Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 12.djvu/289

 REPORT ON OREGON TERRITORY SOIL. 281 That of the first, or western, section varies in the northern part from a light-brown loam to a thin vegetable earth, with gravel and sand as the subsoil ; in the middle parts, from a rich, heavy loam and unctuous clay to a deep, heavy black loam on a trap rock ; and in the southern the soil is generally good, ranging from a black vegetable loam to decomposed basalt, with stiff clay and portions of loose, gravelly soil. The hills are generally basalt, sandstone, and slate. Between the Umpqua and the boundary the rocks are primi- tive, consisting of talcose, hornblende, and granite, and produce a gritty and poor soil. There are, however, some portions with rich prairies covered with oaks. The soil of the second, or middle, section is for the most part a light, sandy loam, in the valleys rich alluvial, and the hills are generally barren. The third, or eastern, section is a rocky, broken, and barren country, stupendous mountain spurs in all directions, and ar- fording little level ground, with snow lying on the mountains nearly, if not quite, the whole year through. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTIONS, ETC. The first section, for the most part, is a well-timbered coun- try. It is intersected with the spurs or offsets from the Cascade Mountains, which render its surface much broken up ; these are covered with a dense forest. It is well watered, and com- munication between the northern, southern, and middle parts is difficult on account of the various rivers, spurs of mountains, and so forth. The timber consists of pines, firs, spruce, oaks (red and white), ash, arbutus, arbor vitse, cedar, poplar, maple, willow, cherry, and yew, with a close undergrowth of hazel, rubus, roses, and so forth. The richest and best soil is found on the. second, or middle, prairie, and is best adapted for agriculture, the high and low being excellent for pasture land.