HOME AXD FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
15
Late Gossip and News From 0. A. C.
Corvallis Students "Make Good" at New York Views and
Reviews From All Departments of College.
Mole Skins Are Valuable, Say Experts
Experiments by Department of Agriculture Demonstrate Domes
tic Variety as Good as European for Skins.
A GROUP of boys from the electrical
Engineering courses of 0. A. C.
are finding instruction, practice
and employment in tho great electrical
works of New York, the largest of the
kind in the world. Several other form
er students from the Oregon eellege
are in the employ of the company, sta
tioned at various parts of the United
States and other countries. These boys
an meetiug the competition of the best
product of most all leading colleges and
universities of the country, and what is
most important, they are meeting it suc
cessfully.
The students now at the central plant
of the general electrical work in
Schenectady, on the Mohawk River, are
members of the graduating classes of
1910, '11, '12 and '13. They have
formed an Oregonian club and live to
gether at beautiful Lake Ballston, eight
miles out fro mthc works on a car line.
They have named their cottage the
"Oregonian," and were first of all the
students who make their homes at the
lake to organizo and maintain an
alumni club for its members.
The company for which these college
men are working has maintained stu
dent training courses for many years.
Every year a limited number of stu
dents especially qualified in their col
lege work and adequately recommend
rd by the college officers, are accepted
for training, practice and service, if
competent. All that are accepted for
training are admitted on positively
equal terms ami assigned to the course
technically known as the Students' En
gineering course. In order to receive
advancement students must do a mini
mum of one yeiir's work in this course,
and can do much niorc, depending upon
the nature of the specialization they
undertake. The chief value of this pre
liminary Course is disciplinary, although
a good living wage is paid from the
time tho student enters upon his work.
At the end of each six-month period
students who remain arc given.a stated
increase in salary.
When this preparatory work is fin
ished by any student he is assigned
either to the industrial or to the com
mercial end of the practical engineering
business with the company. Both
phases of the practical business as car
ried on by the company are highly spe
cialized. The student who has won his
position in either of these fields selects
his specialty and goes into further
training, lie never quits It until he is
complete master of all its complicated
details, after which he is regularly em
ployed by the company and may con
sider that his position is permanent.
Qualifications for salesmanship are
equally exacting with those for opera
tion. Should tho -employe elect to han
dle switch-boards as his specialty he
must master all the technique of the
operator in order to act profitably as a
demonstrator. He must know the
sources and nature of material going
into their construction, the cost of
manufacture and handling, and avail
able market territory. He must like
wise inform himself of supply condi
tions, the goods of competitors, and all
other practical branches of this comnli
catcd business of selling switch boards.
It takes a great deal of time and effort
to accomplish all the company requires.
but the remuneration is both liberal and
certain.
Aside from the dozen students now
at the leading works of the company
many older men from 0. A. C. have
gone out into one of these specialized
fields of electrical business. The fol
lowing men have reported their pres
ent places of labor, according to II. I.
Smith, of the class of 1912, who has
recently returned to Schnectady from
a visit to nis parents at Marshfield and
to the '14 commencement exercises at
tho college:
II. R. Zimmerman, '08, of The Dalles,
at Kansas City; II. X. Probst, '10, of
Albany, in Montana; J. C. Planking
tou, '10, of The Dalles, at San Fran
cisco, and J. D. Carnegie, '11, at Minne
apolis.
The students now in the shops of
the general company are the following:
J. Gordon, 'in, of Portland; F. E.
Kwrrt, '10, of Portland; .1. D.V'arnegie
(assigned); II. Pfandoefer, '11, of
Salem; II. P. Cady, ,'11 of Corvallis; F
0. McMillan, '12, of Salem; H. E. Me
Lean, '12, of Wallowa; H. I. Smith,
''12, of Marshfield; W. DuMolin, '12, of
Corvallis; G. W. Morris, '13, of Cor
vallis; R. R. MeKenzie, '13," Lostine.
and S. R. Cohen '13, of Portland.
"Students train at these great elec
trical works from most .of the leading.
colkges ot the country, -, said Mr.
Smith. "Several other schools of the
West, among them -the, University of
Oregon, University of Washington,
ttashiugtou State College and the Uni
versity of California are represented
'Iho latter in particular has a large
delegation, although the 0. A. C. is most
largely rtpreneuted of the Coast schools
"We find, too, that our students are
as well trained for the work as those
of any other school. When students are
first received it is on recommendations
alone that the officers of the company
must rely for- information, about the
iuness oi ttte mutfejits, and during the
first year there is no distinction made.
