Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/126

 118 EXCERPTS AND NOTES. branches emigrant trains halted for rest to escape the heat of the day under its beneficent shade. It came to be known to the early travelers of the plain as the Lone Tree. Finally its branches withered and its trunk rotted and the old tree fell down, and the spot where it stood was almost for- gotten. A short time ago a move was set on foot by the old settlers to set up some suitable mark on the spot where the Lone Tree stood, and the matter has been taken before the county board of supervisors. A marble shaft will be set up. On the shaft will be the simple words, ''Here stood the old Lone Tree on the Oregon Trail." Reprinted from The Morn- ing Oregonian, Monday, January 9, 1911. FLAX CULTURE IN EARLY DAYS. The following interesting and valuable item of economic history is reprinted from columns of The Morning Oregonian of January 17, 1911 : "I wish to add my personal plea for the culture of flax. The whole subject has been ably and enthusiastically discussed in the columns of The Oregonian, nor am I qualified to speak upon its merits. But I remember that my father, who was a practical farmer, raised most satisfactory crops of flax in Polk County more than 35 years ago. The fiber was not utilized then, but the seed was sold in Salem to Joseph Holman, who managed a mill for the expressing of oil. The byproduct of oil cake was returned to the grower, and was most valuable for feeding young cattle. "As there seems no doubt of the exceptional quality of the Oregon-grown flax, it is to be hoped the farmers will look with favor upon this profitable industry and that flourishing linen mills, twine manufactories, etc., will reward those who have labored so faithfully for their establishment. "Some day the small farmer if there is one in Eastern Oregon and Washington will consider the cultivation of flax, for that section is its habitat. A few years ago I found some fine specimens growing wild in the sagebrush, six miles from