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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (April 14, 1929)
v. , 1 Thp New OREGON STATESMAN. Salem. Oregon, Sunday Morning. April 14, 1929 There Is Glorious Qrow&h In Our Increasing ' IlegMune &rops High Authority on Alfalfa Growing Talks Over Radio On Benefits and Practices O. T. McWhortor, County Agent of Washing ton County, Gives Facts Concerning What Has Been Done in Boosting Grimm O. T. McWhorter, county agri cultural agent for Washington county, has taken a losg lead in promoting the growing of Grimm alfalfa In the Willamette vaney conferring benefits of monumental proportions. On Saturday, April 6, Mr. Mc Whorter gave a talk over KGW, of the Portland Orezonian. at the noon hour, his subject beins "Al falfa in Washington County. Ore. mn oicemts from this broad- raxted address, being as follows 'Since 1922 almost 4500 acres of firimm alfalfa have been planted In Washington county; greatly aiding dairying by supplying a de oeudable source of high quality legume hay in winter and green feed during the summer months, rutting dairy feed bills and mak ing dairying a more profitable pursuit; alfalfa also being used as' pasture by swine raisers and as green feed by poultrymen; and ,12.000 to 15.00 tons of hay U now produced annually from the alfalfa fields. I How It Was Started ii Sherman Hyre of Hillsboro. who -planted hie first trial plot of al ifalfa la 1920. haa pef haps done ftaore than any otfcer .man In ! Washington county to demonstrate successful methods of alfalfa cul ture to that locality, and in 1923-24-25 many field meetings were held on his farm by the O. A. C. extension service; caravans some times came from adjoining coun ties, and individual callers were numerous. Mr. Hyre selected deep, well drained EOile, seeded Grimm alfal , fa without a nurse crop on a thor oughly prepared and firm seed bed, and inoculated the seed with .the nitrifying bacteria so neces pary for the best alfalfa growth, and finally seeded the crop about corn planting time. Sandy soils may require earlier seeding. Unsuccessful trials at alfalfa growing prior to 1920 had includ . rd seeding that crop with oats. wheat, barley; and Inoculation 'was not practiced. Therefore suc cess was bo seldom that alfalfa cul ture as a countywide practice had v made no headway previous to the " flemonstrations by Mr. Hyre. Returns From Alfalfa Alfalfa yields in the county vary from three and a half tons for three cuttings on the less, favor able soils to as much as seven tons annually on the more fertile soils. Terbaps the average conservative yield per acre can be placed at tihnnt three and a half to four tons annually. Ben Heesacter of Verboort com munity reoorts that In 1928 he cut two and a half tonsi an acre for th first croD. a ton and a half from the second and a ton from the third, all of which he sold at $20 a ton, making a gross income of 1100 an acre. L. W. Guild of the Farmlngton community reports that he saved his first crop for stock feed, and sold his second and third crops totaling three tons at $17 a ton. giving him $51 an acre gross for his second and third cuttings. In Washington county, however, we are not so much concerned with the raisins of alfalfa hay for tale as we are in raising It for eow fee. DaJryingMa tie backbone of the county's perma nent agriculture. It Is argued that the profitable fruits and berries of the county will be raised on farms where dairying Is practiced: that where barnyard manures are returned to the soils the highest yields of quality fruits and berries are obtained. Important to All Alfalfa Is therefore of impor tance to practically all branches of Washington county agriculture; especially to the lgrestock Indus try ana to laose icrmers wno en gage In fruit raising on dairy farms. A few of the farmers of the county who are depending on al falfa for dairy fed are: GeoTge Blersdorf tc Sons. Cornelius; Jas. Batehelder. North Plains; Edw. Fruendenthal, Hillsboro; J. J. VanKleek, Beaverton, Rt. J; W. T. Putnam 6 Sons. Hillsboro, Rt. 5; A. J. Evers. Verboort; Chaa. Herb, Banks, Rt. 1; Montgomery Turner. Banks, Rt. 3; L. L. Craw ford, Manning, and the list grows too long to continue. " R. Hornbeeker of Hillsboro, Rt, S fs making use of alfalfa for hog raising on a larger scale than Is usually practiced here; many oth er names could be added. Alex 'Chalmera of Forest Grove, RL 3 produces alfalfa to use In his feeding program with Shorthorn cattle. Henry Beach of North Dates of Slogans in (With a few possible ehanges) Loganberries, October 7, It IS. Prunes, October 14. Dairying, October SI. flax, October 21. filberts, November 4. Walnuts, November 11. Strawberries, November It. Apples, Tigs, etc Nor. SI. Raspberries, December S. Mint, December t. Beans, etc., December It. Blackberries, December St. Cherries, December SO. Pears, January t. It If. Gooseberries, January IS. Com, January SO.