IflDWftPRN-" B;00STE1; IN 11KM 011 COUflTY
THE WILLAMETTE VALLEY HAS NOW BECOME A CORN COUNTRY
Jj.xcuangps a Specially - J-2 Bavne V.hlg.
" m f
i (Uy l-nther J. fhapin) "
' Educational methods have changed
greatly in the past decade- .The old
s method jof book instruction baa giv
mi way to the more practical labora-
- tory method. 'Theory baa been su
. perseded by' practice.
- - Thl lis more especially, true In th-3
field of agricultural education. Deui
onstration farms and! the more re
' cent farm demonstrations planned
r and conducted by county agricult ur
lets have greatly extended the scope
and usefulness, of the agricultural
When! the writer entered on theJj
duties of county agriculturist fur f.
.- Marlon county, Oregon September ?-i
- 1912, hei was the first county aari
tujturist ! west of the i Rocky mouii
, tains, The work - was new In - the
i United States at that5 time and the
only instructions given' were: i "Get
acquainted with your county. Study
local conditions. ; Find . your, own
" problems." ' -' - ' .
v The problem - that first -"presented
itself was! one upon which many oth
er problems hinged. It: was the nee.j
of better cropping schemes. 4
.r - Grain raising,, principally wheat
and oats, was the chief enterprise in
' one part of the eouhtyJ the lan bV
.ing , summer-fallowed jj every third
' .year. . -;t;- - :; il ---4 " .
' . Another large section, was devoted
to dairying, and clover was an estab
lished crop in the rotation.' - V
Still another fairly., well defined!
area was devoted almost, exclusively
to fruit growing prunes, peaches,
: loganberries; and strawberries belug
the principal fruits grown.- The al-
most universal practice; among those
fruitgrowers was clean tillage from
$. the time the plantationuwas set ouV
j . Potatoes appeared to ;be about th
i only cultivated crop arid It was lm-
? ' , practical to plant one-third "or; one
fourth of the' farm to potatoes. j
There was an evident need of h
: crop a cultivated crop that could .
be grown. in larger acreages to take
the place of the wasteful summer-fallow,
to fit into the rotation on the
stock farms, and to grow among the
fruit trees, especially fa the young !
s orchards while they were coming into
bearing. i- ! -.' - ;
Corn, the great American crop, ap-
peared to be the only crop that could
' fit, Into all of thefte schemes. It lit
- true that.tLe introduction of corn in
stead of summer-fallow would neces
sitate a raid leal change in 'the whole
plan, on: the exclusive grain ; farms,
but; such- a change was necessary as
the! average yield of what and oats
! was rapidly becoming less- It would
mean the adoption -of a more dj-
i versified farming scheme with live
stock as a bafeis. - r
; Nothing else -would be more easily
adopted by the oTOryfarmeis aar ms
otherl crop .could fit so weir Into their
rotations. M ;' V: V . -.
, The principal money crop' on many
of these farms was clover, seed and a
vexing problem was. how to control
the noxious : weeds such as huckhorc
plantain, sorrel and the so-called
' Joint grasses which wer waking
clover seed j production ' mor and
- more difficult. : : i i- ; ,
Corn! waa also needed I on these
farms to balance, the feeding rations
-to tnp:ly: the i carbo-hydrates" .to
, aud ojtch llys. J'-' ';H -f .
A Tiii.Jorl;y of the fruit plantations
1 wero oi ota la.nd land tUat ln-1 al
ready U;cn llong used to j,ri'-n raJeiug
and sutjnLr-iaHowlnK. Vo mak h
ruin woro complete th i1pltion o'
'the-faujmttK In these land by the sum-mer-fallo
Ing practi-.-e had been
haftteneJ by burrilng-fet! tho etraw
and ln.o!:i-: rases the stahblo.- 4 1
To Continue this clean tillage after
the orvbard was set out. giving the
burning ray of the summer sun am.
the drenching rains of winter free
and uflnternipted sway, appeared to
be thelflnal chapter in the Atocess of
soil ruin. , ; I . : '
- Cora was needed la- theso orcharos
U shade the ground In summer aad
1 payij the operating cost until they
ame iato bearing, me sialics supply
ing In toart. the much-needed humus.
"ilutf corn can't be grown here."
