76 THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



acres. The prospective home seeker can see clearly by these official 

 figures that there is an almost unlimited section of country remaining 

 in its natural desert or forest condition awaiting the implements of civi- 

 lization to transform it into productive farms and thriving villages. The 

 ranges at present supply pasturage for sheep and cattle, there being 

 less than three million wool producers feeding upon the public domains. 

 The hay crop of 1895 was estimated-at 1,166,165 tons, valued at $7,136,930 

 and the potato yield for the same year was 1,124,544 bushels worth 

 $438,572. 



Market facilities are everywhere, in all sections of Oregon. The 

 railway lines of the Oregon Short Line pass through the state from east 

 to west and branch out to all the more important districts, forming a 

 network of rails 1.500 miles in length, and connecting all interior and 

 coast markets. The Pacific steamers ply along the western coast and 

 about 400 miles of the Columbia, Snake and Williamette rivers are navi- 

 gated by elegant passenger and freight steamers. Canneries are in op- 

 eration at Portland and the best market prices are obtained for peaches, 

 pears, plums, prunes, apples and berries, for which the state is a noted 

 land for growing. One fruit grower reports an average crop of straw- 

 berries being a little short of 14,000 pounds per acre, selling for about 

 $700, while an acre of blackberries or raspberries brings a similar sum, 

 The canning of potatoes, peas, beans, and corn opens a good market, at 

 home for all such vegetables that can be grown. 



An area equal to -16, 000,000 acres of the coast and mountain lands of 

 the "New Empire" as Oregonians delight in calling their state, is cov- 

 ered with forest timber, which is too vast to admit of description. 

 Here the lumber cutter finds a paradise in fir, spruce, hemlock, cedar, 

 pine, oak, maple and other varieties, some reaching a height of over 200 

 feet, as straight as a shingle. The yield per acre ranges from 0, - 

 000 to one quarter million feet of the finest lumber produced in the world. 

 When the timber has been cleared from a sestion the land can be irri- 

 gated and cultivated without diminishing in fertility for a quarter of a 

 century. There is always a market for every thing made of timber, from 

 a pick handle to a ship mast and the facilities for getting this to the 

 seaboard or inland cities are unsurpassed. This great industry creates 

 a demand for the products of the farm, ranch and dairy and thereby 

 assists in building up every home in the state. 



The irrigated lands of Eastern Oregon produce excellent sugar beets 

 and a market for 10,000 acres of these tubers will soon be in existence at 

 Baker City, where a factory is being erected. This will create a demand 

 for small, well tilled farms and enhance the value of all products. But 

 sugar beets yield no better in this section than do all other root crops, 

 therefore the irrigation farmer with an independent water supply has 

 everything in favor of diversified agriculture. Beans, melons and 

 squashes are very productive, and the demand for such crops is greater 

 than the supply. Wheat, oats, hops and hay grow profusely and can be 



