FARM ORCHARD
Notes and Instructions from Agricultural Colleges and Experiment Stations
of Oregon and Washington, Specially Suitable to Pacific Coast Conditions
IIow to Handle Peaches.
'.' Oregon Argicultural College Cor
yallis The Stanfield district of Ore
gon as well as several other parts of
the state, is loaded with a heavy peach
crop, which many of the growers do
not know how to handle profitably,
Prof. C. I. Lewis, head of the division
of horticulture at the college, gives
the following advice.
"All in all the peach is one of the
poorest established fruit crops ' in the
.Pacific Northwest, says Prof. Lewis.
"With us it is largely a case of feast
or famine. During the years of
heavy crops it is often hard for us to
dispose of the crop with profit, while
in California, to the south of us, the
peach industry, many times as large
as ours, is handled very profitably,
They ship only a small percentage of
the fruit in the green state, but dry
and can a large portion of the crop,
"One reason why we have not done
better with the peach for many years
is that we have not handled it well.
If peaches are not handled skilfully
they arrive in the market in a very
' poor condition, and consequently bring
low prices. There is no fruit upon
which it is harder to give good advice
in handling than the peach. It is a
fruit where personal experience is
necessary. The careful handling
should begin at the time the fruit is
taken from the trees.
"It is always desirable to have as
much color on the fruit as possible.
. With some varieties that must be
shipped long distances, of course, it is
impossible to let them develop much
color, but for short shipping distances
more color can be allowed to develop
before the fruit is picked. When
shipped the fruit must never be in a
ripe condition.
"The color may or may not be an
index as to the time to pick the peach.
Many rules are given. With the yel
low peach, it is generally picked when
the greens begin to lighten and traces
of yellow begin to show. The touch
is sometimes used as an indication, the
peach being pressed lightly with the
thumb on the suture side. Care must
be taken, however, not to press too
hard, and the thumb and finger nails
of the packers should be trimmed
down closely. It is easy to ruin the
shipping quality of your peaches by
jabbing the finger nail into them or
pressing so hard that they are bruised
and turn brown and black.
"Take great care not to get the
peaches soiled. If dirt gets on the
fuzz it is almost impossible to get it
out. Pick in small receptacles, bas
kets or small pails lined with burlap.
Do not handle the peaches more often
than is absolutely necessary. Plan to
pack directly from the picking basket
to the boxes. If picked in too large
receptacles and allowed to stand
around, they will tend to become mel
low and ripen too rapidly. In hauling
them from the orchard to the packing
shed be sure not to get them shaken
up much. If you do not have a pack
ing house, use some shed or put up a
tent or sheet so as to shield the fruit
from the sun. Handle the fruit as
rapidly as possible. Do not allow the
peaches to become over-heated if you
can help it. As soon as packed in
boxes,get them placed in a cool loca
tion. In shipping carload lots, send
under refrigeration. It is sometimes
better to pick in the late afternoon
and pack the boxes in the cool of the
evening. In most parts of the North
west the nights are cool, so that the
fruit would generally be in good condi
tion in the early morning.
"In your packing shed you should
make room for three boxes. Three
packing boxes, a cull box and a basket
which contains the fruit, should be
provided for every packer, as there
will probably be about three grades of
peaches to be packed, and the packing
should be done directly from the pick
ing receptacle. Do not dump out and
pour out the peaches onto tables and
into boxes, for you can't do much of
this without getting them bruised. If
the fruit is damaged certain moulds
and rots will soon start and the entire
box of peaches will be ruined before
they arrive in the market. Cull out
carefully all damaged fruit.
"In ordering your boxes you will
want to get various sizes, probably,
according to the size of your peaches.
The length and width of the boxes are
all the same, 18 by 11 inches, inside
measurement, but the depth varies.
There are seven different peach
boxes used on the Coast The 21 inch,
3 inch, 31 inch, 4 inch, 6 inch and 61
inch. The reason for this variation in
the depth of the boxes Jis that they
never pack peaches with more than
two layers and the 61 inch depth is
used for extra" large peaches. The
'sides, tops and bottoms are generally
made of J inch material, and the ends
of I inch material.
"There are various grades used in
packing the peaches. Such terms as
extra fancy,' 'fancy,' 'choice,' etc,
are aften used. ' Unfortunately these
terms are misleading to the buyer. A
system of grading that has been used
in Ashland formerly, I believe, is very
satisfactory. Their peach grade
known as 'fancy' contains 64 or less
peaches to the box. The second grade,
known as 'Al' contains from 61 to 80
to the box. The third grade, known
as 'B,' grade, contains 80 to 92 peach
es to the box. All the fruit in these
grades must be free from fungi, split
pits and worms, and all are very care
fully wrapped in paper.
