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About The Coos Bay times. (Marshfield, Or.) 1906-1957 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1915)
'jMUSSSSSaSSm' t f i . " ' jLkteiMaa&M& ' Winter Pr I!0ME Asn mbmmawjblSE! r j?y7i2 tPJ731',.,c7e..c3 77e.h&'&SrZa.ieTt (Kpicla) to the Kami Mucarlnp.) AN absolutely necessary thorough and early preparation of tlio ground for school gardens Is strongly omphnslzod In Oregon Agrl I'lilturnl Collego Ilnlletln No. 176. School and Homo (Jnrdonlng for Hlo mentnry Schools In Orogon, by M. 0. Hvnuv, Jr., supervisor of school ami homo garden work In Portland for tlio years 1913 nnd 1911. In this kdiool bulletin It Is declared that all ground which U to bo uied for gar den purposes In 1915 should receive a liberal dressing of maniiro nnd bo plowed beforo January 10. An ex ception of this In made In soils that Iirvw been liberally fertilized and cul tlvntod for several year. Vory few vacant lots or other ground avail able for school gardens have had such treatment hi would Justify the omlwlun of Winter fertilization nnd plowing. Attention la called to the fact that u few lota of good manure nt reasonable prices can be procured In probably every town In the state. The source of this suppl) should bo ascertained at once, without any delay at all and tho fertiliser hauled on to tho field at the earliest possible time. If tho ground to be used Is sod It should be plowed or spaded In the Full, since It takes several month for sod ground properly to settle. In largo plot the sod should be well cut up with the disc before It la plowed A scoud discing and plowing early In tho Spring followed by a third disc ing nnd harrowing should put the texture of tho soil in good condition for the work of the chlldron. Bt olnl attention Is called to the fact that In tho preparation of soil to bo u-nrbflil liv plillilrfin nf erlinnl npn Mid soil should bo put Into a bettor con dition of texture than Is nocessury for soils that arc to bo worked by adults. "About twlco as much work should be expended on It as would ordinarily bo done In preparation for the grown porson's gardon," says Mr. Evans, author of tho bulletin. "Even then youngsters will havo plenty of exer cise getting It In Hlmpo to plant." Neutralizing Acidity. . Acidity in soils, which Is caused by decay of organic matter, Is llkoly to be prevalent In most Western Oregon soils, with tho possible oxceptlon of parts of Jackson and Josephine Coun ties. Unless sufficient lime Is present to neutralize this acidity It will nc cumulato nnd produce n sour condi tion of soil. Mr. Evans does not hold that It Is Impossible to produco a good garden on unllmod soil, but that as a general thing much moro satis factory results can be had by apply ing tho lime. In addition to correct ing acidity the llaio sweetons the soil, liberates plant food nnd aids ma terially in keeping down tho insoct and disease pests which aro llkoly to Infest the garden. The condition of the soil as to acid ity may easily be determined with n piece of blue litmus paper, which can be obtained at drug stores. A hand ful of moist soil may be squeozod about the paper and permitted to re main In contact with It for five or six minutes. If this turns tho piiyGr pink the soil g ncld and will prob ably be benofltod by an application of lime. Durnt Umo should be ap plied nt tho rato of about threo- fourths of n ton to tho acre. Air slacked Umo or ground llmestono should bo applied at tho rato of about two tons to tho ncro. Wood Ashes Valuable. Plots used continuously for gnrdon need not bo trentod with Umo oftenor than every third or fourth year. Llmo or qulckllnio or hard-slacked llmo Is tnoro quickly nvallnblo than ground llmestono and mny bo npplled nt tho tlmo of flnnl harrowing or raking. Ground llmestono should ho npplled Eomowhat earlier. Wood ashes aro nlso recommended ns vnluablo on tho garden. Thoy should bo stored dry und sproad upon tho soil just boforo the seeds aro plnnted slnco many of their valuable constituents nro easily leached out. The soft wood ashos, while not ho valuablo ns those- from hard wood, contain considerable qualities of plant food and llmo. According to tho an. alyses of Professor II. V. Tartar, chomlst of tho Oregon Station, soft wood ashos, such an nro obtained from fuel wood ordinarily used In Orogon, contain approximately 30 per cent llmo, G por cent potash and 2 por cont phosphorus. Ashos nro especially valuable in Ightonlng heavy clay soils and may be usod In any nmount up to two tonB nn acre. If approximately the latter nmount Is usod, tho lime