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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (May 6, 1928)
The Laws of Nature Decree This To Be the Crude Drug Center of The Country SOME DAY THERE WILL. BE A CRUDE DRUG GARDEN' OS EVERY FARM IN THIS WHOLE VALLEY; , THIS JFarinninMg Maga ainidi me tadosfcsial ection mm mm WAY BETTER THAN LAST YEAR WILL COME ABOUT IN THE NATURE OF THINGS--B EC A USE W E A N :'; r.ci w THF.V THAN :THEP f- E'T!OV j SEVENTY-EIGHTH YEAR SALEM, OREGON, SUNDAY MORNING, MAY 6, 1928 PRICE FIVE CENTS SPONTANEOUS FARM FIFES are cosnr The Account for a Big Pro portion of Annual Farm Fire Loss in U. S. ENGINEERS FIND NEW FOOD SOURCE MID HO F THE CUFF DWELLERS; IRRIGATION SYSTEM THAT WAS CONSTRUCTED FIFTEEN HUNDRED OR MORE YEARS AGO Loss of a hay barn through fire caused by spontaneous combustion at the very time the barn and the hay in it were standing in three feet of water was one of the spe cific examples cited by David J. Price of the United States depart ment of agriculture, as indicating the need for extensive research in to the problem of what is common ly known as "spontaneous combus tion." particularly of agricultural products such as hay, and other cattle feeds. Mr. Price, who is the engineer in charge of such studies in the bureau of chemistry and soils, included a discussion of this problem in an address at Phila delphia, April 25 before- the insur ance department of the Wharton school of finance and commerce at the University of Pennsylvania. The Vermont Case In New England the dairy farm ers require a considerable supply of hay and other feeds for the win ter feeding of their herds. Much of this hay is stored in bays reach ing from the floor to the roof of the dairy barn. In. the striking and unusual llustratlon he cited, the barn was located in the region flooded in Vermont last fall. Flood waters entered many barns, and In this one wet the hay to a depth of 17 feet. As the flood waters reced ed intense beat production follow ed in the mass of wet hay. "Spon taneous heat production began In lower layers," Mr. Pierce said, "and the hot gases rising .through the stacks caused strong draughts or flues. The moisture ' thus carried upward condensed in the cooler parts of the hay or In the air above, wetting the hay in the .immediate area. So many of these draughts existed in some piles that the hay was thoroughly soaked. - Temperatures in typical flues' ranged from 116 to more than 165 degrees Fahrenheit. This barn experienced the height of the flood on Friday morning. Novem ber 4, and burned late Monday af ternoon, November 7. Much heat ing was observed on Sunday and Monday a distinct odor of char ring was noticeable. The Total Larrge "This was only one of many fires during last year caused by spontaneous combustion. This com bined with unknown causes results in approximately $60,0Q0,000 loss each year to the farmers of the United States, and accounts for more than one-third of all the an nual farm fire loss of $150,000,- 00. In the national fire bill of $570, 000,000 loss to the nation, spon- Continued on pa(c 8.) V v. A ?f 1 ' V ' ft 2 XZJ Him , . n ' vx cx ''' ' mi " Modern improvements la the Irrigation system of the ancient cliff dwellers in the San Joan Titer basia of the southwest, would open to agriculture 600,000 additional acres. The cliff dwellers, who dwelt In habitations like those above, sought to control the scant water supply 1,500 years a 70 with such crude check' dms as the one at the right below. Irrigation today could make much of the land like the section In the Han Juan valley near Farmlngton, N. SI., shown at the lower left. NEW RICH RECORDS OF OREGON JERSEYS Gold Medal Bun of McKee of Perry dale; a Great Cow at Hoskins By Frank I. Welder (Associated Prc& Farm ttdttor) m WASHINGTON, May i (AP). Back in the San Juan river ba sin, amid the ruins of an ancient age and-race, hydraulic engineers purpose to do by modern science what a prehistoric' people sought to fashion in their rude and un trained way. Today, as in the centuries long bufied with their dead,-' the chief problem is- water conservation. The region hae a scant supply of - rainfall, - stretching eastward from the Colorado river through Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. There, archeologists - say. among the. desert plains and-steep-walled valleys, the basket-weavers lived 2,000 years before the