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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 29, 1928)
THE OREGON STATESMAN FARMING AND INDVS TRIAL MAGAZINE SECTION The Slogan Pages Are Yours; Aid in Making Them Helpful to Your Wonderful City and Seed on SALEM DISTRICT INDU -Fffimttlh CoimseciuittSve Yeas? THE STATESMAN dedicates several pages each week in the interest of the fifty-two to a hundred basic industries of the Salem District. Letters and articles from people with vision are solicited. This is your section. Help make Salem grow. Tie enow good GRAPES AT OREGON STATE HOSPITAL; HDW TO START THEM The Steward of the Oregon State Hospital- (Commonly Known as the Asylum for the Insane) Gives the Methods of Start ing, Pruning First Year, and Pruning of Bearing Vines, and Other Practices That Give Best Results in This District They grow good grapes at the Oregon State Hospital, and a quantity of them. This institu tion is more commonly known as the asylum for the insane. There are line locations for grapes on various parts of the extensive land holdings of the institution; especially on. what is known as the cottage farm, about three and a half miles southwest of the main buildings of the institution, which are located on laml included in the city limits of Salem, at the eastern end of Center street. Lee M. Lane, steward. i3 the grape man of the institution. He fur nishes the following general di rections for the beginner in this Sect ion : TIih purpose of this article is to give a general view of grape cul ture. A number of varieties do wejl in the valley, and the kind of grapes grown can be governed by personal requirements. Among the blue varieties are Campbell's Karly, Early Moore, Concord. White varieties are Sweet Water, Niagara. Red varieties are Ver dun and Delaware. How to Start Crapes are started by cuttings, it being an easy and ready means of getting the young plants. The cuttings should be made soon af- tf-r the vines become dormant in the fall. These should contain about four buds, cut from young, well matured wood. On the lower or butt end make a slanting cut close to the bud and on the upper or top end leave about an Inch of wood above the hub. The cut tings should be tied in small bun dles with the butt ends together, and place them in soil with the butt ends up, and cover them over Handled In this way, the butt ends, from which the roots will be produced, form a callous, while the top portion Is kept In a dor mant condition. When the cut tings are set out Jn the spring, the calloused end la ready to pro duce strong roots at once, before the buds develop sufficiently to take up the sap and plant food stored in the cutting. In the spring put the cuttings in a nurs ery row or in good soil and where they can be kept well cultivated and irrigated if possible during the summer. The following spring they should be set out in the per manent location. The planting should be made on "well drained soil, where they will get sun shine and good air drainage. The planting distance depends upon the variety, soil conditions and method of pruning. The strong "rowing varieties can be set 10 by 10 feet, although a Planting distance which gives eight feet between rows and 10 feet between the plants in the row will be found satisfactory. This will give the necessary growing space for the roots and good cir circulation of air for the vines After planting, keep well cultiva ted so as to produce as strong and vigorous a plant as possible the first year. The pruning This first year no support or pruning is necessary, although the young canes should be tied to a stake to get them out of the way for cultivating. The follow ing winter the vines should be pruned. The amount of pruning done will depend upon the growth. If small growth has been made, remove all but the strongest cane and cut thus back to two eyes. If one strong, well ripened cane has been produced, cut it back to the height at which the. head is to be formed (about 54 inches) and tie securely to the stake, removing all other canes. Both buds should be allowed to develop, so that the plant will not be set back by the accidental removal of one. All growth start ing from other buds should be re moved so as to concentrate all the growth activities into the two canes, one of which Is to become the trunk of the vine the succeed- THIS WEEK'S SLOGAN DID YOU KNOW that in the Salem district grapes of the Concord (American) grape family can be grown to perfection in immense quantities; that we have tens of thousands of acres of cheap lands suitable for grape growing; that Salem ought to be the Westfield of Ore gon, and the Salem district the Chautauqua grape belt of the Pacific Coast with many grape juice plants; that Salem ought to have great jelly and jam plants, using an immense annual tonnage of grapes; that there is and will be profit in grape growing, and a very great indus try in this line is within the grasp of Salem and sur rounding country, and that there is now more interest here than ever before in the industry? ing year. By the third year the vines should have erect, straight stems, with two or more canes for the head and from which the vine can be renewed each year. Pruning Rearing Vines In the pruning of beafing vines there, are several different systems, some of which are more or less complicated and require a trellis, and some that require much time for pruning and tying. Whatever system is employed, it is necessary to keep in mind that the fruiting branches are always produced on last season's growth, that "is, one year old canes. The condition and also the vigor of the plant should be taken into consideration when pruning. One system often used in commercial vineyards and well adapted for the small home planting is what ' 4s known as the four cane Knif-1 fen system. With this a trellis "of two wires is used, the bottom wire about 30 inches above the ground and the top wire about 54 inches. The cane to form the main