Lincoln County leader., June 13, 1913, Image 5

FARM as ORCHARD
Notes and Instructions from Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations
of Oregon and Washington, Specially Suitable to Pacific Coast Conditions
Raises
the
Dough
Better!
Field Mice and Clover. .
" Field mice are one of the few
species of mammals which, under our
present day conditions, may increase
in numbers until they assume the pro
portions of a plague," says A. L.
Lovett, assistant entomologist of the
Oregon Agricultural College Experi
ment Station. "Asia and Europe have
been more subject to these outbreaks ;
often vast areas, including from a few
thousand acres to whole provinces
have been devastated by these small
rodents. Serious outbreaks in the
United States are comparatively rare
and extend over limited areas." ,
"The short-tailed field mice are very
prolific. There are from 2 to 6 litters
during the year; the number of young
per litter varying from 4 to 12, with
an average of about 6. The young
from the early litters are believed to
breed before fall.
"Generally speaking, local condi
tions in an infested district are favor
able to the increase of the mice.
Their favorite location seems to be the
damp areas bordering on small streams
or irrigation ditches. Here they live,
thrive and multiply in more or less
well defined colonies, eventually over
running the adjacent fields. They are
gregarious in habit and move in colo
nies, which, in successive ' years,
amount to hordes. Usually they clean
up a definite area, then move on to ad
jacent fields, leaving havoc in their
wake.
"Clover and alfalfa fields afford an
abnormal food supply and the rate of
increase here is especially rapid.
During the summer season the soil
becomes honeycombed with their holes,
and by fall their injury is quite
marked. The winter injury is even
more severe, as they feed at this time
on the crowns and roots. Fields are
often rendered unprofitable and may
be killed out entirely. Ordinarily a
season of excessive abundance is fol
lowed by a period of comparative de
pression. "Nearly all root crops may be at
tacked, such as potatoes, beets, car
rots and others. Fruit and shade trees
are also sometimes killed or severely
set back by the feeding of these mice
on the roots.
"During a serious butbreak or
plague of field mice, it is seemingly
impossible to suppress the pest suc
cessfully. This is due partly to ignor
ance of proper methods of procedure
and lack of cooperation. Treating the
pest before it has assumed the propor
tions of a plague is urged. Whole
communities included in the infested
area should assiduously cooperate with
one another to hold in suppression a
pest that has the possibility of becom
ing a wholesale plague.
"Fatal bacterial diseases to be in
troduced in a prepared food have been
proposed. This treatment will work
where conditions are right, but is too
expensive for general usage.
"Hawks, owls, crows, gulls and her
ons, among the birds, and skunks and
weasels among the mammals prey con
tinuously and effectively on field mice.
These valuable allies should receive
protection and encouragement.
"Poisons seem by far the most prac
tical means of dealing with field mice.
A single treatment of properly mixed
and carefully applied poison will give
a death percentage of from 85 to 95
"To poison clover hay, chop 80
pounds of clean, fresh clover (or al
falfa) hay into about 2-inch lengths.
place in a large metal vessel and
dampen with 3 gals, of fresh water.
Dissolve 1 ounce of strychnia sul
phate in 2 gals, of water by heating
slowly in a closed vessel. Sprinkle
over dampened hay and mix well.
"To poison green clover, heat 1 oz.
of strychnia sulphate in half a gallon
of water until dissolved. Add this to
one gallon of fresh, cold water. Chop
45 pounds of fresh, green clover (or
alfalfa) into 2-inch lengths. Sprinkle
slowly with solution and mix well.
"To poison crushed wheat, dissolve
1 ounce of strychnia sulphate in
gals, of water. Sprinkle this solution
over 60 lbs. of crushed wheat. Mix
well in a metal vessel. If this mater
ial is to be retained for several days,
add 2 tablespoonsfuls of borax to pre
vert fermentation.
"The clover hay is best during the
winter. A small pinch or teaspoon'
ful is sufficient. Place at the mouth,
or even better, down in the runway of
the burrow. The green material is
preferable in the summer, but is hard
to apply over large areas. The fields
should be treated in the evenings for
best results.
"The crushed grain may be used any
time. A teaspoonful is sufficient for
several burrows. If exposed, this
bait may prove attractive to certain
"birds. The crushed grain is far su
perior to the whole wheat.
"After treating the field it should
be brush-dragged. This obliterates
the holes so that a second treatment
includes only the newly-opened, oc
cupled burrows. - A single treatment
costs, including labor, from SO to 40
cents an acre.
"A smal number of crows will feed
on the poisoned, dead mice and die.
