THE IBEIGATION AGE. 



ROGUE RIVER VALLEY. 



349 



The Land of Sunshine and Flowers. 



BY JOHN EDWARD BUCK. 



MEDFORD, ORE., July 20. Twenty-five years have 

 elapsed since I last saw this beautiful valley. At that 

 time Jacksonville was the great commercial center of 

 southern Oregon. There was no railroad. Eoseburg 

 was the northern terminus, and Bedding, Cal., was the 

 southern terminus a gap of some 350 miles intervening 



Gold Ray Dam, Rogue River and Southern Pacific Track. 



which I have traversed by stage. Madam Holt's United 

 States Hotel was the swellest hostelry this side of the 

 Palace Hotel. Dave Crosby was the intrepid marshal 

 of Jacksonville, and the Jacksonville Times, edited by 

 Charles Nickell, was the leading publication outside of 

 Portland and San Francisco. 



Now all is changed. Vast areas of sage brush have 

 been transformed into fertile farms, and progressive 

 towns have sprung up where formerly there was only a 

 stage station. Grant's Pass, Medford and Ashland are 

 thriving towns now, while Jacksonville, five miles off 

 the main line, has been neglected. 



From a climatic point of view Eogue Eiver Valley 

 is the most inviting portion of Oregon. Here is found 

 the mean between bountiful moisture and excessive dry- 

 ness. The eastern boundary of the Eogue Eiver Valley 

 is formed by the Cascade Mountains, which extend north 

 and south, and separate the great Klamath Lake basin 

 from the Eogue Eiver country. Approaching the Klam- 

 ath, the mountains expand into a broad plateau 4,000 

 to 5,000 feet high, some thirty miles in width. North- 

 ward the ground rises and east of Central Point the 

 majestic cone of Mount McLaughlin rises to the height 

 of 9,760 feet. This mountain presents a symmetrical 

 snow-clad cone, piercing the sky far above the neighbor- 

 ing heights. Clothed in snowy white, this mountain is 

 always imposing. Shasta is 100 miles away. 



The Siskiyou Eange lies along an east and west 

 line and forms the southern border of the country. Tha 

 three highest points being south of Ashland : Ashland 

 Butte, 7,662 feet; Mount Sterling, 7,337 feet; Mount 

 Wagner, 7,245 feet. This range joins the Cascades near 

 the head of Bear Creek. Along the chain trending 



westward and southeast of Ashland, at a point about 

 three miles north of the state line, a column-like mass 

 of basalt, Pilot Eock, a noted landmark, towers aloft 

 reaching a height of 6,014 feet. 



Eogue Eiver Valley is essentially a fruit district, 

 apples and pears grown here having a world-wide repu- 

 tation. 



From Douglas County to the southern State line 

 is found the mean between the heavier rainfall of the 

 Willamette Valley and coast counties, and the dry cli- 

 mate of California to the south. The annual rainfall 

 amounts to -from twenty to thirty-five inches, sufficient 

 for all general crops. In some sections irrigation ditches 

 have been constructed, resulting in increased production 

 and profit. Snow occasionally falls during January and 

 February, but does not stay for any length of time. 

 The average range of temperature is from ten degrees 

 above to ninety, the extremes never exceeding zero and 

 100 degrees, and this for only two or three days at a 

 time. 



In all portions of western Oregon the night tem- 

 perature is always below seventy degrees, being cool 

 and comfortable for sleeping. Sweltering hot nights 

 are therefore unknown. 



Although bountiful crops are raised without the 

 aid of artificial irrigation in Eogue Eiver Valley, the 

 output can be vastly increased by this means. The water 

 for irrigation is abundant and is comparatively easy 

 to get upon the land. No extensive works in the way 

 of reservoirs are necessary in most cases. All that is 

 needful is to tap one of the many mountain streams 

 and carry the water through ditches to where it is 



Town of Klamath Falls, Ore. 



wanted. The Table Eock Ditch Company, north of 

 Eogue Biver, has been furnishing water to its stock- 

 holders for many years. The people of Eden precinct 

 have an irrigation system of their own though com- 

 paratively small in extent. In the Applegate valley the 

 majority of the farmers have private irrigation ditches, 

 the water being taken from the Applegate Biver. 