"In many sections of the United
States they pack smaller peaches than
the 92s. Some as small as the 108s
are used, but there is very little money
in such small peaches, and one had
better not try to Bhip them to the open
market. There will be more money
made by leaving them at home.
Smaller peaches and peaches contain
ing some imperfections are often put
in boxes without being wrapped and
are sold for pies and canning, or dis
posed of to advantage locally. ' I
would recommend that smaller peaches
than the 92s be not shipped, as I doubt
if it would warrant the freight and ex
press charges. There might be sea
sons when the peach crop . was very
light that one could realize profit on
such small peaches, but only under
such conditions.
"In packing peaches in boxes, avoid
what is known as straight pack. In
the straight pack each peach in the
second layer comes directly above the
peach in the bottom layer. This
makes considerable bruising. Pack
what is known as the diagonal pack,
the 2-3, 3-3. These throw the second
layer into the spaces left in the first
layer The 4-5 is used with some
smaller grades. The 4-6 pack, ' how
ever, has not received much favor in
the market, too many open spaces be
ing left on the sides of the boxes.
"The 2-3 pack will be put up in the
following way. Start with the end of
the box, bottom layer, and put three
peaches down against the end of the
box, the first peach going up against
one side of the end, the second touch
ing the opposite side and end, and the
third peach will be directly between
the second and first. Then take the
two peaches for your second row and
fit them in between the three. Your
third row will have three fitting in
against the two, etc. So every other
row in the box will be 8-2, 8-2, 3-2,
etc. The second layer will be just the
opposite, starting two and fitting them
down into the little spaces that are
left by placing three in the first row
of the bottom layer. When your box
1b done if you count your rows the
long way of the box you will have
seven peaches in every row and there
will be five such rows in each layer.
"ine 3-3 pack differs from the for
mer in only one respect; every short
layer of the box has three peaches and
yor long rows will vary. The first
row will have 9 peaches, the second 8,
tnira , fourth 8, fifth 9 and sixth 8.
Be sure that your peaches are so
packed that when the covers are nailed
on the boxes they cannot rattle and
move in any way. If you can run
your hand in under the covers and rat
tle the peaches around, you can rest
assured that they will -arrive in the
market in poor condition. The fact
that you can use this test of your box
allows you to get a good firm pack.
Cleat your covers securely. . In warm
sections of the state it will not be a
bad plan to have small holes bored in
the sides of the . peach boxes. This
will allow a little better ventilation.
"In wrapping your peaches with pa
per, wrap them as smoothly as. possi
ble. The first layer you put into the
box, put the smooth side down. In
the second layer, put the smooth 'side
of the wrapper up, so that no matter
whether the bottom or top of ' the box
is opened, It will present an attrac
tive appearance. -
The paper that you use in wrap
ping peaches should be rather heavy
tissue, and the size varies, 7x7 and
7x8. This paper is of great assist
ance in keeping the peaches clean
and absorbs the extra moisture and
will allow you to make your pack firm.
I'eaco packing is something in which
you will easily become skilfull, with
little experience. The points which
you will need to emphasize most, how
ever, are to grade carefully, throw out
an cuus, leave the small peaches at
home, and be sure your pack is firm."
Dry Quarters for Swine.
A nervous, irritable sow has no
place in the breeding herd.
It is absolutelv nei-Aniinrv in nmvlifa
clean drinking water for the sheep.
a sneep win stand a long while before
taking a drink of dirty water.
A warm, dry pen for the pigs is
needed for best results. Give them
plenty of dry bedding and a place to
sleep that is free from drafts.
While ground shelled corn is some
what more valuable for fattening hogs
than is whole corn, it is not. an a rule.
I economical to grind corn for hogs.
BIRDS AID TO FARMER
Most Efficient in Controlling the
: Codling Moth.
Does More Damage to Apple and
Peara Than All of Other Insect
Pesta Combined Things Some
of Songsters Devour.
