years, the improvement in the grade of 

 sheep being shown in the increase in the average 

 weight of fleeces from 6.3 pounds in 1890 to 8.6 

 pounds in 1900. The increases in the acreage 

 devoted to the several cereals in the last decade 

 were: Wheat, 57.9 per cent.; oats, 19.5 per cent.; 

 buckwheat, 60.8 per cent.; barley, 60.1 per cent.; 

 rye, 47.4 per cent.; and corn, 40.4 per cent. Since 

 1890 the total number of orchard trees in the 

 State has increased from 1,757,893 to 5,314.232. 

 Of this increase, 49.8 per cent, has been in plum- 

 and prune-trees, and 32.2 in apple-trees. Small 

 fruits, vegetables, and sugar-beets showed a satis- 

 factory increase. 



In 1900 15,434 acres devoted to hops produced 

 14,675,577 pounds. The product of hops for 1902 

 was unofficially estimated at 80,000 bales, which 

 would add $2,500,000 to the wealth of the State. 



The salmon product of Columbia river and the 

 coast streams for 1901 amounted to 21,123,739 

 pounds. Of this amount, Columbia river, State 

 of Oregon side, yielded 16,752,121 pounds. The 

 waters of the State also yield sturgeon, shad, 

 smelt, catfish, tomcod, bass, herring, flounders, 

 perch, and carp. Of those species, the product for 



1901 amounted to 572,990 pounds. The yield of 

 oysters, clams, and crawfish was 837,550 pounds. 



The growth of manufacturing industries along 

 the rivers and the attention given to land irri- 

 gation has resulted in the building of barriers, 

 dams, and other obstructions that prevent the 

 salmon from ascending the rivers to their spawn- 

 ing-grounds, and restrict the feeding areas of the 

 young fish, which remain several months in fresh 

 water after being hatched. 



The estimated value of the salmon pack for 



1902 was $2,500,000. 



The fruit-crop for 1901 was the best in the his- 

 tory of the State, and was valued at $2.375,000; 

 that of 1902, falling somewhat below the high 

 mark, still yielded $2,239,000. Apples and prunes 

 were the largest and most valuable products, 

 each yielding more than $800.000. The finest Ore- 

 gon fruits are shipped to the Atlantic States, Eng- 

 land, and France. Large sales of prunes were 

 made this year to French buyers, owing to the 

 almost total failure of the crop in France. 