- y Celery, January S7. Spinach, etc, February S. Onions, etc February. 10. Potatoes, ote February 17. Bees, February S4. Poultry and Pet Stock, Mar. S. City Beautiful, etc March 10. Great- Cows, March 17. . -Paved Highways, March 14. Head Lettuce, March 31. Silos, etc April 7. Legumes, April 14. Asparagus, etc April SL Plains raises alfalfa for sheep feeding, as do others of the coun ty. Poultrymen of the county of ten allow poultry to run on grow ing alfalfa or cut it and place it in feed racks for poultry to feed upon. Roils for Alfalfa Deep soils having excellent nat ural drainage are the ones recom mended for alfalfa. Tile drained lands and those having the water tabl close to the surface are not so good, nor . are those with a more or less impervious subsoil. On poorly drained soils or those with a more or less impervious subsoil the result Is most often failure, involving I033 of time and money. Be sure the soil Is right before planting alfalfa. Your county agent, successful growers, or O. A. C. experts can give proper advice. Lands of a sandy nature are ideal alfalfa soils if drained deep ly through natural processes. The crop thrives on practically all Washington county soils where the drainage is correct. lime and Manure Alfalfa is a gross feeder and cannot thrive on poor or vforn out soils; but soils that have run down in fertility have produced fair returns of alfalfa per acre, wnere lime or Darn yard manure has ben used. 'Lime or barnyard manure or both are seemingly essential for the best results with alfalfa." However, there are several suc cessful fields of alfalfa in the county which have had only barn yard manure. It Is advised to use ground llmerock at rates of not less than 2,000 pounds per acre. This is the safer procedure to fol low. Since last fall some 10 to 12 carloads of lime have been shipped into Washington county to use with alfalfa plantings. About llmerock, do not go by the rule of guess. Ask the county agent, or inquire of the college Ground llmerock is supplied at your own state lime plant at Sa lem. Preparation of Soils Preferably, plow In the fall land to be seeded the following spring. Work lightly in the spring till about corn planting time, when most alfalfa is seeded. This con stant shalow cultivation destroys the weeds, conserves the mois ture, and prepares a firm seed bed with about two inches of loose soil on top. Do not work soil too deeply, losing moisture. It is important to hold the moisture over the whole field by frequent shallow cultivation. Can one plow the land in the spring and then seed alfalfa? It has been done In Washington county but far too many who have tried it have lost so much of the soil moisture that poor stands or failures have resulted. The gen eral trouble with spring plowing Is that one waits until the ground is too dry before plowing, or the plowed land is let lay and dry out after plowing. Methods of Seeding General recommendation, 12 to 14 pounds of seed per acre broad casted; rale of O. A. C. experts. In Washington county, farmers usualy run over the prepared soil with a eultipacker; leaving the soil in tiny ridges. If this is fol lowed with the seeding process immediately, before the small crevices left by the eultipacker till with toil, the seed mostly falls In these amall crevices en firm dirt. Then follow with a spike toothed harrow with the teeth slanted back and cutting just enough to level the soil and fill the crevices; covering the seed to proper depth and leaving: the greater part of the seed In rows and on firm solL Deep harrow ing to cover should be avoided. When drilling the seed eight pounds of good seed . Is often enough.' The difficulty with most drills Is that they seed too deep ly at times, too shallow at other times, and that some' drillholes drop the seed too thickly or be come clogged. Most drills seed ing eight pounds per acre do a poor 'Job, and uneven stands re sult, for small plots, the gardes drill does splendid work: the rows are usually seven or eight Inches apart. Grlatm Variety Only Grimm alfalfa, with its branch- Oregon Statesman Grapes etc, April St. Drug Garden, May S. ' 8ugar Industry, May IS. Water Powerr, May It. Irrigation, May St. Mining, Juno S. Land, Irritation, etc., June. t. -Floriculture, June It. Hops, Cabbage, etc, June St. Wholesaling, Jobbing. June St. Cucumbers, etc. Jury 7. Hogs, July 14. Goats, July SI. Schools, July St. Sheep, August 