Weather conditions, parasites, fungi,
Insect disease and mechanically ap
plied poisons (moBt of which are both
dangerous and . expensive) togethei
are insufficient to check the multipli
cation of insects without the aslst
ance of Insectivorous birds. Edward
H. Forbush records seeing a pair oi
grosbeaks visit their nest 450 times in
eleven hours, carrying to their young
two or more larvae at a time. Spar
rows, chickadees, vlreos, martins and
The Purple Martin.
warblers made from forty to sixty
trips ah hour to their nests with all
kinds of insects for their young. One
of the reports of the biological survey
records the finding of sixty grasshop
pers in the crop of one nighthawk and
600 mosquitoes in another; thirty
eight cutworms in the crop of a black
bird and seventy canker worms in the
crop of a cedar bird. Professor Tschu
dl estimates that a song sparrow de
vours 1,500 larvae a day, and Profes
sor ForbUBh says that a single yellow
throated warbler will consume 10,000
tree lice a day. A scarlet tanager has
been seen to devour gypsy moths at
the rate' of thirty-five a minute for
eighteen minutes at a time. It is
known that more than fifty species of
birds feed upon different kinds of cat
erpillars, while thi. -eight species
live largely upon destructive plant
lice.
"By far the most efficient aids to
man in controlling the codling moth
are the birds," says the "Year Book"
(1911) of the department of agricul
ture. A report of the bureau of ento
mology says that this Insect does more
damage to apples and pears than all
the other insects combined, this dam
age being estimated at from $12,000,
000 to 115,000,000 a year. Thirty-six
species of birds attack this insect,
these species representing thirteen
families, of which the three most im
portant are the woodpeckers, the tit-
mlse and the sparrows. In some lo
calities these birds destroy from 66
to 85 per cent, of the hibernating
larvae of this insect Review of Re
views. ' ' '
Chick Rations.
Rolled oats, plnhead or steel-cut
oats, cracked wheat, bran, broken rice,
millet seed, kafflr corn, corn bread
and parched corn (to which list a lit
tle cracked corn may be safely added)
are good to start chicks on, and a mix
ture of all Is better than any one.
The tested-out eggs, boiled and crum
bled or merely cut in two, are a good
addition always, so is cottage cheese
squeezed dry and green stuff of some
kind should always be added. Little
chicks will eat dry alfalfa leaves read
ily, and chopped vegetables also. Noth
ing is better than dandelion leaves for
green food, and they come early and
stay late. Like alfalfa, they are good
dry.
Corn for Chick.
While corn is not regarded as the
best thing on which to start chicks,
hundreds of strong, thrifty chicks have
made an excellent start on dampened
corn meal. We must remember,
though, that the people who have not
used much except corn for feeding
chicks usually do not attempt to start
them at all until the season when
grass and flies and worms are avail
able for the hunting, and chicks bal
ance their own ration with what they
pick up. The same method of feeding
little chicks that are hatched very
early and kept Indoors for weeks ii
apt to prove disastrous.
Pea Crop More Popular.
In the last federal census year the
United State, was credited with 1,805,.
000 acres given over to dry peas, com
pared with 968,000 acres ten years
earlier. But a recent federal census
bureau casta some doubt on this
total, because it says a considerable
proportion of the area returned li
probably duplication of other crop
acreage; this is particularly true of
the South Atlantlo coast and a num
ber of the state Id the middle south.
XT
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Haiipjlwifai
v - V
ONb f the
THE Coast Range culminates in
. the peaks of San Gorgonio and
San Bernardino of the San
Bernardino mountains, with
San Antonio and San Jacinto
only a little lower on either side.
Then the range makes a decided drop
to the south and shows heights of
quite a different character, with blunt
tops Instead of sharp peaks. Palomar
and Cajon mountains are bold and
conspicuous but not high, as moun
tains on the coast eo. Still farther
south, however, in the peninsula of
ixwer California, the range makes an
other lunge upward and produces the
great San Pedro Martir mountain,
more than nine thousand feet high.
That is its last great effort, for In its
more southern reaches it is much
broken, with plenty of peaks, to be
sure, but no high ones.
While some of the mountains of the
upper part of the range are higher
than San Pedro Martir, none other
presents so huge a bulk. Seen from
San Telmo, it is an unbroken wall
forty or fifty miles long, which at the
north end is first cut down sharply
and then beyond is almost completely
demolished, as mountains rank; and at
the south end Is torn Into gaps and
has had its crest knocked off.
There are two picachos, sharp,
needlelike, of pure white granite, but
they are so near the eastern side of
the mountain that they cannot be seen
at all from the west, and not from the
south till one has reached San Juan
De Dios, then they appear pointing
heavenward, shining white like great
Icebergs.