Christian era.1 Later came Hie cliff dwel lers, to leave battered ruins of a civilization un rat homed despite the relics of its art. To the cliff dwellers, whose fa-i bled wealth Spanish explorers tried to find in 1541, is given credit for the staunch ronetrnc- lion of numerous check dams.stUl l functioning as planned by primi tive engineers. Built of rock and reaching from bank to bank across the narrow rivulets and streams, they retard the flow of water and build up tiny reser voirs, as a guard against months of drought. - Whatever the prosperity of the past or the importance of the re gion as the seat of a forgotten in habitation, its present utilization for mining or agricultural pur poses is not extensive, owing part ly to its remotenefa from the main transcontinental routes. It is re plete with natural wonders, and the magnitude of its ruins indi cates that as one of the oldest set tled regions in the United State it had a picturesque part in hu man affairs. Fifteen hundred years after construction of the singular "ir rigation system," the federal geo logical survey has made an inves tigation of the water resources of the area and their present and potential utilization. " C E. IKue, hydraulic engi neer, found the San Juan river the second largest tributary of the Colorado river and, like that stream, to have unused water re sources sufficient to sustain large developments in agriculture and water power. The,present power demands are email and are supplied by less than 7.500 horsepower generated in four plants. The undeveloped power resources consist of 10 power sites capable of yielding. with storage. about 280.000 horsepower. Undeveloped agricultural re sources al30 are of large magni tude. More than 600,000 acres are capable of irrigation, but at pres ent less than 160,000 acres of the region are irrigated. Authorities say the lands can produce a wide diversity of agricultural products and ultimately may ; become a large contributor to the national food supply. A curling Iron makee a good stretcher for the fingers of gloves after they have been washed. (The following two news items concerning great Oregon Jerseys are sent out by the American Jer sey Cattle club, 324 West 23rd street. New York:) New Gold Medal Ball The purebred Jersey bull. Pop py's George is now listed in the roster of gold and silver medal bulls. He was recently awarded his gold medal by the American Jersey Cattle club for the produc tion records made by three of his daughters. He has IS daughters which have been officially tested and three of these daughters have won gold medals and three have won silver medals. This makes Pcppy's George a gold and silver medal ball. He is owned by W. H. McKee of Perrydale, Ore., and his medal daughters were tested by Mr. McKee. The three daughters of Poppy's George that qualified for gold medals on official production tests are: George's Phoebe Lamb won her gold medal with her official record of 610.05 pounds of butter fat and 11, 58 pounds of milk. This production test was started when she was five years and three months of age and she was with calf for 189 days of the 10 months. Phoebe Lamb won a sil ver medal as a Junior four year old when she produced 570.61 pounds of butterfat and 11,596 pounds of milk. Dreamer Wonder is the highest record daughter of this gold med- al sfrp. In a 365-day official pro i duction test made in mature form i she produced 819.07 pounds of butterfat and 14,155 pounds of mikk. She was with calf for 2 IS days while making this excellent record. As a senior four year old she produced 626 17 pounds of butterfat and 10,619 pounds of milk, with calf.; The third medal daughter. Pol ly Cod's Grapefruit, is both a gold and silver medal cow. In her test started in senior four year old form she produced 717.36 pounds of butterfat and 13.927 pounds of milk in 365 days. She carried calf while making this record and thus won both her gold and silver med als. In addition to having 18 tested daughters Poppy's George has one proven son, Cobben's Queen's Lad, which has eight daughters with official production records, in cluding one silver medal cow. Poppy's George is by tb silver medal bull, St. Mawea Golden Poppy, a son of the great gold and silver medal bull, Rosaire's Olga Lad. out of St. Mawes Poppy, the gold medal cow which has three (Centiaued ou pace 8.) OAC MUST HAVE AN EXPERIMENTAL CRUDE DRUG GARDEN