Sras universally shouted. "However
desirous It might be. the nights are
too cool.' It can t-be done.,
Weill that would seem to settle
the" matter if U'bad" not been for the
fact thtt number of farmers, a frw
in acbi class, were growing corn
had been growing it successfully
from tejv to twenty years. ;
: These facts had been gathered and
themethods of these successful 'corn
grower studied-In-the-firBt- eareful
survey of the bounty.
' One thing was very evident," how
ever. At the rate this Information
was" traveling it would be many .gen-.j
erations before it would be generally
known that corn could be used as a
staple crop to satisfy'.: the above
needs. 1 li- 't ' .-' . : ' si
.The problem was how - to Impress,
this fact on the minds of the people.
Telling them accomplished nothing
except to provoke ridicle. -Even ray
warmest! friends said; "You're all
right. generallyr but you're, away off
on that Cora proposition 'for this val
ley. We haven't the climate here for
corn. It takes hot nights ;to make
corn ; grow." ; s .'. r - ; - 1 -
Nothlag could i. be more certain
than that these farmers would have
to be sbwn. , ;' ; ' 'U
v Profiting by s the j experiences of
ecunty : agrloultu rlsts In the South
where boys clubs were used so ef
fectively in prompting better agricul
tural methods, a-boys' com club of
23. members was organized at SL
Paul, a 'little railroadless town on
the Willamette river in the northern
end of Marion county.
A The best local grown seed avails
able wasj seeured; for these boys, the
first and most Important step in suc
ressfuk.com growing in any country.
This indeed 1 was the, secret of the
ettccess of the few- farmer who had
been able to grow corn so successful
ly. -They had acclimated their corn
and -then: retained their, own seed.
- This club met from-time to time
during the year with the county agri
culturist, TU stddy and discuss meth-
oas or planting, and cultivating and
. ktfta nr. jmww.mjf.-JBrr xrop. ..,-.-j
, ,-AnaT. .year,.,. is 11, ,wa an average
ear .and th boys nearly all had
feme fair com to harvest. Saulrrels
and gophers and crows made it In
teresting for the boys a few being
wholly beaten. These pests arave the
boys an added Interest and some
good lessons were learned in bow to
combat such pests. , 1 :-i
Although no com show had ever
been held west of the Rockies, if wa
decided td hold one, that fall at St.
Paul and j "show? what had been
done. 1 -; .. v -
The results were truly amazing
and people came fromrar and near
to see what was advertised a a.
Corn Show." Itailroad officials from
Pcitlahd, professors from the Agri
cultural College, and politlcfans from
the state capital came to St. Paul to
iee what the boys had really done.
The first prize In each class was a
two daya free trip to the Agricul
tural College. . No boy was allowe'd
to draw more than one first prize,
so six boys won this trip. The fifty
mile ride on the train, the visit at
the college, the night at the leading
hotel, and the return trip was well
worth all the summer's effort in the
opinion of every boy who made the
trip. And every boy went home de
termined to attend that college as
soon as he was old enough.
Another corn show was held at St.
Paul the next, fall, butf this' time the
men took a hand, many farmers hav
ing grown cornt for the first time.
The' results were all that could be
wished for. The quality of the corn
was much better than the first year,
due in patt to the fact better seed
as used, and in part to better meth
ods of culture.
The shew method had been-so ef
fective in. the vicinity of St. Paul that
a county fchow was held in Salem in
November of that year, the extension
department of the college assisting
the county agriculturist in this work,
t Few f armers, weref- growing niore
than an acre or two of. corn and most
of this was cut aad fed -green in the
late summer or eatly fall, so the first
county ahow , was not -: a very . great
success In the opinioa of many oT
the visitors. Some who had raised
cornC in Missouri or, Kansas were
eager to learn if we - "called i that
corn." ' Others tried to be more en
couraging and said it was "prett
good..for Oi-egon." ,
: Never th el ess, the show, was a real
success. It taught those, who exhlb-j
ited how to. Letter select seed corn
and many others decided to try a
small patch the next year.' ' '
'.The . agricultural lectures given
during the shovf were vell attended
and a Jceen interest take- in methods
of corn culture and seed selection. .
. Encouraged by a greatly Increased
acreage the, next year.:I915, It was
decided to hold a number of . local
chows and then bring them all to
gether Into one big county show.