There seems no practical way to pre
vent this loss.
What Does It Cost to Raise Kale?
At the request of Prof. F. L. Kent,
of the dairy department of the 'Oregon
Agricultural college, a prominent Ben
ton County farmer prepared the fol
lowing statement of the cost of pro
ducing kale.
"We figured 20 cents an hour for a
man and one horse to cultivate," he
says. "We took what we considered
an average row of kale and cut and
weighed it for our average yield to
the plant. We have kept time on
several occasions while gathering to
feed. On this we base our cost a ton
for gathering.
"I think you will find our estimate
very moderate on the weight of
plants, for we deducted two pounds
from each plant for fear we might not
have made a fair estimate in choosing
the plants for the weighing. The es
timate doe3 not include rental value of
land nor value of the manure before
application"
The 2300 plants, averaging in
weight 16 lbs., made 32,200 lbs., or
16.1 tons. They were grown on a half
acre of black clay loam. For fertiliz
ation it took two men and one team 16
hours, equal to $10; for plowing, a
man and team 2 hours, $1 ; for har
rowing and cross-harrowing 2 hours,
80 cents; clod mashing 2 hours, 80
cents; re-plowing 2 hours, $1; har
rowing and cross-harrowing again 2
hours, 80 cents; twice again disking
and cross-disking, 4 hours, $1.60;
clod-mashing again 2 hours, 80 cents.
The plants cost $1, and transplant
ing 20 hours, $4. Cultivation four
times, each time taking 2 hours, was
10 hours, costing $3. Hoeing twice,
10 hours each time, made 20 hours, or
$4. Pulling the weeds once took 4
hours, costing 80 cents, and harvest
ing took 36 hours, costing $7.20.
This made a total of $37.70 for the
cost of raising the 16.1 tons, or $2.34
as a total cost to the ton.
Different Ways of Preserving Eggs
"Eggs may be preserved for several
months by different methods," says
Prof. James Dryden, of the poultry
department of the Oregon Agricul
tural college. "If put up right in the
spring they may be kept till the fol
lowing fall or winter. They will not
be as good, however, as fresh-laid
eggs.
"A method that will preserve the
original quality of the eggs for an in
definite period thas not yet been dis
covered. By cold storage eggs are
put up in large quantities during the
spring season when prices are low, but
where it is desired to preserve a small
quantity for home use the cold storage
method is not practicable.
"Eggs intended for storage should
be fresh and clean. March or April
eggs win Keep Deuer man May or
June eggs. The sooner they are put
into storage after being laid the bet
ter they will keep.
The Lime Method.
Dissolve a pound of lime in five gal'
Ions of water. The water should be
boiled previously to sterilize it, and
then cooled. Stir thoroughly, and let
settle. Then pour off the clear liquid
into a wooden or earthen jar or tub.
Fill with eggs to within an inch of the
top of the liquid. This will allow
for. evaporation. The liquid should
not be allowed to get lower than the
top of the eggs. When the vessel is
filled with eggs, cover it with coarse
muslin or factory, over which spread a
paste of lime to exclude the air.
The Water-Glass Method.
"Water-glass (sodium silicate) may
be purchased at the drug stores. Use
the liquid form and the commercial
grade in the proportions of one part
water-glass to eight parts water. Use
earthern jars or wooden tubs or bar
rels that are perfectly clean, and store
in a clean, cool place. The material
used will cost about a cent for each
dozen eggs stored."
Growing Big Tomato Crops.
Strong, stalky, transplanted tomato
plants are essential in order that the
fruit may set and begin ripening dur
ing July and August when the days
are longest and weather warm. Clay
soil is best for heavy crops. Clover
sod plowed under and the field re
plowed before planting makes a good
field for tomatoes. Use from 10 to 15
loads of stable manure per acre, har
rowed in, and supplemented with from
400 to 600 pounds of fertilizer applied
in the row.
By the above methods I have pro
duced 200 bushels, or 36 tons, of toma
toes per acre. I can recommend the
Improved Trophy and Stone varieties.
Proper selection and sowing of seed
will quickly improve any variety.
W. W. Tracy in Farm and Home.
riH .vfv: Mi lifts
5CE.NL in national park
T
HE forests of Arizona, as yet'
practically untouched, are
among the most important in
the west. Approximately 15,
000.000 acres, one-fifth of the
state, Is timberland, most of which lies
In the highly elevated sections north
and east of a line extending across the
state diagonally bisecting the opposite
northwestern and southeastern boun
dary corners.