Almost Perpendicular.
The western side of the mountain is
abrupt, with very few places where it
may be climbed, but the eastern side
Is still more so and makes an almost
perpendicular drop to the desert On
that side one may descend, in scarcely
more than an hour's time, from snow
and freezing temperature to a spot
where the sun Is warm and birds are
nesting. And then from beneath the
feathery crowns of tropical palms he
may look back to where, almost di
rectly overhead, stand the rugged
pines he has Just left
It is miles across the top from east
to west and with its great length the
dimensions of the mountain are such
as to almost entitle it to be called
a high tableland, with hills and valleys
and streams of its own. As it Is high
enough to catch winter snows and
summer rains, the pasturage on the
top Is always good, and when the low
er lands between the mountain and
the Paclflo are parched with drought
here Is a haven for starvin herds.
They come from as far away as San
Juan De Dios and grow fat on the
sweet grasses and the delightfully
cool summer air. When winter grips
the mountain, however, the herds
must descend, for then the climate is
too rigorous to be borne without suf
ficient shelter.
The cattle and horses are not the
only ones that grow fat from a sum
mer residence on San Pedro: thn horA.
era also are In clover, for the great
forests are the home of Innumerable
deer, and bighorn as well, though not
In so great numbers as the deer. Two
Mexican friends of mine who were
tending a herd of cattle on the sum
mit In two weeks shot fifty deer and
might easily have shot more. . .
Another man had a standing offer
from a San Francisco firm of S25 for
very head of a male bighorn, and he
Camps
shipped a good many. That traffic of
course was stopped when Mexican law
declared a closed season for mountain
sheep. It was high time, too, for they
were wantonly destroyed, sometimes
not even for their heads and skins,
but merely for the pleasure of slaugh
ter. I think if American nlmrods had
understood how easily those marvel
ous hunting grounds might be reached
by boat to San Quintin, where an effi
cient Mexican guide with excellent
saddle and pack mules was to be pro
cured, the slaughter would have pro
ceeded more merrily still. I heard of
one American, and he from distant
Boston, who had discovered this hunt
er's EI Dorado, and who made peri
odical trips to it. That was before
Mexico, in fear of lnsurrectos, forbade
the importation of firearms Into the
peninsula.
It Is not strange that San Pedro
should harbor so much game, for It
Is the only really wooded mountain
on the peninsula, and the timber here
is very fine. Deer and bighorn are
not the only game; other animals
there are, not so harmless, and that
may even play the roll of hunter in
stead of hunted. Mountain lions are
so numerous that young colts, which
they consider the most delicious of
tidbits, have a hard time trying to be
come horses. A man living on the
western slope of the mountain showed
me a corral fully five feet high from
which a mountain lion took a three-year-old
filly, leaping the fence with
ease with the colt in his mouth, and
dragging the carcass a mile up the
side of the mountain before he stopped
for his meal. ,
Raging Torrents.
On the eastern side there are
streams that start bravely from the
mountain, but they are Immediately
sucked up by the sands of the desert
Canyon Diablo is an excellent example
of this; in the time of rains the water
rushes from the mouth of the ex
tremely narrow, rocky canyon, which
is a mere slit in the mountain wall,
in a tumultuous flood. It entirely fills
the narrow opening so that the can
yon cannot be ascended beyond Its
mouth, and it cannot be crossed, Such
a raging torrent Is it Yet in less
than a mile it has disappeared, and
not only is there no stream, but the
rounded arroyo sides are of smooth
sand as though years had passed since
water flowed between them. Many
streams of abundant flow start out In
this way, but all promptly disappear.
And as the mountain acts as a barrier
to check the rains that come in from
the Pacific, the strip of land between
San Pedro and the Gulf of California
remains absolute desert
On the western slope, however, the
streams flow with greater assurance.
One of them is turned from ita chan
nel and is carried along the skirt '
of the mountain for twenty miles to
wash the gold from the soil of Socor
ro. . :
San Antonio creek Is a fairly typical
mountain stream, a rushing little river
flowing through its own den. growth
of alder, and alamo., it prove, the
mountain quality of It. water? too.
sheltering speckled trout that reach
Sche.ery re8pectab,e " ot twelve
In one fertile little cove In It. deep
rocky canyon it nourishes an oasis of
really tropical verdure, a tiny half
moon of land set thick With flgf grape
lnntrudPeesaCh' JflC"