Page:Quarterlyoforego10oreg 1.djvu/211

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Land Tenure in Oregon. 97 Of the two eastern counties with a high valuation, Umatilla and Union, the former ranked second in total acreage of farm lands and had nearly four-sevenths improved; Union was ninth, with two-fifths improved. In southern Oregon, Doug- las ranked third ; Jackson, fourteenth ; Douglas having slightly more than one-fifth improved ; Jackson, one-third. The other counties may be reviewed by sections. In the southwestern corner of the State, Coos ranked twenty-sixth in total farm area, having one-fifth improved ; Curry, twenty- eight, less than one-fourth improved; Josephine, thirty-first, less than one-fourth improved. In the northwest, Columbia was twenty-seventh, having one-eighth improved ; Clatsop, thirty-third, one-fifth improved; Tillamook, thirtieth, one- fourth improved; Lincoln, thirty-second, one-tenth improved. East of the mountains in southern Oregon, Klamath was twenty-second, having one-third improved; Lake, twentieth, two-fifths improved; Harney, seventeenth, one-half improved; Malheur, twenty-third, two-fifths improved. In central Ore- gon, Crook ranked first, having one-fourteenth improved ; Wheeler, sixteenth, one-thirteenth improved; Grant, eleventh, one-eighth improved. Along the Columbia River, Wasco ranked seventh, having one-fourth improved; Sherman, twelfth, two-thirds improved; Gilliam, tenth, two-fifths im- proved; Morrow, fourth, two-fifths improved. In the north- eastern part of the State, Wallowa ranked twenty-fourth, hav- ing one-fourth improved; Baker, twenty-fifth, two-fifths im- proved. The counties along the Columbia River east of the moun- tains had a comparatively large per cent of their farm lands improved, and were not low in rank of the total acreage of farm lands ; but these counties did not show a high valuation. Their cultivated lands, therefore, were of relatively small value to the acre as compared to the State as a whole. It was seen also that their farms were large. These facts all coin- cide to show that this was not primarily a stock country nor a thickly settled community of intensive farming, but a section of large wheat farms not overly productive, where one man

can handle a large tract of land. Wallowa and Baker had a----