Accordingly1 six hows were held in
as many communities, the smallest
one bejng as large as the first coun
ty show.
These, were, all brought together
Into the. Second Annual 'Marlon
December and few who saw It woaM
admit that they ever said corn could
not b grown, in Oregon.
The entries consisted of 74 one-hundred-ear
lots,- 22 I ten-ear lots.
and 81 single-ear difltflays' of field
com. and 73 twelve-ear lots of pop-"1! valley, "and since llaa is necem
corn and sweet corn.
- Fortunately the price winners a,
this show nearly all had fairly, large
amounts of seed corn, for sale. Their
su plies, hpwever, were all exhausted
long before the planting season end.
ed the following spring.
I The acreage of corn in Marion
ecunty! bad Jumped from a possible
500 acres in 1912 to at least 15,000
acres in 1916. .
In, spite of a backward spring and
a, cool summer,, the corn crop this
year promised to be tne'best- eve
grown in Western Oregon,' and it
was, in fact, from a silage standpoint!
but an unusually early, frost prevent
ed much of it from coming to full
maturity.
Notwithstanding hts very nnusual
combination!, of -unfavorable condi
tions the Third Annual Mai ton Coun
ty Corn Show, which, closed Decem
ter 16th,;wasra' splendid success. ; ;
Tbe lesson, learned -from this show
was a most valuable one. From every
part v of- the - county - came - corn of
better quality, than last rcar.; .; ; , '
j The Juse of acclimated seed lbal
made this possibles rrt: :r
Early Minnesota, Golden Clow, and
Oregoa yellcnv Dent. f rom Jast year's
prizewinning lots, carried away the
prixeslthlsryeajrJntne; ear classes.
Oregon Yellow Pent took first prize
in the silage class. . a'
: So ; much r good has Been accom
plished by means of : the shows In
Marion county that a-i Willamette
Valley Corn Show, Including . rilne
counties, has been --proposed. It ; Is
planned that each counter ' shall I ex
hibit in'an individual booth and a
grand prize given for the best booth.
The advancement of the corn In
dustry in this section has; been more
rapid daring" I' ttfe 1 apt foiir years
than that of i any- other agrlcnltural
enteroriso;'i '4Thls rapid -growth- has
(been brought about In very large
measure ; by f the com s.how which
have demonstrated-that cornj cari-be
grown and afforded a means of dls.
tiibu'ttag the best local -groWn seed-.
Thu contihaed advancement of this
enterprise is assured tocanpe of its
adaptability ' to the- geneial agrfcu 1-
opinlon of hop growers, the " thoir
ands of i acres now deyoted to be
"will sooner or later be devoted
other crops- These lands are gen r
ally in the river bottoms and, amc
the best natural dairy-l30ds of Ji9
in RtphtHt rtarni from. ' dalrv'
corn" is destined to become ene of
ley.
L
County Corn' Show the first week in tural needs of jLhe country. In. th-9
T.nlti T ftionin who wrntK.ine
above, Is now in charge of the irk
of securing the raw materials for
Salem-Kings Products Co.; wbW1
Salem's youngest great i'actoryPre
parlng fruits and vegetables torj
ket in a new form of evaporatf0' ,
Mr. Chapln had much to dfv.'lU
the 1917 Marion county cora.bow.
held In Salem from Decern bell 10 to
15, under the auspices of. the preau
of agriculture of the Salem c4,B,e"-
clal Club. : I f t'
Thn f fhlbits in 191T shcMd at
least a 10 percent Increase ieuality
over the year before, accoruisx o me
man who judged them Tor b year.
There was a- marked lnf ease in
acreage last year, and thertf wlU b
a larger Increase : during P 18. ac
cord ing-to present indicatii "
The better quality being ised and
shown from "year to year isjlue to the
fact that the . growers ar learalag
to make bettef seed selection- "
.'A marked change has iue over
the Willamette valley, mjhat home
grown corn is. being ground In nearly
every j flouring .I1J in tUs section,
and tie grinding of It Is.Jncreasinc.
