HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
13
Poor Handling Of Wool Injures Crop
Investigation Indicates From 10 to 29 Per Cent of Value Is Lost
Annually by Neglect of Simple Measures.
sons unpleasant, taite of pine. It is,
however, easy to eliminate this by soak
ing thin slices of the stems In ice-cold
water for an hour or two, or by boiling
them in two or three waters, as is often
done with strong-flavored vegetables.
The author of the Bulletin; who has
APBEL1MINAEY report of the in
vestigation into the methods of
marketing American wool, now be
ing conducted by the Department of
Agriculture, indicates that from 10 to
20 per eent of the value of the crop is
lost annually through the neglect of
a few simple measures. Under existing
conditions, when American and Austra
lian wools lie side Ty side in the ware
house, the poor handling of American
wools is so noticeable that the price is
inevitably affected. This handicap
would be removed to a great extent if
n rrnwn would aarree to do four
thinos:
Sack ewe, lamb and buck fleeces in
iwnftta sacks.
Shear black sheep separately and
keen the fleeces separate.
Tie the fleeces with paper twine,
wMf.h does not adhere to the wool
Remove the taes or dung locks and
put them in separate sacks marked to
show their contents.
383 Growers Report.
Figures prepared by the bureau of
.f.fi.ti. nd based on reports from
383 irrowers who sheared in 1913
total of 2,269,005 sheep, show that at
the present time about half of the
flock owners sack ewe, lamb and buck
wool separately, about 60 per cent sep
aro the black fleeces and tie with
paper twine, and less than one-half put
tags in separate sacks. It is pointed
out however, that the correspondents
-fcn tnok the trouble to answer the in
quiries of the investigators and from
whose repUes these statistics are com
piled, presumably represent the more
progressive element in the industry, and
that if it were possible to obtain the
facta from every wool grower in the
eountry, the percentage of those using
the improved methods would be found
to be much lower. ,
It is nointad out alio that although, been experimenting for eight years with
on the face of them, these returns do udo on his Maryland ram, suggests me
not seem so unsatisfactory, the value of three following recipes as samples of
wools produced in a given locality is wnat can De done witn tne vegeiaoie:
set by the general reputation already TJdo on Toast.
established. .Buyers will not alter their Peal the shoots and drop them into
prices for small individual clips, though cold water. Cut them into 4-inch
they may be better handled than the lengths. Boil them in salt water for 10
average, and in consequence those who minutes, then change the water, adding
lo not put up their wool properly are a freeh quantity of salted water and
made to suffer for the sins of their I boiling until quite soft. Prepare a white
neighbors. sauce, such as is used for cauliflower
Bar Foot Handled WooL or asparagus, put the udo in it, and
; nnma .n and mav. how. allow it to simmer until thoroughly soft
ever, allow their representatives more Serve on toast in the usual way. If
lattitude in discriminating between in- there is too much of the pine flavor, as
dividual clips. But even should they there may De u tne snoots are not
do so. prices could be altered only for thoroughly blanched, a second change
clips of sufficient size to yield around ui raucu uuo.
10,000 pounds of each grade contained.
Fifty-nine cases were reported in
which dockage for tags was made upon
the whole clip, although the tags had
been separately sacked.
The remedy, the investigators declare,
is to raise the reputation of a locality
by an agreement among the growers
not to permit any poorly handled wool
to leave the community,
It can not be said that the growers
who follow the practices advocated by
TJdo Salad.
Peel the shoots, cut them into 3-inch vegetables.
lengths, and then split them into thin
shavings, letting these fall into ice
water as they are made. Allow them
to soak in the water for a half heir
or an hour, so as to remove the resin
ous material in them. Serve with a
French dressing of pepper, salt, oil and
vinegar. Do not dress the shavings un
til just before serving, as they become
stringy on standing in oil.
TJdo Soap.
Eemove the skin from the shoots.
Cut in pieces one-half inch long 40d
wash thoroughly in eold water. Cook
until tender and mash through a colan
der. Add a pint and a half of milk,
one-half pint of cream, two tablespoon
fuls of butter, and one tablespoonful of
flour, mixing the flour and butter until
smooth. Season with pepper and salt.
(Becipe for one bunch of udo; enough
for five persons.)
Just how popular the udo will become
is not predicted. It is desirable, how
ever, that amateurs experiment with it
for it is not at all impossible that udo
prove a valuablo addition to our table
U. S. Leads World
Planting Corn
UOBE than 130,000,000 of the 170,
000,000 acres of corn planted an
nually the world over is planted in
the market at present receive much, America, and the United States sup
if any, compensation for so doing. As pi,e8 105,000,000 of this acreage, accord
in other lines, it rests with such pro- jng to a report by crop experts of the
gressive individuals to bring their com- department of agriculture in the Agri-
munities up to a common standard mail cultural Outlook, just published.
will be of benefit to all. I "To compare the vast extent of land
In the opinion of the investigators under corn in the United States with
the reforms already mentioned would that in other countries serves little pur
be sufficient for the present to put pose other tha nto illustrate the heavy
American wool in a different light, monopoly of this industry by the United
Later it may be advisable to adopt the States," department experts declare
Australian method of "skirting," or One fact mentioned by the department
removing from the fleece the wool of that is not well known, is that Mexico
the legs and belly, and grading before lis second among all corn -growing coun
Colfax Gets Ample Water.
