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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 1928)
THE OREGON STATESMAN FARMING AND INDUSTRIAL MAGAZINE SECTION. r SOME POTATO LORE BY SPUD AUTHOHITY Rotation Should Be Prac ticed, Good Seed Very Important, Etc. Fll PRICES IN UNITED STlTESiE BETTER THAN THEY WERE fl YEAR AGO E XPLAIN Mil OF THE NEW PUTS Tn preparing land and seed for 1 9 2 S planting of potatoes great care should be taken to insure the largest possible yield per acre, ac cording to potato authorities of the valley. It is common exper ience that seasons of low price are followed by seasons of medium and higher prices. Willie this is expected in Oregon in 1928. there is also expected another large crop of potatoes. In planting the land should be taken under consideration very thoroughly. New ground, legume sod. or land that otherwise is rich and that has sot been in potatoes or black cap raspberries for at least four years is best. If the legume sod is used this should be plowed in the late fall or early spring la order that the sod may thoroughly decay before planting time. This should be a shallow plowing four to five inehes in depth to be followed by a deep plowing when conditions are right previous to planting. In using this sod land or ma nured land it is important to in corporate this organic matter well with the soil that rotting may take place well before planting. And where potatoes are grown on pre vious fy need land It is important that an interval be had of at least four years between potato crops. to avoid infestations with diseases carried in the soil, sneh as wilL Another important factor in raising the successful potato crp U the selection of good seed, with out it the farmer does not get the return per acre or the quality he is entitled to for the work and money expended in raising the crop. Growers expecting to raise certified potatoes should get cer tified seed -and keep the tags for the eroD inspectors. Those who desire merely choice seed for com-1 mercial purposes may secure either certified or standard seed. Treating the seed is an item In preparation that is sadly neglected in Oregon, as the average yields show. One of the three methods ordinarily used is that with or ganic mercury, commercially known as Semeran Bel, which is effective in control of scab and rhizoctonia. The hot formaldehyde- treat ment of potatoes 'is one of the cheapest from the standpoint of first cost, but tends to retard 1 sprouting to some extent and ap parently reduces . the yield at times. If cost and results are to be considered the corrosive subli mate treatment consisting of 4 ounces to 30 gallons of water is considered the best. This should bo annlied before sprouting starts. Applying corrosive sublimate to nntntAM isrouted even a (Little retards the germination and may -reduce the stand, so the soaking should, be reduced to one hour when sprouting has just started. The time for soaking in normal eruditions is riven as one and one- half hours. This time can bo cut to 30 minutes where sprouting has made considerable progress. It is the general opinion that more prompt germination is ob tained with rather shallow plant er. Rich land, good seed, and proper treatment all made for greater production per acre. CCNT 200 l"5 150 J 25 J00 7i FARM PRICES ANO WHOLESALE PRICES OF 1 4 Who Ptfctsof No. F ""j I I I 1 1 I IIuIJhI-',;',!,,!,.!,,'.!,!,!,,'..!..!,,',,!, 1 nn.niii;.ir, ,.;.iM.nM-ii;i.:i;!MH",i:iH, lOtS HIS 1917 1916 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 lJ2i 1926. 1927 This Is An Interesting Study and Leads To Many Ben efits and Surprises WASHINGTON. Feb. IS CAP) Despite the decline la prices of cot ton and hozs 1923 onened wth a higher composite farm price than 1927. In contrast, federal charts show the wholesale price of non- agricultural products lower than a year ago. At the wholesale markets agri cultural prices in December aver aged lower than in November, and were responsible for a slight decline in the general commodity mice index, economists say. The moderate price Increases on most farm commodities have been off set by the decline in cotton and hogs. All commodities except wheat, hay. potatoes, eggs and chickens now are about last year's prices. Non-aeri cultural mices showed declines in textile products and building materials, with offsetting advances in prices of fuel and metals. Prospects for an improve ment is said to depend on the ex tent of recovery experienced by the two major industries respon sible largely for the 1927 recen sion, the automobile and iron and teel industries. Evidence of such improvement is seen in the fact that both production and orders increased during the latter part of December. While a seasonal rise is anticipated in these two indus tries, trade reports indicate that some reduction In cotton mill ac tivities Is to be expected. With non-agricultural prices at 151 per cent of their pre-was average, the decline in farm prices from 139 In October to 137 in De cember has reduced the relative exchange value of composite unit of farm products from" 92 to 91, compared with 89 a year ago. CALL FOR FLOWER SEEDS INCREASES The demand for flower seed seems to be slowly but surely ov ertaking the annual demand for vegetable seeds and it is even more necessary to order flower seeas early than it is vegetables for the stocks, particularly of new vari eties, are smaller than me vege table' supplies. The seed catalogues are now at hand for study. Get in seeds that need to be tarted in seed boxes in the house or in frames tor early bloom in the garden. Depend upon varie ties of known worth in your com munity rather than placing depen dence too largely upon noveiues. New plants need considerable test fnr as to their behavior in differ ent locations before an opinion as to tbtir real worth can be pro- nnrnrcil. but every gardener should try a few novelties each year. Ttnnroved strains of favorite old plants should always be ordered rather than from old timers, i ney r alwavs superior to the older types. This is particularly true of xinnias. asters, sweet peas and oth er standard annuals. Consider balance when order ing a certain number of seeds of plants for