4. Seeds, August 11. . National Advertising. Aug. II. Livestock, August SI. Grain Grain Products, Sept. 1 Manufacturing, Sept. S. Woorworklng, etc. Sept! II. Automotive Industries Sept. 22. Paper Mills, Sept. St. - (Back copies of the Sunday edition ot The 1 Dally Oregon Statesman are on band. They are for sale at 10 cents each, mailed to any address. Current topics. cents. UMPOUA VALLEY IS HDB ALFALFA New Crop is Rendering the Dairying Industry There Profitable Line The Roseburr Review of the 10 th, under heading. "Dairy Men Prosper," has the following as its leading editorial: Says a correspondent in writing to the News-Review and talking of the dairying Industry: "I am convinced, after having tried It out. that dairying will pay as well, and in most instances bet ter. than any other phase of farm ing on our soils on which alfalfa can bo crown. My reasons are two fold: The Income is steady end sure: the soli is growing mo fertile rather than being depleted "The writer quoted above knows what he is talking about. The dairymen in Douglas county are reasonably prsoperous and there is no reason why more dairy herd? could not be equally so. The great number of different kinds of farm ing that are possible' because of the soil and climate condition here is one of the principal reas ons why the TJmpqua valley is destined to be a very great agri cultural district. H FOLD GOOD FRBP.1 Tf !E LEGUMES The legumes are better than the four leaf clover for luck; they bring four fold benefits to the growers with a lot of side lnci dentals of advantage to boot, for good measure. J. R. Beck, county agent for Polk county gives these four First, they are soil builders; sec ond, they make hay and silage; third, green pastures; fourth, cash seed crops. Mr. Beck mentions another function of legume feeds; says veterinarians have the opinion that such crops grown on' well limed soils aid in preventing the development of sterility in dairy cattle. If this is the case the pro duction of clover, alfalfa and vetch on 'soils that have been treated with limeroek will assume added importance. ing tap root, is the recognized va rlety for Washington county. Va rietles with the single deep, pen etratlng tap root have not proven very successful. Buy from reliable dealers; get certified or registered Grimm seed. Inoculate by the soil meth od or the use of artificial cultures. Sowing without inoculation Is a waste of time and money In most cases. The O. A. C. station or seed houses have Inoculated cul tures. Use according to directions on the package. Inoculation is sometimme pra-c tlced by spreading about 300 pounds of soli per acre from an al ready Inoculated field. A common method in Washing ton is the use of the O. A. C. cul tures according to direction, to which is added about a cupful of sifted soil from about old alfalfa piams wnien nave oeen inocuiat ed. This doubly insures inocula tion. . , Care of the Fields" Following cutting ot the first crop in the second year of the life of an alfalfa field, the field should be cultivated with an alfalfa cul tivator or n spring toothed har row. We do not use dise harrows In Washington county; the discs are liable to tn'lufe the alfalfa crowns.. Do not cut the sell foo deeply; the object beta to loosen the top two inches of soiL kill tne weeas, ana conserve moisture. Alfalfa should In fact be culti vated after each cutting. Sher man Hyre at Hillsboro follows this practice after each cutting of hay, and one field now eight years old seems to he about In Its prime. . , . ' - Neglect of cultivation will show up in decreasing yields, weeds and grass choking out the alfalfa. Up- cultivated fields often become un productive or are ruined in two or three years. The O. A. C. recommends land plaster at 80 to 100 pounds an acre annualy on producing fields. In Washington county a few far mer! are trying superphosphate at rates of SI0 pounds per acre applied In the fall; applied every three years. Gldcca Otols Company Manufacturers of Vinegar, Soda Water, ; Fountain Supplies 2 Ore. Everything In DUniLBmG Cobbi & Mtchelf . . x Jl. B. Kelsaj, Manager S49 S. 12th St. Phoao 81S Governor Patterson Grows Alfalfa, and is Planning on Large Increase of Acreage Polk County Legumes, Clover and Alfalfa, Reach High Acreage Levels, with 125 Farmers Now Having Fields of Latter The following article is fur nished for this annual Slogan number on Legumes by J. R. Beck. Dallas, efficient county agent of Polk county: ' Dark green fields of clover and alfalfa dot the landscape wher ever one may drive In Polk coun ty, and the observer will quickly realise that the acreages of these two legumes are greater than for