Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 18.djvu/83



Soil Repair in Willamette Valley 61

but stern necessity. Indeed, the early settlers were a race wise in their generation. And their lot was hard enough even in a fertile land. The lot of pioneers is hard everywhere. Their continuous wheat-growing was followed by the inevi- table — the so-called exhaustion of the soil. This, in turn, was followed by realization of the cause and by cessation of wheat. But farmers have learned that "exhaustion" is the wrong word for the condition of their soils. As their Gov- ernor, Dr. Withycombe, has been pointing out to them many years, they need to restore the humus, the organic matter, that the long wheat-growing has taken away. There has been no chemical change, no mineral loss of importance in the soil. The restorers are clover and vetch, chiefly clover, with the aid of lime and drainage. The achievement need not be dif- ficult nor highly expensive, nor require long time. Twenty or thirty acres a year in clover will work wonders. And be it remembered that clover is a native plan in the Willamette Valley, although the red variety was imported. The first red clover seed was brought here by Charles W. Bryant, to Wjishington County, Oregon, from New York, in 1854. The first importation of white clover came with J. L. Parrish, the Methodist missionary, in 1840. Large quantities of lime- rock are cheaply available in Southern Oregon.

V.

Livestock is due to contribute largely to the improvement of ag^culture in Willamette Valley. Always since pioneer settlers came, farm animals have been first auxiliaries in coun- try life; there is not much really new for them now to do. But their functions can be enlarged and increased. In the departure from grain farming, cattle and hogs have proved themselves a most helpful resource; also sheep and goats. The herds and flocks of the Willamette Valley are among the finest of the world. And it should be added that in the breeding of horses, best animals are produced for heavy draft. Much has been done also in the line of speed horses. Oregon is famed in thoroughbred animals.