Mr. Chapin thinks all thi corn. meal
used la the Willamette-ytlley should
he made' froni the home giown jro;
duct, and that this change , wUl be
brought iabout.. before png. Some
growers are grinding fleir corn ta
home Hiills, even in' .coffce mills, -for
mush, etc. V , i-' f -' : . ;
In some years it baf be necessary
to kiln dry nome of tb corn, or all
pt it; for milling: purposes. -But.whj
shy at this?" asks MrJChapin. yIt U
a sitnpe matter ror ouf farmers, who
are used to drying. hps, prunes, lo-
ganterries, etc.. ana comoinaxion
dryers maybe constructed so that the
corn - may be dried and left in the
cribs,- without a seconi handling.
It is an established fact, now, that
the Willamette yall has como-into
its own as a corn igxtf ing section and
that branch''of faaing will never
again br-nerrleei fed held to be Im
possible cr laiprattiable. ,
: ; . : Ttlephonosf Office 970, Residence 1 1
i.-so'coLOF.si:':
' . REAL ESTATE
. ; LOANS and INSURM '
. ' SitlXM, OREGON
1 1
Exchanges eastern farms anywhere for W
farms. - , (
GikkI Oregon ranches from $20 lb $100 jer
Ifav a number of mountain ranch os for s-!e
. A
C. B. CLANCZ J
.Formerly ItUEFS !
-:;.-. "f '-;.' -- - . .. -:
FLORIST AND
DECORATOR
123 N. .Liberty St. Phone, 331
1 WALTON TEIXS EXPERIENCE WITH
; WALNUTS IN V1LLAMETTE VALLEY
I INDUSTRY, FRUGAUTY;EJER(jY II
- m fM WHIEIiff HOOVER
' -
Little Ilerble Hoover's come to our houseto stay, -To
make us scrape the dishes clean,' an' keep the crumbs away,
'An' learn us jto-make' war-bread, an save all the grease,. !'
For the less we eat of butter, the sooner we'll, have peace.
An a)l us other chil'ren, when our seanty meals is done, .., i
We gather-up around the fire an ha the mostest fun
A-listenin' to the proteins that Merble tells about, '
An' the Calories that git you . s
Ef
you
don't
-Is:
'Ground Must Be Chosen With Caution and Frost Pockets
Avoided; ' Fran rtuette Considered Bes;' Oregon .
v i r Product Superior ;to Calif orniaNuts
if
j ' cny w; c. cowgiii) n
1 ; ."Ten acrew of English, walnuts is
Considered a good-sized holding in
f California, and that acreage of bear
s Ing trees of a gooi variety In Oregon
, would make any grower more profit
j than he would be likely to reallee
1 rrom j.. larger acreage of fruit. said
' William S. Walton, cashier of, th
j Ladd Kuah ian; when! seen in
? his office yesterday. . . -.
; "The growing of walnutiria Oro-
gon was started many years ago by
Colonel Henry K.Dosch of Portland.
! as an experiment on the. part of the
Oregon State! Horticultural; .society.
, ana since mat time the growing. of
. walnuts Tor: profits has become - a
' branch of horticulture of-Increasing
; Importance. : J, j 1 '.
Crmvs Nots In Salem.
, "As a matter of recreation I have
; given some time and;att-ntl0n to' the
growing of walnnts, experimenting
with different varieties, .methods of
. culture and other important features
,' connected with this growia Industry
of the state. . I have a litlla ground
t right here in this city where I have
i a few trees and. give them some of
'; my spare time. , k,v.-,.
; "Climate, soil, draina jhoth -of
the land In which the trees are
'planted and of tbe ar above,! are Im
' porta nt to the successfnl growing of
. English walnut? trees. -The trees re
quire a deep soil, not closely under
laid with rock or hard pa n. so 'as- to
allow anolmtrncted extensfon of roots
- through" the well drained soil.-. i
' "In my opinion miieh of the so' I
In the Willamette valley is not suite-!
to the suecesful growlni; of Engllah
walnuts, It Is too wet and ton frosty.
.This. I3-where dralnarfy
above, j iays the PlL Imr
In nd Bhonld .be. , by: r a t
ficlally,-well drnlne'l. m
f-.ti::i ro frot
!ov ani
-t part.
' r nrtl
. VoulJ
tling of cold air In gullies or hollows
which do' net allow: the air to be re
plared by the higher air which is a!
ways warmer at the time of the year
when the spring and- early fall frosts.
which are most Injurious to.walnut
occur. Frost pockets will occur oh
high ground! as well; as on low. If the
uf previous pa not permit air arain
ag. The soil and air must be well
drained or the results will be disap
pointing. . .;:!