years and probably exceeds pre vious totals. Clover seed prices consistently above 20c and the great feed producing characteris tics of alfalfa are the two factors that have stimulated these acre age increases. Just ho w many thousand acres of clover there are In the county no one can say, but we are fairly sure that the acreage of alfalfa has grown from less than a hun dred in 1928 to nearly a thousand, and the present rate of increase is around &0 per cent annually. Three Great Benefits Clover hay feeds many ot the fine Jersey eattje of -Polk county, and then the owners thresh a seed crop off of the acreage from which the hay was taken and have a mighty lucrative cash crop. Then the third considera tion, that of soil fertility, is con- stantly.in the back of their minds and perhaps has a greater value than the other two crops that can be accurately measured. A. R. Cadle of Rlc'kreall Is one of the Polk county farmers who considers the clover item in his rotation Indispensable; then Frank Farmer feels that it is vi tal to him for his sheep. Others equally successful second these arguments and add others of their own. The removing of clover from the possible crops for Polk county farms -would be a serious blow. and the writer certainly hopes It win never occur. " Would Make Great Story If Grimm, alfalfa could take on the attributes of man then its rise into prominence would read like a story from Horatio Alger. Considered Impractical as a crop in western Oregon up to six or seven years ago. it is sweeping on to gjeater acreages in all of the vauey counties eacn year, ana Polk farmers are certainly grasp ing the possibilities presented to them through this crop in a posi tive way. Yields of three to seven tons per acre are found on almost ev ery planting, and these plantings run all the way from one acre to 35 acres. W. O. Morrow of Greenwood-doubled the yields on Largess in Lead in Legumes THERE is largess in the lead the Salem district is increas ing and has been maintaining in legumes Millions annually m our growing seed business ; a weaitn of advantages in keeping up soil fertility; other millions in the value of the hay and soilage and sijo crops for live stock and poultry. Two thousand new acres year wilhin a nfdiua of 15 miles of Salem; the increased and increasing acreage in Austrian peas; several hundred acres more in ladino clover for the present season, and other ex pansions in legumindus crops here These all show the increasingly acauired notions in the "noodlei" of our leading farmers concerning the advantages of the nodules that mark the distinguishing feature or tne crops that get the nitrates from the air and deposit them in il a m 1 me grouna to restore ana iceep up its ierumy. There is no belter illustration of the trend of progress here towards & W that is coming when the Willamette valley win be the richest section of the earth, and the most uniformly prosperous and one of the most populous; with a population drawing for ts support from all the corners of tne earth. Legumes make up the foundation crops of a persistent y prosperous airriculture: and all these steps are sure ad vances of prosperity for Salem and her environs and hinter land areas calculated to keep her going and growing glor iously. Oakland Sales and VICK BROS. High Street at Trade Oregon Pulp and Paper Company Manufacturers of BOND LEDGER GLASSINE GREASEPROOF TISSUE Support Oregon Products Specify "Salem Made" Paper for Your Office Stationery a t tion, weighing lnVver .seven tons in one season. Robert Pence of Rickreall -has averaged nearly' five tons per acre on a seven acre field foT the past three years with out irrigation Zielesch farm at Parker has the largest planting in the county with 40 acres in and 20 odd more going in this spring. One of the interesting things about these alf alfa plantings is that nearly ev ery farmer is planting more, once he has tried it out, and there can be no stronger testimonial than tnau Governor Grows Alfalfa Uses for alfalfa are varied. Gov ernor I. L. Patterson has been using his for hog pasture, but is planning on a much enlarged acreage for other purposes. Byrd Walling of Lincoln pastures sheep on his in the spring, then cuts a bay crop. Wm. Garner of Smithfield uses his for pout try pasture, and so it goes. Over here in Polk county we say that any farmer that has live stock should try out his best soil with alfalfa, and we feel that at least 600 farms should and can grow It Already 125 are grow ing it successfully. To list the growers of alfalfa In Polk would sound about like 125 of the successful farmers of the county, for you will find most ot it growing on such places On the