Conifers or cone-bearing trees are
the predominant growths, the broad
leafed species being few in number
and of minor Importance. The yellow
pine, the Arizona white pine, the lim
ber or Rocky mountain white pine, the
bristle cone pine, the Englemann
spruce, the Douglas fir, the red fir, the
white or silver fir, the plnyon, the red
cedar or juniper, the oak and the
aspen are the principal tree families
represented.
The ubiquitous yellow pine is by far
the most numerous and important eco
nomically, forming 95 per cent, of the
merchantable timber supply. It Is by
nature a cliff dweller, flourishing best
on the high mountain slopes between
6,500 and 8,500 feet above sea level. Of
Arizona's forest trees It is the noblest.
Viewed at full maturity in its native
haunts it is good to look upon; Its
flawless cylindrical trunk towering 150
feet into the crystal blue, Its out
spreading top tossing, dancing, sighing
gleefully in the amber sunlight like a
thing Intoxicated with the nectar of
heaven.
Indigenous to about the same soil
conditions and altitudinal limitations
as the yellow pine, and ranking next
In importance for their timber in the
order named, are the Douglas fir, En
glemann snruce and white fir. Their
scarcity, however, makes them unap
preciable factors in the trade in Ari
zona. By reason ot tne soilness oi
their fiber or their desert or Alpine
characteristics the other trees named,
excepting the limber or Rocky moun
tain white pine and the oak, which are
utilized in some instances, are rela
tively unimportant from the lumber
man's standpoint
Billions of Feet.
An accurate estimate of the stand
ing timber in Arizona is a very diffi
cult matter to determine further than
the fact that It reaches formidable pro
portions, running into billions of feet,
board measure, worth In the various
manners in which it may be turned to
account hundreds of millions of dol
lars and constituting, In the aggre
gate, a resource that in the fullness
of time will contribute to the welfare
of the state beyond the most roseate
dreams of the times.
Title to this sylvan Golconda Is
vested In the United States govern
ment, which through the forest serv
ice is proving a wise landlord In that
Its varied resources are being admin
istered in a manner that will benefit
the largest number of users along all
lines where no serious or irreparable
Injury Is liable to result Where
there Is no danger of extermination,
or where no damage to streams or
vegetation may follow, the ripe timber
It offered for sale to the highest
reputable bidder, under conditions de
signed to prevent monopoly of the
lumber supply and to maintain the
continuity of the forests. On account
of the lack of adequate transportation
facilities adjacent to the best tim
bered sections sales have not been
practical to any great extent Mills at
Flays tall and Williams, and two or
three other places near at hand, have
been In operation for a number of
years and have, except possibly In one
or two instances, depended largely on
the national forests for their timber
supply.
There being no navigable streams
of any consequence in the forests of
Arizona where the logs can be floated
down to the mills at comparatively
small expense, the lumber concerns
must needs construct lines of rail and
operate trains of their own into the
sections to be logged, the dally capac
ities of the mills being such that less
substantial means of transportation
are inadequate. As a rule these roads
extend several miles Into the foreBt
tapping the primeval sections. When
these are sufficiently cut over the
track is taken up and put down else
where. At certain desirable locations
along the route and at the outer
terminus of the road, the lumber
camps are situated where the loggers
are domiciled.
Primitive Occupation.
No part of the lumberman's occupa
tion is more interesting and primitive
perhaps than that ot getting out the
logs In the woods. A trip to one of
the camps where this part of the bus
iness may be witnessed Is a novel
spectacle, especially so when one
makes the trip on a logging train. The
felling of the trees, the cutting of the
trunks Into logs, the clearing away ot
the brush is done with the same tools,
the ax and saw, the same expenditure
of physical strength, -expended by the
pioneer home builder in stripping
away the magnificent hardwoods that
fell beneath his sturdy stroke in the
group of states carved out of the ter
ritory between the Alleghenies and
the Mississippi river.
The roads upon which the unsawed
timber is transported from the forests
to the mills are railways, though dif
fering from others of their kind In
that they were built for no purposes
other than freighting logs. One must
perforce ride on the framework of
the cars or on the tender of the en
gine, which is scarcely a hardship to
him who feels the lure of the out
doors. Before all else permission for
the ride must be obtained from the
mill owners or manager. Out into the
clearings one is borne over hills and
valleys once Instinct with arborescent
life, now denuded and overstrewn
with the littering of the slaughtered
trees that fell to the mailed hand of
the lord of creation. Finally a shrill
blast of the engine announces the ar
rival at the camp, which consists of
four or five large ungainly structures
and a number of smaller ones, all
built of rough pine lumber, more sub
stantial buildings being impracticable
as the place at best will be occupied
but temporarily while the sections
contiguous thereto are being cut over.