. : Cities rrotrt Trees.
"In towns there are instances of
stnglei trees ! of EngllBh '. walnuts or
other fruits which; annually bear
very large and fine!-crops.,-. This is
due first to: the fact that. the trees
are rrowlnglln soil that Is well and
deeply drained by the citysewerage
system.- and 1 secondly, to the hun
dreds of chleineys la the city which
act as natural and effective smudge
pots . which keep off the- frosts tt
ertrly. spring1! and fall. ' Prospective
planters should not be misled by tbe
reSnlts from these cfty trees and ex
pectJthe same exceptional results
fronr an entire orchard, or they:wtj!
be disappointed.;
TWhile I have experimented with
several varieties of walnuts, the
rrinqueue J4ihe beat, 1 thlnlu.The
nuts .are largo and smooth and of
Tln qnality, ijThecflttra large, rough
auts, are? not rnht-!for In tne mar
kets.. It takes about eight years to
bring walnut rtrejes into bearing; al
though, they -will produce nets 6f
good quaUty in five tears. -Grafted
trees, or trees raised from what are
known as 'first-generation nuts," are
the best... r' -.. - ; .. - . ' , '
"In toy oainlon the onalit nt'tiia
Oregon walnuts is tat superior to the
nuality of those from California.
Onr morn mpderate samners drj not
snn-cald tho nvtn or folia ea. .which
repulfs la a unt-ftf t. "d,-i.,in
' a'-.fine,- r.-.t-c:'. ;t ! ut :t Cf
II
i
T
t
t
t 1
watch '
: - - ' ' ' out!
An little Herbie Hoover says, when the fire burns low-
j An the vitamlnes are creepin from the shadow? sor an'- slow, .
You better eat the things the Food: Folks says they.'s plenty of,
i An' cheat the garbage pail, ah give all butcher's meat the shove,'
An' go'ble up the"corn-pone-aa' veg'tablea an fbih, - i
j An' save yer dAppin's an yer iweets, an lick clean ever djSh
J. i ;Ai don't get fresh a-tal kin' of what you won't do without,
Or tlhe Calories'll git you j ' i
...
'1
Ef
you
don't'
watch -'oat!
Sophie Kerr in' Life.
H
. i- - .. w
MitsBKi ; iiuuvKu. the man
whose name Is on nearly every
tongue in ; the United States.
uvea jn saiem. during his young
niannooa 'anu his" uncle. Dr. if. J,
Minthorne, a Salem man, : was his
gnardian. Records filed by this
guardian show how the boy made a
fight for success. .It is said that he
Biarieu out tn the world with $6.97
In his pocket. Now Herbert ilnnvor
is a millionaire. He contributes all
of his time free to the United States.
iei mat. is the smallest art. He
controls the destinies of million of
American citizens from the stand
point or rood. ; - 1 ' '
I nut little '"Herbie" Hoove hf a
boyhool and It was a typical boy
hood like, so many of our self-made
men havo had. Says the New-York
Herald:
The world sent him n in nr
s cd fame with7 Jnst 16.97 buriod
away in one of the pockets of a neat
out -rather- threadbare suit. What
he lacked In' finances he mad tin in
character,' and. In the ' hand writ ins
of his dead mother, had an abun
dance of Tfruralitv. enerrv nnrl! ln-
dusfrl6usness. -- - '-
-la ,the Cedar count v eourt hntixoi
innpton Iowa, near" West Branch,,
the little Quaker settlemon mh'
Mr. Hoover was born,: these records
m wa me. Air. tioover. is a
modest man.-t He talk .hnHf
himself, and what an uphill road he
had td. climb in his youth. " vBut
these old. records throw an ninmin.
atlng light on the character of the
man whose1 name today Is a house
hold - word all ' over America: It
seems somehow fitting that th
who has a big brotherly eye on sev
eral .million kitchen's in connection
n 'facie- Sam's determination to
- t u7:war "feI:ouI-' tave'-'lc-ea .Lorn
In.. the hitdst or one of the! richest
farming sections in - the United
States.-, r. ' . (. j
First'. Home SUlf Stamling.
