THE OREGON STATESMAN FARMING AND INDUSTRIAL MAGAZINE SECTION,
FARMING AND INDVSTRJAL
MAGAZINE SECTION OF.
THE OREGON STATESMAN
TttJS SX&TESXAH PUBLISHING COMPA1VT
X9 C Qiiiwriil Straei, Salem. Orr-
HMIftAJt OT TUB
, ft rp TWrl to it ar Bt iWnmil
na. lat. PtirUa4. BraritT
Anfos. (Xtsmbar OncMra BUt.
Tbomaa r. Chrk Oh. ltov Tork. 123-136
XEixrHon
Put Offioo in Sla, Orasoa. a aaaaa'-elaaa
WE SHOULD GROW SPINACH WITH A COLLEGE
EDUCATION AND IN LARGE QUANTITIES
; Robert Dollar, the great ship owner and merchant prince,
told a friend of the writer recently that he would be glad to
have dehydrated spinach in quantities for his ships and for
nxarkets where his ships land and trade
A quality product in quantity supply, such as the Salem
5strict can furnish ; has famished in the past, and in regular,
(dependable supply.
Salem is bringing' from outside markets an increasing
monthly tonnage of spinach.
in Salem is bound to keep on
population, and in greater ratio than the increase in our
population. This fact is creditable to the good sense of our
consumers ; though it is the opposite of creditable to our
growers, who should be supplying all we can use, of the best
quality, the whole year through, besides shipping away great
quantities of it, and thus adding a large and steady commun
ity cash income.
Spinach is called the "broom of the stomach f it is both a
food and a medicine, and so general is its use now that it is
classed as a staple, for there are many people who insist
upon eating spinach every day.
We had a considerable spinach industry in the Salem dis
trict a few years ago, joining up our growers with the
dehydration plant
And no doobt the industry in this branch of it will be
revived sooner or later, because spinach is a vegetable that
lends itself well to dehydration.
For the iron in it, and for the vitamins and the vegetable
salts, the use of spinach will persist and increase
And there is no reason why our farmers and gardeners
should not grow a car lot supply here, to go to distant points,
developing a market on a quality product, the same as has
been done with oar celery and our head lettuce, and is prom
ised with our asparagus, and other vegetables.
The production of spinach of a high quality in commercial
quantities, and with sufficient tonnage to make it profitable
to grow, is a specialized industry. Any gardener, on almost
any kind of land found here, can grow some spinacli
But this does not mean spinach that will sell on quality
above the market prices for the vegetable grown elsewhere.
This specialization has been brought to success here in the
case of celery and head lettuce and it can be brought to
success in the case of spinach.
Every kitchen or home garden should have some spinach,
and two crops should be raised, and some of it should be
canned at-home, or the commercially canned or dehydrated
article should be used when it cannot be had in the fresh
form.
Spinach is nearly as important in the dietary as milk;
Dates of Slogans in
(With a few possible changes)
Loganberries. October fc, 19X7
Prunes. October IS
Dairying. October 20
Flax, October 27
Filberts, November 3
"Walnuts, November 10
Strawberries. NoTember 17
Apples, Figs. Etc. Not. 24
Raspberries. December 1
J?ist. December 8
Beans, Etc. December IS
Blackberries, December 23
Cherries, December 29
Pears, January S, 19S8
Gooseberries, January 12
Corn, J an nary 19
Celery. January 28
Spinach, Ktc February K
Onions, Etc, February 12
Potatoes, Etc, Febroary 19
Bees, February 2C
Poultry and Pet Stock, Mar. 4
City Beautiful, Etc March 11
Great Cows, March 18
Paved Highways, March 26
Head Lettuce, April 1
Silos. Etc.. April 8
Lego Dies, April 15
Asparagus. Etc, April 22
ASSOCIATED PKESS
MUM to the &M tar
of all
critrtu a tki
W. 2 1st 6k.; Chaeat. Mwgtitli BMc
r 0
Ombtin OCT
The consumption of spinach
growing with our growing
Oregon Statesman
Grapes. Etc, April 29
Drug Garden, May 6
Sugar Industry, May 13
Water Powers, May 20
Irrigation, May 27
Mining. June 3
Land, Irrigation, Etc, June 10
Floriculture. June 17
Hops, Cabbage, Etc. June 24
Wholesaling, Jobbing, July 1
Cucumbers, Etc, July 8
Hogs July IS
Goats. July 22
Schools, Jury 29
Sheep, August 5
Seeds, August 12
National Advertising, Aug. 1 9
I J restock. August 26
Grain Grain Products, Sept. 2
Manufacturing. Sept. 9
Woodworking, Etc, Sept. 16
Automotive Industries. Sept 23
Paper Mills, Sept. 30
(Back copies of the Thurs
day edition of The Daily Ore
gon Statesman are on hand.
