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About West side enterprise. (Independence, Polk County, Or.) 1904-1908 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1908)
IMT'TTRV1P'P'1I?TR In 11 jf rOUKTKKNTH YKAK. INDKl'KNDKNCi:, l'OJ.K COUNTY, OKKUON, 1 :it. 23, .... ONE MAN'S E lu Planting and Cultivating His- Strawberries. A. J. SniPLEYOFAmXEFAKM Writes a Very Instructive and .Interesting Letter of Methods Used. The following article was written ..by A. J. Shipley for the Oregon Agriculturist and It of mch local Importance that it la given space in our columns. Mr. Shipley if one ni our foremost small fruit growers and hie Alpine Berry Farm, west of Monmouth, In doing much la attract notice to thia part of the cnuity as a small fruit country. In this commercial age the all absorbing question coming back to lis after e'ery crop we raise or field we cultivate is: "Did it pay?" In the past four years I have had ibis question propounded to me so many times that I thought an article on this line might b of some benefit to some of the readers of the Agri culturist. Three years ago, after completing a six months' term of school, I ar rived home about May Int. Ac cording to the plans I had laid I had on half acre of strawberries to plant. I immediately commenced work on my ground and put in nearly three days on it before I thought it readv for the plants. A I was puttina the finishing touches on it, a .neighbor rode up and his first question was "Does it pay you to spend so much time on iuch a small .plot of ground?" I told him I thought it would, but I could plainly see he thought I had wasted about 2 dins' time I went ahead and planted it, one half to Marshall and one-half to Wilson strawberries. We used es pecial care in trimming and setting the plants, and although we finish d nn Ma? 15th. we saved 1700 out of 1702 plants. Now I ask the question, did it pay to have that ground properly prepared? The plants never wilted butcommenced growing at once, I cultivated the patch thoroughly and kept off all the blooms and kept the runners off until about July 15th, when I let them grow to furnish plants for setting. The plants all made an excellent growth, and on the following year from the quarter-acre of Marshalls I sold $52 worth of berries. From the Wilsons I. got practically nothing. There were few. berries on them and they were so small thfty were not worth picking. The past year I sold $65 from the Marshalls and about $2.50 from the Wilsons. Did it pay to put tbat ground in proper condition, trim and set those plants properly and care for them the first year? I think $117 pretty 'good pay for use of land and all labor expended. Did it pay to plant the Wilsons? Yes. If I had not planted them then, Bince the canners are recom mending them, I would have put out a large patoh now and probably lost much more than I did. As it is, I know they are not adapted to my soil, consequently I will plant those T know will do well and let the other fellow raise th Wilsons, j Last April I hired an acre of berries put out. - As hands were very scarce and wages correspond-! EXPERIENC inu'v Inch. tli'pt I w-iild nn" littU nof.omy in Hii the plant. I had lb qround plowed twice ami (h'Hdid to rifK planting Then, to n matter or I ngl-ctd to give proper Instructions' aiHiut trimming the plants and they were planted untriuitned. At refill tlm plant kept dying until I did not have odd half a atand. and I beeatna di-guMed and sowed the ground to vetches for bay. I aaved una day's work with man and team, value 12.50; one days work trim ming planta, valua tl 60; total, f l.OO. I lost two crop of straw. bwrim. value Did it pay? I leMve mv readers to decide. Of " course this was not all a loss aa I got some valuable eiperienca. but I think all will decide that I did not get St at reduced rates. I paid full prioe. Now the leaaon I have learned ia, put your ground in the best condition posaibV plant with nothlnf but good plants taken either from a young patch that ha. never fruited or from a regular propagating bed, get varieties suit ed to your locality, work your patch thoroughly, and if the ques tion, Did it pay 7 comes up, you can cheerfully answer yes. POLK C0LK1Y TEACHERS INSTITUTE. The teachers of Polk coonty held a very profitable and ins tructive local inntilue at the school' building SaturdayFebruary, 22. After the opening song, America, Supt. R. K. Robinson of. Mult nomah county began his talk on language and coruponition, which was completed at the afternoon ses sion. Bupt. Robinson believes that we require too much wri"en work and not tnuugh oral, work iu our language