other hand, some of the -very best farmers are skeptical Last week while talking with t certain prominent and wide awake farmer, I asked him how it hap pened that he hadn't put out an acreage of this legume, and he re plied that some 15 or 20 years ago a neighbor of his had tried It and about the second year the weeks took It. Alfalfa Tour in June This same man has been driv ing past fields, that I have men tioned above., for the past five vears and has seen them con tinue to thrive and produce large crops, but the prejudice of earlier impressions is hard to overcome In some. Once he is convinced, I am willing to bet that when he starts a field he will do the job right up right and not put It on on some poor piece oi im properly drained ground and then go off and let It root, nog. or die. Some of those who jumped into the planting of this crop did it without proper planning, and they have given themselves and neighbors the wrong impression in Grimm alfalfa fields this Pontiac Service MILK OUT OF LEGUMES MMB Salem District Leading Sev eral Lines in This Ben efcial Field The boom in legumes-goes on In the Salem district. H. O. White of D. A. White ft Sons, leading sedmen and dealers' in and ship pers of seed- supplies; estimates that there will be an additidn this year of. 2000 acres In the plant ings of alfalfa within a radius of 15 miles of Salem. That makes a remarkable growth. Nearly all the vetch seed In America is grown in the Salem district. There will be 100 cars or more for shipment this year. In red clover, the acreage will be about the same this year as last. There will likely be above 100 cars of seed for shipment this year, as the price is firm. It is around 25 cents a pound -to the grower; has been higher part of the time last year, and lower 'some of the time. The red clover crop for the district this year will bring around three quarters of a million dollars. Many Legumea Our growers produce many le gume crops. We send hairy vetch seed as far away as New York Baltimore and Philadelphia. We rrow all the white clovers: Alslke, Sweet, Whit Witch.. Bok hara Hubam, but have not been able to work up a boom In this as there is In some eastern dis tricts. Our Hungarian vetch boom keeps up. We grow Canada field peas; mostly for "hogging off." An addition to the ladrino do ver acreage, to tne extent or iuw acres, has been or will be added the present season. The seed Is now growing scare. We grow some soy beans; about the same acreage this year as last A good deal of purple vetch Is erown here on contract: a seed for a cover crop for the California trade. The Australian Pea Australian peas, making a good feed and cover crop, something new here. Is coming In strong. So far, it is being grown for seed pur- poses, to ship. D. A. White & Sons are seeking contracts for growing 300 to 500 acres of It. this year the extent of the seed that is avail able now. The contracts are going out mostly around' Salem and Al bany. They expect to have grown and to assemble enough seed this year to entend the acreage Indefinite ly here next year. The Australian pea looks like a winner. Our legume industries in the Sa lem district are running into the millions. Our leadership in vetch and several other lines is pro nounced. Legumes are going a long way towards redeeming and insuring the steady prosperity of our Industries on the land. Oregon has hot gained suffi cient population in the last 10 years to warrant the formation of congressional district in South ern Oregon, and it Is just as well as there would be nobody to run for the job. Medford Mall Tribune. M.A. Hyde Co. DEALERS IN Berry Plants, Seed Potatoes Berry Crates and Hallocks Portland Road, Salem, Oregon High Grade Fertilizers D. A. WHITE "261 State Street-Phone 160 Over-Half a Million Acres In Willamette Valley May Grow Good Grimm Alfalfa Increasing Now at Rate of Five to Seven Thousand Acres a Year; Lime, Landplas ter, Great Contributing Factors In Alfalfa Boom Alfalfa is gaining in importance as a crop in western Oregon, according to G. R. Hyslop, agronomist at the experi ment station. Estimates indicate that the acreage is increas ing by from five to seven thousand acres a year. The reason for this sudden expansion in the acreage is based on a number of years of very carefully worked out experimental data and an organized extension program in several counties which has shown farmers the success of the crop. Twenty, and even ten years ago, there was not sufficient data to warrant very general recommendation for alfalfa out side the sandy bottoms in western Oregon. Conditions are different now, insofar as alfalfa and its culture are concern ed, and the