It Is in settlements of this character
that the "lumber-Jacks," the men em
ployed in the camps, live and have
their being month in and month out
Overshadowing always by day and by
night is the solemn grandeur of the
forest. Each morning the loggers go
forth to their work of destruction;
each setting sun looks down on -a
larger treeless waste. Now and then
the more convivial ot the number re
pair to the neighboring towns to pass
away the time, looking not disdain
fully, the while, on the flowing bowl.
Queer.
"Some of these printed receipts,"
said Mrs. Lapsllng, "are very puz
zling. What can you make of this
one, for Instance, as a wash for the
hands T 'Glycerin, forty parts; car
bolic acid, one part; vinegar, quan
tum suffragist'"
III!
25c
Pound Caa
All Grace.
SAVE $1.50 On This FINE HAT
'Ihe "I'hallenite" astyle the best dealer will
soon be showing at S3 and S3.50. Yon net it from us
for (2, preuaid, because we deliver to you direct
from our factory by parcul post and save you the
middlemen's profits. Your money back If not sat
lNfuctory. Made from line fur felt la liKht tan,
black, penrl pray and tobacco brown, beautifully
trimmed anannUhed, Ktyle in every line, wear
In every fibre. Order now state sice and color,
and enclotte St. Write for style sheet 'P,M show
ing other models, free. Ooc-Prssl Uil Cs.. Duhmy . Ctm.
WORffliS
cause much annoyance to children
and great anxiety to parents.
The presence of worms is recog
nized by these common symptoms:
itching nose, unsatisfied appetite,
offensive breath and colic pains.
DR. PEERY'S VERMIFUGE
"DEAD SHOT"
Cleanses the system of worms In a very lew hours
Sausage Patties.
For sausage cakes use cold pork.
It is best to use some of the fat also
and add equal portions of fresh ground
round steak. Two cupfuls of the
ground pork and beef as directed, one
teaspoonful of minced onion, one
eighth teaspoonful of mixed sausage
herbs or powdered sage, one-fourth
teaspoonful of salt, a good sprinkling
of paprika or pepper, yolk of one egg
and a little flour as needed.
Mix all ingredients very thoroughly
with a fork in a bowl. With floured
hands take up enough to form round
cakes a little larger than a dollar and
one inch thick. If mixture is too
moist a little flour can be worked in.
This depends on the size of yolk and
consistency of meat. When formed
dip each in a little flour and fry In
good drippings or a little lard and
butter.
Wasn't Shocked.
"I saw you and your husband at the
play last night, Mrs. Wedgecomb.
How did you like it?" "I'm sorry we
wasted our money on it. Several peo
ple told me I would be shocked, but I
wasn't." Chicago Record-Herald.
ONLY ONE "BROMO QUININE"
Xhat is LAXATIVE BPOMO QUININE. Look
for the signature of E. W. GROVE. Cures Cold
In One Day, Cures Grip fa Two Days. 25c.
Christianity in India.
In South India alone there are to
day fully 1,000 Christian college grad
uates, leaders in the life of Christian
communities. Of the 25,000 students
in higher educational institutions
5,493 are in Christian colleges.
Loyalty an Essential.
Loyalty is one of the most Import
ant essentials to business success.
We place this ahead of brains, ability
or experience. While these are not
only Important but absolutely neces
sary to secure the greatest success in
one's chosen work, yet without loyalty
of the absolutely dependable kind the
employe's chance is greatly minimized.
Adopt English Language.
A fact illustrating the superior cul
ture of Christian college graduates in
India Is seen in the report that ' in
the presidency of Madras English is
spoken by one Hindu in every 132,
one Moslem of every 157, but by one
Christian of every 15.
That's the Question.
"Here is a story of a Chicago wo
man who says that present marriage
laws make woman the slave of man,"
said the square-jawed matron as she
looked up from the newspaper. "Why
don't they enforce the law, then?"
meekly asked Mr. Henpecke. Buffalo
Express.
Not for Him.
"Some day," remarked the nice old
gentleman, "you may be president of
the United States." "Mebbe," replied
the Bon of the very big business man,
"but If -they want me they will have
to raise the salary."
"Onto" and "Aren't I?"
The word "onto" is defended by the
New York Times, and the phrase
"Aren't I?" by the Evening Post. Tru
ly, Henry J. Raymond and William
Cullen Bryant have been dead a long
time.
Wealth Second After Character.
My prayer to the gods Is that," if
possible, we may have wealth also in
abundance, but that at all events we
may maintain our character ot being
trustworthy and truthful. Demosthenes