They are for sale at 10 cents
each, mailed to any address.
Current topics 5 cents.
and every up-to-date rrran and woman now knows that a
virile race cannot be sustained without milk, nor healthy
children raised, nor old people kept in proper condition.
One of the greatest arguments in favor of spinach grow
ing commercialy in the Salem district is the fact that the
spring crop will furnish a cash return early in the season
when money is needed for the cultivation of other crops. And,
in the same way, it adds materially to the net returns from
any given number of acres of land under cultivation.
But we must grow spinach "with a college education;"
quality spinach, a lot of it to the acre; and this will take
special locations and specialized treatment and specialized
fertilization of the soiL
And moreover it is a prospective valuable crop for green
house cultivation, for our home 'markets, and for shipping
fresh to the cities and towns up and down the coast and to
the big city markets throughout the country
And the growing of a quality crop for car lot shipments
would also lead to a great and growing demand from our
canners, who could command a wide market if they could
guarantee a strictly quality output.
The next annual Slogan subject for the Farm and Industrial
Magazine Section of the Sunday Statesman is onibns. A
strong subject, and a big one in this onion center of Oregon,
and onion set center of the western half of the United States.
GUI IIP IE
' SOIL DICTIONS
The mechanical condition of
garden soil is quite as important
as its fertility. It Is not advisable
to apply fertiliser to soil which is
not in the proper condition to re
reive it. and make it available to
plants.
The two extremes of poor soil,
from a mechanical standpoint, are
stiff clay and pure sand. The first
may be fertile, but because its par
ticles are so fine and closely
packed together, it is difficult for
plants to obtain from It the nour
ishment which they need. In pure
sand there is no plant food; and
this sort of soil refuses to hold
water at all. The ideal garden
soil is a sandy loam, in which
there is clay, sand, and a plentiful
supply of humps, or decayed or
ganic matter. It should hold wa
ter like a sponge which is squeez
ed, the excess water running off
but leaving the soil moist.
To loosen clay, and make its
fertility available to plants, onJ
must add humus, sand, or other
coarse materials, and line. Lime
should be used on clay soils al
ways, unless one expects togrow
in tbem plants which demand an
acid soil, because lime not only
makes not only makes clay soils
sweet, but it makes them coarse.
It sets up a force which causes the
clay particles to collect in larger
grains.
On sandy soils having little
humus, however, lime may cause
damage and Us use should be con
sidered with some care. There
are plants which prefer an acid
soil, such as the Japanese irises.
Japanese Ifllies, potatoes, azaleas,
rhododendrons, and some even
greens. Most garden plants either
prefer a sweet soil, or are indif
ferent to this condition.
On sandy soils, clay may often
be added, provided it is dry and
finely broken up, and not lumpy.
In both clay and sandy soils, hu
mus must be added regularly, and
in quantities as large as one can
manage. Any animal or vegetable
material which has decayed is
humus; and if added to soil will
color the soil black.' A compost
heap in which all such material
is piled to decay is a garden sav
ings bank which pays high inter
est. One -way to obtain humus Is
to grow a crop of clover, vetch, or
other green crop, and plow it
under.
In these days of scientific horti
culture, every gardener hears a
great deal about humus and its
necessity. For practical purposes,
it is the decayed vegetable ma
crla! that mak- black dirt." Al-
Ill
CAN
own BUCK I
I though scientists are still debat
I lng its real nature, all the gar
j dener needs to know about it is
that he needs I in his sou if he is
to have a good) garden and it be
comes more difficult each year to
get the standard prescription for
supplying humus, decayed stable
manure.
Decayed stable manure of good
quality is-vthe ideal material and
should be nsed liberally wherever
obtainable. The shredded cow
manure of commerce is valuable
for the purpose, having more body
than the pulverised sheep manure
which is of higher fertilizing
value, but both are expensive to
be used in the quantity needed
for a humus supply. Stable ma
nure, besides being a chief source
of humus, is also a "complete"
fertilizer, in that it contains the
food supplies the plant needs in
the way of phosphates, potash
and nitrogen. Such stable ma
nure as is now available, unfor
tunately is of poor quality.