Artesian water has been struck at
Glenwood Spring, six miles northeast
of Colfax, on property which is leased
by the city for a 9 9 -year term. The
opinion prevails that the water prob
lem has been solved for all time. The
artesian vein was tapped at a depth of
few inches less than 32 feet and the
flow measures about 110 gallons per
minute of cool, pure water. A pipe
line is laid to Glenwood to tap the
springs which recently became insuf
ficient to serve the increasing popu
lation, and through this the artesian
water will be pumped to the reservoir.
sacking, but this is not urged now.
New Vegetable From Japan Ii Udo
FOB PEBSONS who like novelty in
their food and in their gardens,
an interesting field for experiment
is offered by the new Japanese vege
table, udo. Nurserymen have grown the
udo for ornamental purposes, for twenty
years or more, but as a vegetable it is
still comparatively unknown. On rich
soil It grows to a height of 10 feet or
more, producing a very ornamental mass
of large green leaves and, in the late
summer, long loose flower lusters, some
times three feet in length. In appear
ance it ia much like a larger variety of
the spikenard or petty morel, a native
of our woodlands.
The blanched shoots of the udo have
a characteristic flavor. Properly pre
pared they are delicious. The plant re
little care and with the same
mace devoted to it, yields approximate
lv tha i&me amount of food for the
table as asparagus and is ready for use
at about the same time in tne spring.
After the first frost it dieB down each
autumn to come up again in the spring,
much as asparagus and rhubarb do. A
patch of it can be forced each spring
for at least six years and probably much
lonirer. The flowers attract bees and
flies in such numbers that a field of
it is usually humming with insects. As
a honey plant, therefore, the udo de
serves the attention of beekeepers.
Udo-growing is not yet sufficiently
general in this eountry for the most
inexpensive methods of cultivating to
have been worked out, and conditions iu
America are so different from those in
Japan that little benefit can be derived
from tne experience vi unouwu (wn
era. It is. however, reasonable to as
sume that the cultivation of the udo
presents few difficulties. It is adapted
to a wide range of climate, as is shown
bv the fact that it grows aU over Japan
but no part of Japan suffers from
dmtiffht. In this country the udo has
done best in moist regions, in particu
. lar in New England, the Atlantic States
as far south as the Corolinas, in the
hIii TAirinn of Puiret Sound, 8' 1 in
the trucking sections of Califs'
plant in March or April.
Where greenhouses or cold frames are
available, the seed Bhould be planted
in March or April one-fourth of an
inch deep in soil that consists of equal
parts of loam, mold and sand. As soon
as the plants are 3 or 4 inches high,
they can be planted out in the. ground
or potted and set out later. Thereafter
the udo needs little attention. Its roots
spread with extraordinary rapidity
through loose, rich soil udo is not rec
ommended for poor, dry land and the
crowns soon become at least a foot
across. Three and a half or four feet
is therefore not too great a distance to
allow between plants.
Perhaps the greatest difficulty con'
nectcd with the cultivation of the udo
is the blanching of the shoots. It is
these that are regarded as the real
delicacy, for the flavor of the stems
when green has a certain rankness
which is unpleasant to most palates.
Various methods of blanching the early
shoots have therefore been experimented
with. In California excellent results
have been obtained by mounding up the
earth in the early spring over each
plant much as is done with asparagus.
Elsewhere, however, the late frosts
make the soil too cold and the shoots
are slow in coming through.
Another method is to put a large
drain tile, with one end closed, over
each hill before the spring growth
starts. The shoots which come up in
side the tile are well blanched but they
show a tendency to produce a number
of unopened leafstalks which take away
from the robust growth of the shoots.
To obviate this, casks or boxes filled
with light material such as sand or
sifted coal ashes have been tried with
considerable success. In any case great
care must be taken not to permit the
shoots to break through into the sun
light. If they succeeded in this, they
at once become green and their flavor
rank. Shoots can be cut when only six
inches long, but it is better to let them
grow to 12 or 18 inches.
Cooking of Udo.
In the cooking of udo there is still
abundant room for innovators. In all
experiments, however, one thing must
be remembered. When raw, the stems
contain a resinous substance which
gives them a decided, and to many per-
tries in point of acreage,
The Outlook deals only with the
world acreage production of corn, oats,
barley, rye, potatoes and flax, but
figures are given to show the extent of
imports of corn and beef from Argen
tina and of oats from Canada.
An interesting feature of the dis
cussion of the world's corn crop is the
name given the erop in different coun
tries. In Portugal, for Instance, corn is
milho"; in Italy, it is "granoturco
Boumania, "porumb"; in Servia,
' ' cucurza "; in South Africa, ' ' mealies. '
Don't forget that green bone ia rich
in phosphate of lime, an element of
bone and eggshell.
Cash Register Bargains
Our prices about half other dealers. We
pay highest price for second-hand regis
ters. We do expert repairing and guar
antee our work. Will exchange to rait
your requirements. Sundwall Co., 805
2nd avenue, Seattle. Phone Main 1180.
WE ARE SO SURE
OF THE
QUALITY
OF
Gold SHeld.
Coff
That we ask you to give Gold Shield a
trial, feeling that you will then insist
on Gold Shield when
buying coffee.
SCHWABACHER BROS.
& CO., Inc.
Importers and Roasters of
Seattle, Wash.
Coffee