, The" one story house which was his
first home Is still standing in West
Branch, Iowa. Looking round at the
fertile rolling corn fields stretching
on all sides of the town one wonders
if Mr. Hoover did not think longingly
of this land of plenty which was his
birthplace when confronted with the
task- of feeding hunger stricken
Belgium. -.fl .-.': '.--:, ,
it's no wonder that Hoover, - big
man mat. he is, prefers to keep out
of th limelight, lie was born in a
simple., unassuming atmospheitj. His
mother , was a Quaker preacher and
his father, was a blacksmith. Young
Herbert used Jo run barefoot along
the dusty roads which straggled
throjigh the town. He did few
chores and went Jto school and played
with, bis brother and sister jWhen
his - mother went to .neighboring
towns, and - country .;- chaiches ti
preach he- stayed with his cousin5;.
one of whom, George C. Hoover, an
attorney,, still lives ia WVst Uranch.
The; town nas changed a rood deal
since th nian" who was destined to
play such a big part In'the war rolled
n.arbles In front of the eeneral store.
(There are cement sidewalks! and
eiecmc light and modern homes. !A'
ftvrjreara ago; traveling in his prv-,
ate car. .Mr. - Hoover 'returned :to
West Bjanch and visited the; Mttla
graveyard under the pine trees where
tbe- humble,. little headstones fiark
the resting; place of his fatheiK a-cd
mother." It i ;part- of 'the Quaker
faith to carry simplicity even ti the
grave. -. ;.:- ;r -! T ? , 1
And this great. -nan iras th'ue
tcy vrtir J--.I it Til " i l.'i -"v r
college abTYacedlle with notquIto
1 In his pocket.
How did he do ft 7
t Frugal, Indnstrtns, Energetic,
The old ,cpurt rords, in which his
guardian, makes tVports to - the ex.
ecu tors of. the molest Hoover estate,
teUr-tbe jblirTlragarj-ihdasttiotni,-energetic
Mr. Hoover lost both 4118
parents . when - hi .was a child. All
that was. left td him and his little
brother and nlafr was a house-and
lot, worth: aboul $1,000. The prpp
erty was sold, and the. proceeds used
to educate the tiree. Toang Herbert
v.ent to SalemiOre.. to livewith an
uncle. Dr.i- II.IJ. Minthorne. v.; Jits
uncle boardedand clothed tbe boy
without cbargl In November, 1889,
this unci!,; wlo was 'also the boy's
guardian, apjiled to the coart back
in Iowa ; for 1 60 with, which young
Herbert migit ; Purchase " a scholar
ship In a buness college.
"I tbiak,'komments the guardian,
"If he ihad tils scholarship be would
make use of it, and get fnU benefit
from it."" J - . i
.When thahoy was eighteen h. was
workiait in a real estate office, and"
supporting himself. He decided to
enter jLelahd Stanford 1 university
and .miko jnecbanical ehgineorias;a
tpecialty. -1- " - ':, '...; ? , - - -, ; Ia
' In. 1892 tomes the following report
from the boy's guardian in ha ccurt
- Phone 1CS7
LI oy d E. Ramcde:
BICYCLES 3d II0T0HCYCLE:
J
SUPPLIES AND HEP A7JL3
4 .
21U. IL'gh Ctrcet
WE WISH ALL A HAPPY NEW V.
- ' '. L...M. HUM;
Has Medicine liich will Cure any Known CI
:, . CHINESE IIEDICIKE Sc TEA CO.
153 High Street ; ' Phone 283 ' Calc
records.:- "Herbert has made 1 verv
good - progress - in his studies In : va
cation, and was credited by the facul
ty:, with six months' university work.
He jrnade $65 a month agisting with
a geological survey of Arkansas.'- !
No loafing in vacation time fru
gal, industrious, energetic
Salem has competiti
portatlon. You ran tr
line or river st-amcri '
Salem Is an eduontio.
has splendid schools,
university.
wmvtt
MWb I"!
1 T
I
I'll1'
,1 I. .
l ill
8S
hlAr, tJosr See il Thc
k Good tor At Thz-.
fM?MrR's Cash store.
. MONtV.... :
1 ' ' ! .
, ',." Irf V
K V"
Doa't complain but ro to the Farmers VCash Store and there you v.::i 'i.
' lto the high cost of li ving.'
4 -
J151 north nihCtrcct-,;