cuttings, others for bed ding, and still others for edging. The factor of foliage effect should be considered and a packet of cas tor beans or other plants valued for foliage effect should be in cluded. Another factor to consid er is fragrance. ' Provision for some sweetly scented plant m ine garden such as mignonette or night scented stock should be made. Seed of annual poppies, lark spurs and bachelors' buttons or eentaureas may be sown outdoors at the nresent time, allowing snow and rain to carry them into the oii and thev will germinate with the first breath of spring and give early bloom. These are the three hardiest annuals in toe gar den, Get in a supply of sweet peas to plant on St. Patrick's Day. This has now become the standard date for planting with successful sweet pea growers. When a heifer calf is raised for future addition to the dairy herd it is advisable to make friends with her while she is young. Han dle her kindly and teach her to lead with a rope or halter. Get her accustomed to a stanchion be fore she freshens. A little atten tion when the heifer is young will make brr a gentle and tractable cow. (The National Garden Bureau j has in its current bulletin an in-j teresting article on "The Making j of New Plants." as follows: J Where do we get the new plants 1 that arc Offered by dealers each j year? How is the interminable procession of novelties kept up? The making of new plants is1 one of the most fascinating de velopments of modern science for it is to scientific plant breeding that we owe most of them. For-i merly the chief source of supply rested in plant explorers scour-. Ing remote countries of the world and sending back new species of; plant Hfo that they discovered. As the surface of the earth becomes more carefully explored, this source for new garden material di minishes. Of late years the in terior of China and Thibet have yielded the greatest Quantities of new plants. Of the plants listed in commercial catalogues, the primroses have, perhaps shown the greatest number of auditions. Specialists list a hundred or so species and varieties, a large por tion of them brought into cultiva tion within the last 20 years. New varieties occasionally ap pear in plantations so distinct as to warrant being regarded as dis tinct species. These are known as mutants, a term applied by the Belgian scientist. Prof. Hugo De Vries. who devised the famous mutations theory to account for the appearance of new species of plants. There are continual slight variations in plants and by culti vating these slight variations through several generations new tvnes are often secured. The Shirley poppy owed its origin to a common red poppy showing a faint line of white on the petals Seed of this poppy was saved and sown through several generations, saving only those which showed in creasing white until now we have this race of pale-colored poppies. This process is known as selec tion. Professor DeVries declared that mutants were the result of dis continuous variation, the change coming at once and inexplicably. Some of our beat new varieties originate in this way. the dahlia- flowered xinnia being an example, according to some experts. The zinnia with curled petals appeared alone among a bed of thousands, and was segregated and found tA breed true. - The discovery of Mendel's law of heredity in 1865, which was not developed and put into practical application until some years later, has placed plant breeding on a scientific basis so that a breeder may estimate with reasonable cer tainty the resnlt of crosses that be makes, knowing from Mendel's law the proportion of plants he will get from a cross which will resemble each parent and those which will show a mingling of tha characteristics of both parents. ' When a desirable cross has been secured the next step is to "true up" that is. to inbreed it until all or most all of its seedlings re peat the desired qualities. This is called line breeding. Selection is a part of this process, that is taking only seedlings of the best form and color or possessing the characteristics for which the breeder seeks, and destroying all others. This work takes a number of years, In many cases, bnt when the work is completed we have a new race of plants for our gar dens. Only plants closely related win croes successfully. When they are remotely related they are known as wide crosses and seedlings are likely to produce monstrous forms or. if desirable, to prove sterile, that is, unable to form or produce seed. Breeding progress, there fore, stops. Such plants are known as -mules"' from their similarity to the domestic animal, which can not reproduce itself by mating with its kind. This is common among the pinks, the old Dtanthus Napoleon ITI being a mule pink. It can be propagated only by cat tings. But by far the greatest number of new varieties of our new plants and new strains of plants are tha result of scientific hybridisation. F. C. LUTZ NURSERY We plan and plant (free of charge), for homes, large or small, all kinds or ornamental shrub, perennials and rockery plants. Landscape work. 1800 Market Sc. Pbose 1608-B If ivory has become yellower than desired place in the snn to bleach. Faded muslins or linens may be bleached with chloride of lime -one teaspoonful to one quart of water. Soaking game in salt water over night takes out he strong flavor. Sell Your Furs at Home I Guarantee You More Money and a Square Deal at All Times WEST SIDE FUR HOUSE D. A. WHITE & SONS Carry DR. KORINEK'S Veterinary Remedies and Minerals "BUTTERCUP" When Yon Ask for Butter Buttercup Butter is for sale at every grocery store. Just say "Buttercup" and you will get a good high grade butter Capital City Cooperative Creamery Phone 209 OIL-0-MATIC . WHAT IS IT? SEE THEO. M. BARR Phone 192 Oakland Pontine Sales and Serrfce VICK BROS. High Street at Trade BRING IN YOUR NEW WHEAT And exchange it for hard wheat patent flour, or any of our long list of milling specialties. We do custom grinding. We sap ply what you need for what you have. CHERRY CITY MILLING CO. i Salem, Oregon. 481 Trade St. Phone S18 CAPITAL CITY BEDDING CO. 3030 Pacific Highway North PHONE 19 Phone or Write We Will Call First Class Renovating "3 r
