County Jomi COUNTY OFFICIAL PAPER, $1.50 YEAR PRINEVILLE, CROOK COUNTY, OREGON, THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1912. Cnt'r4 t th poU,trcm t I'rlnTlll Oron, ttroti'l-clMMi DiAtlrr 1VOL.XVI-N0.29 Crook na! Demonstration Farm Work How Best to Conserve Moisture The recent period of abundant ruin full has left the soil unusuul ly well Muppll&d with moUture,' and with the tremendoua possi bilities of our growing season Just begun It seems desirable to direct attention to the most sp proved methods of conserving this supply of moisture for the use of crops throughout tho dry months. The etllcUney of soil water tnity be measured by the aotuul useful work performed by given quantity of this water. To lncrso tho eQIcleiicy und maintain the maximum supply of water during our growing period requires a earyful consideration of tho nmsons for tho Iohh of wa ter, and of tho meant of inuln talnlng a suituUn supply. A greater average moisture content may be maintained (1) by direct addition of water in ir rigation; ('-') by Increasing the witter capacity; (3) by checking tho losses of water. Omitting the first method, the ovipomtton per mllo wind move ment was found to be 1 per cent, and a three foot windbreak saved 21 per rent of the lois of an ex posed water surface. Evapora tion from a soil surface depends on the above and condition and wetness of surfuceand character of soil. Experiments conducted throughout tho West show that a wet soil surface may lose mora than a water surface, b'jt where tho top layer of soil becomes dry there is a saving by storing wa ter In tho soil tank. If we call the loss from a water surfaco 100 per cent, then the unmulched soil tank lost 50 7 per cent of tho loss of the water surface; a 1 Inch mulch 81 1 per cent; 8 inch. 22 per emit; 0 inch, 15 5 per rent; and a 9 inch mulch only 13.3 per cent of tho loss of the water freo surface. Ue of furrows in Irri gatiou saved 22 per cent. Mulching Is nt present th most practical means of checking evaporation, but Us importance ground bss been compacted by spring rains, it is desirable to u?esuch tool as the ballock weeder. Potato ground and cul tivated fields need harrowing and continued, level cultivation to conserve moist-are and keep weeds down. Alfalft field go through tho dry months in butter moisture condition and make ing and plowing for fallow should bn harrowed promptly afterward nd after heavy rains to kill weeds and maintain a mulch. Providing windbreaks and maintaining a cultivated so 1 mulch should increase the yields in the dry farming sections, while irrigation of moderate amounts applied in deep furrows where more growth with lower per cent! possible and followed promptly of foreign matter where they have been thoroughly cultivated In early spring with the alfalfa weeder and the loose earth rolled or harrowed down, making a val uable mulch. Karly spring plow oy cultivation will save water, which would otherwise injure the soil, to be useful in enlarging the irrigated areas. W. L Powers. Supt Crook Co. Demonstra tion Farms The New Home of the Crook County Bank Completed This Week Neighbors Laughed at Sundquist Sundquist Now Laughs at Neighbors Significant of the progressives. of Prineville bankers and their con fidence in the future growth of the city, is the completion of the hand some new building of the Crook County Bank. The building and in terior fixtures are the finest in Ccn vaults can be gained by the knowl edge that the walls are of rein forced concrete 12 inches thick. The doors opening into them are of the heaviest construction manufac tured. These vaults are divided into two separate compartments, water capacity of soil may be In- is not fully appreciated and made creased by changing the texturej and structure Any treatment! such as liming or tillage which will Increase tho mellowness of tho soil and Introduce moro pore space, makes It possible for the soil to absorb more of tho late spring ruins. Tho only way of modifying the texturo of soil is to increase tho organic matter content as the per cent of sand and clay Is fixed. In experiments couducted by the .writer It wa.Juund thutjbo wo.;, tor capacity of the soil was in creased on aa average of 8 per cent for each per cent of manure used. After applying manure to the Held there was gain In mois ture about the manured strata, even before any Irrigation or rain water was received. The soil's supply of moisture is lost in three ways, vis.: (a) Percolation can bo losson ed In irrigation by using only modorate amounts of water, und this should bo much less for cul tivated crops than for meadows. A loose, cultivated surface will prevent percolation of spring rains over tho surfaco. (b) Transpiration is the pas sage of water up through the plant and out through the pores in the leavos and will vary some what with tho drought resistance and water requirements of differ ent plants. The loss Is greater In proportion to the amount of energy used In securing tho wa ter. Lifting water from depths, poor cultivation, poor fertility conditions, arid weather, ele ments, all have some effect on the water cost of dry matter. (c) Evaporation is responsi ble for the greatest waste of soil moisture, and it Is this loss that must be understood and con trolled. Evaporation consists of the absorption of water in the form of vapor by the air. The capacity of tho air