clasfe, and that ' re- quire worn iroui pupua u m" jucls about which the pupils know nothing. He holds that language worK should get close to the every day life of the child. He then ex plained a plan for language work in the first six grades. Prof. Traver, of Monmouth, followed with a talk ou grammar. He holds that the time given to gram mar should be about equal to that given to composition. He then explained his methods of teaching some of the most' difficult parts of the new grammar text book. Mrs. E. M. Fennel, of Monmouth, gave a talk upon, "The Apprecia tion of Art." Mrs. Pennel ex hibited prints of several master pieces and explained many of their beauties which are overlooked , by the average person. The program was interspersed with numbers by the O. S. N. 8. faoulty quartette and by parts of the Washington's birthday program given in the school the day before. Many patrons and friends of the school were pre;ent thus showing their interest in education and and edncational work? AJSTIOCH ,V. A. Fishback who has been visiting relatives in Salem return ed home Monday. i '. : Guy Suver, of Falls City, is cut ting wood for Mr. Gillipin. Jasper Thompson has returned to bis home in Salem. ' Lafe Johnson and George Swear ingen made a business trip to Falls City the first of the week. Jay Clark is working for Israel Marks. , Lettie Fishback visited Mrs. Heck in Independence last week. . Israel Marks is building some fencing on his place which he pur chased from Allen Towbs. Mr, Bogart, of Monmouth, was seen in our midst Saturday. Mrs. Allen Towns' sister Mrs. Cobb of Dallas, died the first of the week. BIG MEETING SATURDAY People to Discuss Plans Cannery. for AT OFERA HOUSE I T. JL All Those Interested Should Not Fail to bo there ' and Aid. The meeting tomorrow afternoon should be well attended b every body that has the welfare of Inde pendence at heart; There ia not the shadow of a doubt but it will be of great benefit to the town and surrounding coantry. At Browns ville where the cannery has been running two years they are enlarg ing this year and real estate in the vicinity of town, or more strictly speaking, the territory covered by the cannery, has doubled in value since its installation. Here we have the largest body of land suit able to tomato raising in the stale. Tomatoes are a standard product of canneries where they can be raised profitably and the demand is unlimited. Four hundred bushels are estimated as average yield per ace, yet there is no reason why there should not be ihree times s luanv raided on au acre of the j bottom land. adjacent to this town. Planted at the regulation distances there are 2700 plants to the acre and from personal experience the writer knows trial such soil in this valley will produce one buBhel for every perfect vine or hill, which would give, with the liberal al lowance for bad plants, a yield of not less than 2000 bushels per acre, or sixty tons. At the lowest con tract price ever paid for tomatoes west of the Rocky mountains this would give an income of $480 per acre. Allowing double the amount usually paid for the care of au a ore there would still be a profit of $450 oer acre per year. This strikes the average man as being a mighty good income from one acre of land. These are the best yields and the lowest prices; now we will .look at the matter from the poin) of the lowest yield and the market price that has been contracted at Spokane for this yearB crop, which is $13.50 per ton and 12 tons to. the acre. This would give returns of $162 per acre or approximately $140 clear of expense. With very little out side help the average family can care for ten acres, after they have once gotten the hang of the work. This gives any one an idea of what oan be done in the matter of pro duction. Now for the other side of the case, which is the investors side. Vegetable canneries in the east last year declared dividends of a little over 30 per cent and there in no reason why a local cannery here cannot do the same. This then should make it a safe aod good investment both for the busi ness men and the farmer, especially the latter as he gets a double shot at the profits. Spokane makes a good profit out of the business -by paying $13.50 par ton for raw material and then shipping to Portland, paying a freight rate that is nearly as much' per hundred as Independence has to pay per ton. Is it not reason able then that we have the best of the market? By organizing quickly a cannery can be built and operated at a profit thlt yr. but tiiiio i prerl iu arsd th fwip'. mli.i want tit i inatUr i'tllr t in tiujflt ldit anythin g III year should gt