troatmont may bo reduced or ontlrely dlspensod with. Land plastor, gypsum or sul fate of llmo has no power to corroct acidity. It Is rogardod rnthor as n soil stimulant tondlng to llbornto potnsh In tho soil. A small appllca- I.... nftmi Hvofi nana roautln t. . short tlmo, but tho continual uao 0 gypsum will do tho land moro harm than good. Fortlllzora. Applications of commorclnl form. IrorB, If mndo Just boforo planting or durlnp; tho growltiG Benson, may In crenso production connldornbly, but they nro oxponslvo and not na a rulo needed on ground well nmntirod nnd plowed iu tho Fall. Indeed, there la Ht t to dniigor that too much mnuuro will bo used It It 1b plowed before the first of Jnnuary. Forty tonn to tho ncro Is ti good liberal dressing, and none too much for ground previously unfertilized. It should not bo left lying on top ot tlio ground nny longer than is nbHolutoly nccussnry, Rtnco much of tho host of It will bo washed nwny by tho rnlns. In this bulletin, which linn been written for tho B"lmnco of tenchora of school gardening In tho public schools of OroBon nnd recommended to tho tenchors ns tholr guide In this work by Slnto School Superintendent 1 A Churchill, ninny othor timely features of tho Important Btibjcct of school Burdens rccclvo nttontlon. Among thoso nro tho lnfltionco of rnrdcnlng on tho health nnd general welfare of tho pupils, tlio mothnds ot supervision, plans and arrangement, planting directions nnd reports ot BiiiTPBsttil work In tho Portland school gardens. Copies of this bulle tin nro boliiK Bent to nil tho teachers In tho Btato. Othors may rccclvo rtiplcs hy writing to tho-OrcKouAErl cultural Collcgo for thorn. Alfalfa Is Found Not to Bo a Farm Cure-All (VI ANY farmers hnvo been led I I through tho excitement pro duced by nlfalfn trains, nnd other promotion methods, to plnnt alfalfa when they novor Bhould havo at tempted It, according to specialists of tho United States Department ot Agriculture. Thoso npeclnllsts fed thnt thcro hna boon nn unnecessary nmount of talk nbout alfalfa and too Httlo iictunl nttompt to demonstrate tho limitations that exist with refer ence to growing that crop. As a result tho Department, white It Is helping farmors to cultlvnto al falfa and other leguminous plants by preparing bacterial cultures, l also cautioning Its demonstration ngents to leach tho farmer to grow nlfnlfa where It Is deslrnblo to havo It taught and whero tltero Is promlso of success. Those demonstration nirents nro particularly warned not to encourago Individual farmers to crow nlfnlfa unloss tho cllumlu nnd other conditions and tho roll of tho M'eilal farm fully warrant tho ex periment which Involves nn Invest ment for seed nnd cultivation, and if the crop Is not successful means a wimto of tho land over a growing season. Tho question of whether al falfa will grow Is not a simple prob lem, but Involves frequently a com plicated group of problems which havo to bo .considered from several different nnglos nnd by several dif ferent groups of Bpcclnllsts. Mcro examination of tho boII will not show what Is going to happen with alfalfa. Tho only way to discover whether or not It will grow is to try it in expensively In nn oxpcrlmcntnl plot, get certain general fncts In mind, and thon extend tho experiment to promising local farms with tho help of tho fanner himself. Only recently tho Dopnrtmcnt had requests for 50,000 to GO, 000 pounds of nlfnlfa seed for distribution to somo 50,000 or 00,000 farmers. It tho Department had ncccded to this request, It vory easily might havo encouraged tho farmors In that region to spond additional monoy for seed when thoy should not hnvo un dertaken tho culture ot alfalfa at nil. Tho moro furnishing of seed Is only tho first stop, hecnuso Its suc cessful cultivation cnllB for special methods ot soil preparation, Inocula tion, nnd many othor matters not commonly understood by thoso who hnvo had no cxporlcnco with this forngo nnd cover crop. Alfnlfa whoro It can grow properly Is undoubtedly ot much vnluo to the farmer. In regions whoro It Is al ready grown tho fnrmor can gain vnluablo ndvlco by consulting those who aro already growing It success fully. lloforo becoming n pioneer In al falfa raising In his district, howovcr, tho farmer would do woll to consult with his stnto expcrlmont station and so gain nil posslblo Information that will bolp lil in to rnako a success, or olso obtain Information thnt will show hi in fully tho dangor of at tempting to ralso alfalfa and make cloar to him exactly tho risk ot money, tlmo and uso of land ho Is taking In attempting tho oxporlment