for vapor de pends on temperature percentage saturation of tho air, wind move ment and other atmospheric con ditions. Evaporation from a water surfaco is a good indicator the mean oftoct of all weather conditions upon evaporation of soil moisture. Measurement of evaporation is as important as measurement of ruin fall. The annual evaporation here from a water surfaco is somethiog like tour foot. We find by sxperi mont that wind movement has more effect on evaporation than temperature and humidity com bined. The mean increase in tral Oregon, while the interior j having one aoor leaaing irom me e.aipment is considered finer than j special customers' room to the safe anvthlnsr In any city in the United deposit vault, wmcn is equippea Suites which is not on a railroad. uss of. Mulches absorb rainfall and lesson runoff; lesson capil lary rise nnd evaporation; aid ventilation; encourage deep root ing und make plants more drought resistant. The mulch must be provided promptly to be most effective, and the aim should be ta stir the uooer stratum which Is to form! the mulch so that It will dry out rupidly and it will then interrupt upward capillarity from below. Tho kind of mulch which Is most effective Is one that contains a good proportion of crumbs from the size of a pea to that of a wal nut, and is kept dry by cultiva tion throughout Its entire depth. To provide such a mulch it is necessary to cultivate when the soil Is yet moist enough to hold together in small lumps. In cul tivating the soil should be turned but not pulverized to a dust. Tho time to cultivate must be modified for each particular soil, but in general, levol cultivation every twelve or fifteen days to a depth of - or 8 Inches gives the most effective and economical kind of a mulch. Cultivation must bo most frequent early In the season and should bo given after heavy ruins to prevent crusting. The depth of cultiva tion should be varied slightly and a sandy soil that Is naturally mulched will lose more moisture if tho mulch is fined or inverted so as to expose moist soil unnec essarily. In places whore tho grain wos put in early and the Architecturally the building is very massive in appearance. It in two stories hiirh and is constructed of a dark bassalt stone. It was dc signed so as to allow spacious quar ters for the bank on the first floor, j and has well-appointed offices on the second floor. The interior fixtures are very beautiful. They are a combination of marble, bronze and mahogany. The entire front of the counter Is of verd antique and Toheen Alaska marbles, surmounted by a solid ma hogany top screen with bronze pan els, while the partitions forming the directors' and safe deposit rooms are of mahogany with beautiful panels of art glass. The main lobby is of tile with wainscoting of verd antique marble. An idea of the security of the C. J. Sundquist was in Monday j making; arrangements to prove up on his homestead seven miles north of Prineville. This is the place that Sundquist was laughed at by neigh bors for filing on a few years ago. Now look at it. He has a big stand of rye 6 feet 10 inches high. He has wheat 3 ffet high. He has 20 acres in beans. Thirty acres in potatoes. Seven thousand head of cabbage. He has water- melons, cantaloupes, muskmelons, and a few strawberries. He tried a new scheme of covering his straw berry plants but it didn't work. He will know better next time. His fruit looks fine, he say?. When asked to name the different varieties he explained that it was just a regular family orchard. He was r.ot going into horticulture just yet, but he would have loads of apples, peaches plums, prunes, etc., for family use. He has tomatoes "just say you cannot mention any thing I cannot raise on my place in the vegetable line. And mind you," said Mr. Sundquist, "people thought I was crazy when I took it up. ' To day I wouldn't trade it for any ranch in Lrook county. I came here with nothing but a big family and had hard luck in breaking my leg freighting, but I stuck to it and I'm mighty glad I did." Mr. Sundquist is but one of many farmers that are made glad they came to Crook county and stuck. Suplee Hometeaders are Delighted With Eastern Crook County with the latest styles of safe deposit boxes for the convenience of cus tomers, while the other door opens into the working space which is se curely guarded from the public. This vault is used exclusively for books and the home of the burglar- proof coin safe. The Crook County Bank was founded in November, 1904, by W, A. Booth, Fred W. Wilson, D. F. Stewart and C. M. Elkins. The present officers are W. A. Booth, president; D. F. Stewart, vice president; C. M. Elkins, cashier; L. A. Booth, assistant cashier. The bank has a paid up capital of $36,- 000 and a surplus of $14,000. The popularity and growth of this insti tution is evidenced by its progres sive spirit in giving to Prineville a bank with facilities and equipment equal to any city bank. Big Irrigation Dam Finished hy August The State Land Board in a meet ing recently at Salem has approved and accepted the 125,000 bond of the Central Oregno Irrigation Com pany, which is now building a large dam and canal on the river near Deschutes, in Crook county. The work will be finished by August. The total expenditure on the dam and canals, which will feed thousands of acres, will be $150,000. The dam will be 35 feet