Humus is of great mechanical
importance in soil aside from the
plant food it contains as it holds
moisture in suspension and pre
vents the plants suffering from
drought as they do in sandy soils
where the moisture quickly seeps
away. It also adds to the texture
of the soil-. Text"u is the quality
that makes the soil easy to work
and makes it break apart readily
and crumble when dry.
Farmers maintain a supply of
humus by green manuring, that
is. planting green crops and turn
ing them under to decay. This is
hardly practical in a small garden
which would have to be sacrificed
for an entire season" for "a thor
ough green manuring. The main
dependence now is upon composts
of waste vegetable matter and
owing to the dearth of natural or
stable manures, scientists have
turned their attention to the pro
duction of synthetic humus pro
ducing compounds which are tak
ing the place of the stable manure.
By the use of chemical compounds,
any gardener may have his humus
heap at hand to build up his soil.
CEMENT LOADS COX&CmyCK
MADISON. Wis. The state
treasurer was thankful for a 5
contribution from a confessed
thief who wanted to relieve his
conscience, ut puzzled as to how
the theft was ever made In the
first place. The writer said he
stole two barrels of cement.
GIDEON STOLZ CO.
Manufacturers of
Vinegar, Soda Water,
Fountain Supplies
Salem Phone 20 Ore.
W. W. ROSEN BA UGH
COMPANY
Manufacturers of
Warm Air Furnaces, Fruit Dry
ing Stoves, Smoke Stacks.
Tanks, Steel and Foundry
Work. Welding a Specialty.
1 7th Oak fct. SaJem. Ore.
EU SOWING
FOR THE ANNUS
To secure a full season of
bloom, many annuals must be
sown either in the house or In a
frame to give thjem an early start.
July 1 marks the opening of the
season for annuals and from then
to the close of the season they
keep the garden a continual show
of bloom. The old-fashioned seed
box in a sunny window is a prac
tical way, lacking a hotbed or
greenhouse, to get this early start.
Any shallow box with good
drainage provided by boring holes
in the bottom and filled with mel
low soil will serve excellently for
an early seed flat. Plants that
need an early 1 1 rt are snap
dragons, . stocks, petunias, ver
benas, sweet peas, and f cosmos.
Others may be sown outdoors aa
soon ajs weather conditions per
mit. Sow the seed thinly even in.
the seed boxes. Have extra boxes
filled with soil ready to transplant
into when the seedlings reach suf
ficient size sdr that they touch
each other. By thin sowing trans
pi anting la made easier and there
is smaller loss of plants.
The soil should be sifted for
the seed box and carefully leveled
and firmed. A brick is excellent
for this purpose. The seed is best
sown in xows instead of the old
fashianed methpd of broadcasting
it. It is easier to handle the seed
lings In transplanting. Cover the
box with a pane of blass and keep
moist but not wet. Wipe, the
moisture from the glass as it ac
cumulates so it will not drip upon
the seedlings and start damping
off, a fungus disease that often
destroys seedlings when they are
small. Remove the glass for a
few moments from time to time
after germination to harden the
plants and to minimise the chances
Of damping off.
Annuals may be started in a
cold frame to good advantage but
this will require later sowing
when the temperature has reached
a. point where It will not freeze
the earth in the frame, usually
about April 1 In the northern half
of the country. Tho most effec
tive use of annuals is in borders
of various combinations of colors
such asblue and pink, mauve and
rose, orange and yellow, scarlet
and orange and other color
schemes.
JUDGE TURNS SANTA
WASHINGTON. Mich. Several
days ago a young man came to
Washington penniless and in
search of a job. When he failed to
find employment he asked the po
lice to arrest htm as a vagrant so
that he might be sent to Jail and
out of the cold. They did. but
when the story was told to Judge
Hitt. he instead of passing sen
tence passed bis hat around the
courtroom, collecting more than
$10. Then Attorney Harry Whe
lan Btepped forward and promised
to take care of the youth and get
him a job.
LABOR-SAVING DEVICE
HUGiLRS Ark. Moonshiners In
East Arkansas are getting lazy,
federal agents think. Raiders
found a live terrapin at the bot
tom of a still near here recently.
It was put there, they saaJd, to
keep the mash stirred.
I B. DT7KSMOO&
Salem Wicker Furniture
, Manufacturing Co.
W fUill nirfct
GsiraiM RUn Rpd Quality
Rpairjtig. Refininbin. Fpholntnriag
22 IS Stat St.. Satom. Oregon
DEPENDABLE
WELDING
i
Electric and Acetylene
C. D. OPPEN
Phones: 372; Rcs.-2086-J
95 MAI St. Salem, Ore.