a rtiov on. Turkey Dinner. j , M' and Mr. Prter Kurre gv a dinier Sunday February "" in honor of their son Uiarlei Kurre and wit, w ho were recently ina:. ried and are here vicitii g with rel ative and frieiida, A general goo d time was had by all present, but l!t feature of the evening was tb observance of tht time honored custom of the older metulx-r of the family dancing in the pig trough when he was left single afier thai youngeKt bad taken up the double burden of life. This fell to the 1 t j of George Kurre, who ia the sar-j riving single member of the Kurre l family. At first he demurred, but j the entafaidve eloquence of the i ladles finally prevailed and he! gracefully submitted to the in-j evitable. ' It is said that it was not j his fault, this being leap year and he has had no propo-als, therefore the young ladies should bs blamed ( mo'e than he, for no doubt he; would have accepted had the pro posal been made and then he would ba"e escaped the dancing " fho?e present were Mr and Mrs. Reeves Mr and Mrs. Claud Kurre, Mr, and Mrs Willie Kurre, Mr. and Mrs. Bullock, Mrs. Quincy Reeves and little son, Mrs. Chetlet, George Kurre, Maggie Evans, Lee Whitcomb, Alvi Lockridge Willard Reeve?, Eva Huston, Miis Snyder. Nflhe Kurre, Luis Reeves and Ernest Kurre. . Resolution c! Coiidolcnce. Whereas, jt has pleased the eup rene Ruler of the Universe in b'i6 wisoom to caii from our midst our late Brother J. M. Mitchell and whereas the intimate lelationa held by our late Brother with the mem bers of ibis lodge, render it fitting and proper that we should place on record out appreciation of .his j service as a Mason there for be it, j Reolved, by Lyon Lodge No. 29 A. F. & A. M. that in the death of Brother Mitchell this lodge loses a Brother, always zealous and active in the cause of Masonry, honest and upright as a man, laithful and true as acitizen, . loyed and re spected by all not only within but without the order, therelore be it further. . 1 Resolved, That this Lodge tender its most heartfelt sympathy to the family -and relatives of our deceased Brother in their sad bereavement, and that these resolutions be spread upon the minutes of our! Lodge, a copy presented the family and one given the local press for publication. ' . Oregon E. E. Union The eighteenth state convention of the Oregon Christian Endeavor union closed last Sunday evening after the most successful session in the history of Sndeavor in Oregon Nearly 150 delegates were present, principally from the Willamette valley. , The list of speakers included the Btrongest men of the state in fact, there was not a weak speaker on the whole program . . Snap and vigor characterized all the sessions, and the Endeavor movement re ceived great impetus from the meet ing. ' " Key. C. T. Hurd of Sorvallis was reelected president, ,and Miss A. Viola Charleston as secretary. F." A. Tripp of Eugene was elected treasurer. . Eugene furnished entertainment for all the delegates, and through the cooperation of the merchants had the business Btreets ablaze with C. E. monograms and the C. E. colors. The next convention will be held in 1910, most likely in some place in eastern Oregon. FIRST STATE BANK Independence, Oregon. C VPITAL, 825,000 .4 OEXERAL r.J.VKL0 OrricKaa and Dibkcious: W. A. Meaner. Pres. E. Ifof.-r, Vic-.Pre. C. C. Patrick, Cash Wm. Rid dell F. N. Stump. J. P. Rogers POLK COUNTY BANK MONMOUTH, - OREGON. PAID CAPITAL $30,000.00 TraOMcU a general banking and exchange received, Leos made, DrafU sold. Officers and Direotors J. U. Hawley, Pre., P. L. Campbell, Vk Fn., Ira C. Powell, Casbler J. B. V. Butler. F. 8. Powetl, J. B. Stump, I. M. BimptNMJ. II. Ilirchberg, Pres. A. Neleon, Independence National Bank Incorporated 1SSO A GENE llnterest Paid H. ffirsohberg, Smith and Directors REO GENTLEMEN'S ROADSTER , The sportiest thing on wheels. 20 horse power, 45 miles an hour. Price $1100; with doctor's Top, f 1140. r H. M. EDGAR, Agt, Independence - 7 .sr -V-v v..i A'si To the People -To have UDiformily good bread you must have good fC( flour. Good flour can be made only from good wheat. f We select the wheat used for our local flour from a 1 large amount of wheat and thus get' the best. We JL can thereforo guarantee our flour to be the best. If you do not like it return it to your grocer and get your money back. We guarantee it. "Pride of Oregon' "Valley," and "Prize Peach," hard wheat, are" our brands. W. T. Hoffman Oregon Milling & raw " -m "V fc' BUSINESS COXl't'CTEJA bunine Deposits Vic Pre?. C. W. Irvine, Cash. The on Time Deposits A.Nelson, D. W. Sears, J. E. Rhodes. B. of Polk County t M. Tillery Warehouse Co.