high and is being constructed at one of the swiftest points of the Deschutes near the town. The company has recently constructed its own home, in the heart of the business of Des' chutes, of stone quarried within a stone's throw of the town. The firm is one of the most active in the development of Central Oregon and the arid wastes which it will make rich and fertile will soon be classed with the best of productive soils on the eastern side of the Cascades. Mre. E. J. Clark of Suplee passed j through Prineville Monday on her way home from the railroad. Erwin J. Clark, her husband, and family, came to Crook county four years asro from the Palouse country, in Washington. He took up a 320 aere homestead in the Suplee country and liked it so will that they sent for his sons-in-law to come and do likewise, which they did. Louis Miller filed on 320 and so did Oscar Oberg. Miss Bertha Clark, a daughter, also filed on a 160 acre homestead. lhe hrst year or two were pretty hard ones to get over," Mrs. Clark says, but after that things began to come easier. We had to work out to get a start but we mac- aged to get ahead a little. The third year we had quite a harvest and this year will be a bumper. Rye is waist high. Now we have hogs and cattle which are doing fine. There is lots of water and plenty of wood within six miles. We are building a new barn. We have a rural mail delivery and a telephone line. We did our part in getting both these conveniences. They were not here when we came. While we are a long distance from a railroad, yet we would not take anything for our homestead. We like the people out there and we like the country." When asked if there were plenty of homesteads to be had out there Mrs. Clark replied that there was lots of land. Just what kind of homesteads it would make she was not able to say. "One's first im pressions of the country are not very favorable. If we had acted on ours we would not now have such a good prospect for our declining years nor for our growing boys. ''Yes, I have three boys one 14, one 17 and one 19. Well, be sure and send the Journal," and with these parting words the lady left for her Suplee home. Special Sale. I mutt sell all the following goods between now and Saturday next, as I have to move away. Team, Wagon, Buggy and Harness, Cow, Chickens, r'nnv. and Saddles. Oman, Kange, Pretser, Bedstead, Springs and other household eftvew. LAST CHANCE. SAT., Jt'XE 15TH. On view one dor west of Winnek's drug store, Prineville, Ore. J. 8. FOX. Brown Leghorns Pure-bred Brown Leghorn eggs, $1 setting; day old chicks. Mrs. I.ki.a Zkul, Prineville. Ore. 3 7 Three-year Homestead Bill Now a Law The Borah-Jones three years homestead bill became a law last witness that the report is untrue and that I have in your presence shown my belief in the wisdom of reducing the burden upon the home steader." As he said it President Taft smiled broadly, and the assembled Con- Thursday at 10, at which hour gressmen appreciated his reference it was signed by President Taft in J to Roosevelt's recent claim to credit the presence of a delegation of for the creation of a bureau of Western Congressmen. After signing the bill the President turned to those present and said: "Gentlemen, I am glad you were here and saw me affix my name to this bill, making it a law, If within a few days we hear from a certain place that this bill became a law without my signature, you will bear fx- - ; , sT r - vU3 A v -i i - . i i-ly 1 , M . - - --- - - ... , o m President Gomes of Cuba requested President Taft not to Issue orders of Intervention until it was absolutely necessary, declar WCWS on&pSilOtS jng tnat Cuba could overcome the uprising herself. General Monteagudo Is In command of the federal forces and Admiral Vffa h Hugo Osterhaus is In charge of the American fleet The German cruisers Moltke, Bremen and Stettin arrived In New York MC W6CK harbor on their official visit to this country. Joe Dawson, driving a National car, won the 500 mile Memorial day race at In dianapolis in 0 hours 21 minutes, creating a.ncw world's record. Mexican federals under the command of General Huerta took possession of the cities of Jlmluea and Parral after sharp skirmishing. John D, Rockefeller was a witness In a suit brought against the Standard Oil company la Mew York. mines, which was actually created by a law passed when Roosevelt was in Africa and which President Taft signed. Face Possibility of Being Recalled A Bend dispatch to the Telegram says: "Without a Mayor since February 26, when Mayor U. C Coe's resignation was accepted, Bend people have put the matter up to the City Council in such a way that they must elect a city executive or face the probibility of being re called. A petition signed by 180 men, practically three-fourths of the voting population, has been pre santed to the Council asking it to act. That body has set June 18 as the date when a meeting will te held for the purpose of naming a Mayor. The citizens became aroused ioU lowing the murder of Carrie Patter son in the restricted district. They asked that a Mayor be elected to see that the laws are enforced and and that the lid be screwed down tight This the Council had done, prior to the presentation of the pe tition. For Sale or Trade. Ohe Warrior Jack, four years old, for sale or will trade for good horses. Warranted. Address, 6-13-2t Neil Slt, LaPine, Ore.