trunk of the vine is carried up to the top wire and two canes are trained along each wire, mak ing four inches for each vine. Each year's pruning consists in cutting away all the tops except tne four most vigorous canes pro duced the preceding season. With well established vines these are shortened back so as to allow about 10 buds to each of the up per Janes and 5 buds for the two lower ones. Other canes coming out near the main trunk can be cut ' back to two buds, that is. spurs, for the purpose of getting new canes for the next season's fruiting wood. The canes left should be carried along the vines and secured to them by tying with string, precaution being taken not to tie too tightly so as to check the flow of sap, as the cane en large with growth. Ikm't Itemov FolUuje In this valley the vines can be pruned any time during the dor mant season. Where possible the pruning should not be done later than the middle of the following March. About that time the so called "bleeding"' of The vines oc curs at all cut surfaces: and while this is not serious, it is not a good plan to prune when the sap runs from the cuts. However, if the vines have not been pruned at the proper time, and the buds have started to swell, it is better to do it then than not at all. The removal of foilage from tne growing vines is not to be recom mended. Grapes ripen best where the fruit is in the shade. Thinning of the fruit is a good practice. for, with any system of pruning and training, a vine often pro duces more fruit than It can ma ture properly. The thinest bunches can be removed as soon as the ber ries are well formed, resulting in a decided improvement in the re maining fruit, especially as o size and appearance of the re maining bunches. Not Much Manure Grapes do not require much manure. A good rule to follow in this respect is never to apply ma nure as long as the vines are mak ing a satisfactory growth. A growth that is firm, well matured and moderate in quantity is more satisfactory than long, rapid growth. When fertilizers are needed, use those with a small SALEM 0U9HT TO BECOME BIG GRAPE CENTER BELIEVE OUR 11116 FO I! n Some Excerpts from the Prize Articles Written by i School Pupils for the Grape Slogan Number of the m man of Last Year There Were Nine Contestant in(j They Furnished Many Interesting Facts. In the Slogan article contest by public school pupils in the annual grape number of last year, printed in The Statesman of April 29, 197, there were nine articles sub mitted. Some excerpts from those articles are interesting in review.' Helen Burk, Salem, was the first prize winner. Her concluding par agraph said: One of the most important of grape products is the dried fruit, raisins. Certain varieties are grown for this as well as for wine. Also grpes in their raw state are a de licious and wholesome food, and we have grape sugar, grape vine gar, grape jelly, grape juice and grape gum. There is, too, a grape cure for some diseases, which con sists 'of feeding the patient on grapes. This is more common, how ever, in foreign countries than here." Olive Josephine Anderson. Sa lem, the second prize winner, said, among other things: "The grape is a very old plant. It is now one of the most important food fruits raised. Grapes in the Willamette valley are not raised to as great an extent as the climate and soil war rant. Grapes are one of the most used foods because thev can be ' fixed in bo many different ways and contain many food properties the body needs." Valmer Klampe, Rt. 9. Salem, concluded his article as follows: "Much of the land around Salem could be utilized to advantage in the growing of any of the varieties best suited to this section, such as the Niagra, Concord. Worden, To kay or Brighton. The only disad vantage which I can see is the probability ' of early frosts, but even then there are places to which this disadvantage does not extend. A grape arbor is not only a useful, but an attractive addition to any home." Dorothy Porter, also Kt. 9, Sal lem. told a great deal about crane j culture. Gave very complete direc tions. Naomi Hornschuch, Labish Cen ter school, said, among other things: "Grapes are among the princi pal small fruits of Oregon. They are mostly grown in the Willam ette valley, though they are grown in a few other parts. The main variety grown grown in the United States is Concord, so called because first grown in Concord. Massa chusetts. The fruit is chieflv used for raisins and for the manufac ture of wine, though much of the crop is also put on the ni.. table use. The grape is su; be the oldest cultivated '. it has been known to civ tions from time immenii supposed that Phoenici duced the fruit into whence it spread into Kr. California grape culture gun by Spanish missionan. 1771. " Esther Cook. Salem, s. grape is known as far bal history of Noah; that i: fruit for many years; sonu being found to be 500 to 0u" old. Geraldine Porter. Rt. 9. told about pruning. Gave i directions. Raymond Claggett. Kei, . school, said in conclusion: Salem district can grow gr. because it has the required m.. and climate. So why don't Salt -u, become a grape center?" Jean L. Graham. Salem, sai l grapes are the surest crop of auy of our fruits. lens.' ope: TEXAS FIRM YOUTH TJKES HIS CUTTLE ALONG TO COLLEGE LUBBOCK, Texas. April 2s -(AP) Needed on the farm, but eager to couiplete his education ( w- S--- 1 Jf ' k I 4M j E. C. BR.ITA1N. JR amount of organic matter, such as wood ashes, or commercial fertil izer containing superphosphate and potash. In the case of sandy or gravelly soils, a liberal appli cation of barnyard manure can be made with satisfactory- result. E. C. Britain. Jr.. took a nar- of the farm with him t college He brought from his hom nt-ur Amarillo a herd of 21S head f cattle and put them in fattening pens not far from the campus or the Texas Technologlca'l colleg He is preparing the Hereford t ..." market while he is preparing him self for the law. Britain Is a Junior. CrS TCI f