conditions of competition with other crops have also materially changed. Johff C. Burtner of the depart ment of industrial Journalism, Oregon State Agricultural college furnishes the following for this annual Legumes Slogan, number of The Statesman: t It. is no longer so easy to get stands of red elover on many of the soUs that were successfully producing red clover a few year a ago. One reason' for this condition is that softfef ttt&e soilsJiivi (be come rather acid, and another is the presence of the clover root borer, an insect that is seriously destructive to long-lived stands and good yields of red clover. Clover Less Competetive With less competition from the clover on many of the better land3, therefore, alfalfa with Its large yields, fine feed quality and the production o f considerable green feed, hay or pasture growth during the dry part of the sum mer, has become very attractive to a number of farmers, says Pro fessor Hyslop. Grimm Alfalfa Standard The Introduction of Grimm al falfa Is one. of the outstanding factors in the increased alfalfa production. This variety, which in trials has shown its persistence and its ability to maintain produc tion through a' long period of years. Is now pretty generally standard in western Oregon. It is usually more successful than most other kinds of alfalfa that have been planted and which fre quently get thin or kill out in the course of three or four years. Another very important change in conditions is the development of the state lime plant, which is producing agricultural lime at a cost within the reach of a large number of prospective alfalfa growers. With this cheaper lime available, It is now feasible In a great many places to lime the land and grow alfalfa where is was for merly not much of a success. A third important factor in the increase of the alfalfa acreage is the study of the effects of land plaster on the growth of alfalfa on some soils. Another contributing feature Is the supply of high class inoculation material provided by the department of bacteriology of the experiment station , which 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 supply what you need for what you have. CPERRY CITY MILLING CO. Salem, Oregon - ' 481 Trade St Phone 318 You will find it very profitable to use fertilizers on your lawns and around your flowers and shrubbery. We have a complete stock of all the different kinds, including Sheep Fertilizer, Bone Meal, Rose Lawn, More Crop, etc. Aand it takes far less, water to keep your lawn and flowers nice by the right use of a good f ertil Ize.r LAWN GRASSES We have the finest clover and grasses on the market, including Fancy White Clover, Kentucky Blue Grass; Chewings, Fescue, Meadow Fescue, Creeping Bent, Col onial Bent, Shady Nook, etc . You will find it pays to sow a little each year on your old lawn to keep it in shape. & makes cheap and efficient Inocu lation possible. "The long-lived, hardy, disease resistant Grimm alfalfa, cheap state lime, cheap applications of landplaster or other sulphur car rying agents, and inoculation have contributed much toward making western Oregon farmers alfalfa- minded," says Professor Hyslop. Passed Demonstration Stage The extension program which has been carried out so thoroughly by Couhty Agent McWhorter in cooperation with seed dealers in Clatsop county, and by County Agent Fletcher in cooperation with the Eugene Cooperative creamery of Lane county are examples ot very important county-wide at tempts at the development of more alfalfa. These and other county agents have discussed the alfalfa production, have made ar rangements to get a dependable supply of seed, have assisted In the pooling of orders for lime, and in some cases for landplaster, and have frequently made arrange ments to get the inoculating ma terial. With all of these aids, it has passed the demonstration stage in a number of counties. 050,000 Acres Possible One wonders how far this in crease In alfalfa acreage may go. It Is possible to expand it far be yond the expectations of many in terested in the question. A study of the soil survey reports shows more than 650,000 acres of soil types in the ten Willamette valley counties that are or may be put in condition for the growth of al falfa. Naturally it will be many years before there Is demand for such an acreage, or stock enough" to consume its product, says Hy slop. Keep Tour Honey in Oregon Buy Monuments Made at Salem, Oregon Capital Monumental Works J. C. Jones A Co., Proprietors All Kinds of Monumental Work Factory and Office: 2210 S. Commercial St. Opposite I. O. O. P. Cemetery,, Box 21 Phone 89 Salem, Oregon 'SONS .r . . n , ..; ...... r ... "S?Jem, Ore; J"