After that, however, students are ad
vanced on their own merits, and here as
elsewhere in life, the personal equation
is the important factor.
"The Oregon group was recommend
ed for the work bv Professor Hilla
brand, who supplied lis with applica
tion forms, and by other officers of the
college. . Our company is very liberal
and broad in its policy toward us, and
students who show 'the qualifications
may consider their employment pernia
nent with good prospects for advance
ment. It seems to me that this is the
best practical work open to gradu
utes. "
VIEWS AND REVIEWS.
ELF-FEEDERS for either fowls or
swino arc easily and cheaply made
and give excellent satisfaction
when properly constructed. Aside from
decreasing tho cost of labor, they are a
great saving of time and of worry over
tho fact that hand-tended animals must
bo fed regularly two or more times a
day. The use of self-feeders also saves
feed by giving the animals a chance
to balance their own rations, by pro
viding it regularly, and by saving all
the scraps that usually result . from
hand feeding. Methods of constructing
home-made self-feeders, accompanied by
drawings and photographs, will be pub-
lished from time to time in this jour
nal. Apple scab is reported to be greatly
on the iueTease in some of the fruit
districts of Oregon. While this seems
to indicate that orcliardists are losing
ground in their fight against this pest,
the conclusion is not at all inevitable.
The season seems to have been unusual
ly favorable to it in. some parts of the
state, and control measures were applied
too late, if at all. Growers are more
thoroughly aroused ovor this enemy
than formerly and doubtless make fuller
i p thg dajuaga, At ilia same
time it is gratifying to hear that the
most systematic attempt ever made in
the Northwest to ascertain the most
successful control measure, for apple
scab are now being carried on in a
field test conducted jointly by the Lane
County Horticultural Society and Pro
fessor II. S. Jackson, plant pathologist
of the Agricultural College. The experi
ment is designed to test the effective
ness of the standard sprays and the
most effective means of applying them.
When the information acquired in these
experiments is brought to bear upon the
pest under favorable conditions, it may
be seen which way the battle is going.
Hie establishing of vocational courses
at the Agricultural College will open
the doors of the institution to the peo
ple of Oregon. These courses are de
signed primarily to give opportunities
for college training to those persons
of tho state who feel the need of this
training and are not in a position to get
it by the usual degree courses. If they
are desirous of entering degree courses,
they can ordinarily find means of pro
paring to do so in the local high schools
and other institutions of learning. If
they merely wish to secure the benefit
of the training and study at college
without reterence to college degrees,
the , vocational courses are open doors
through whieli they may enter. Tie J
WINGto the gradually decreasing
number of wild fur bearing ani
. . mals, mole skins have found a
ready market and are valuable com
mercially according to Farmers' Bul
letin 583, Department of Agriculture.
It is significant to the lack of atten
tion to small business matters, however,
that American moleskins are not quoted
or offered on the markets. All the skins
used by American furriers are import
ed from Europe.
Auction lists of fur dealers in Lon
don show that more than 3,000,000 mole
skins were sold in 1911, 1912 and 1913.
A small lot of American moleskins se
cured by the Biological Survey, V. 8.
Department of Agriculture, was pre
pared and made up by an expert fur
rier who pronounced them in every re
spect eqnal or superior to European
skins. It seems likely, therefore, that
a new industry amounting to many
thousands of dollars annually might be
developed in this country.
Five Recognized Groups. '
. In this country there are five recog
nized groups of true moles, two of
which are confined to the Pacific Coast
and the other three arc distributed over
the section east of the one hundredth
meridian, extending frfim Canada to
the Gulf of Mexico. In the latter dis
tricts and in the greater part of Penn
sylvania, Xew York and New England
the common mole occurs with the Btar
nosod mole and Brewer 's mole.
The mole is so seldom seen, even by
those who are faniiliar with its work,
that it is often confused with other
small creatures, particularly the shrew,
the mole or meadom mouse, and te
pocket gopher. However; it can be
readily distinrnislied by its stent, short,
front limbs ending in broad, rounded
hands with palms turned ontward. It
has a rather elongated body, close
plush-like fur, a pointed snout, and a
short tail. Neither eyes nor ears are
in evidence. It is a creature of etrietly
subterranean habits, " '
Mole. Are Disliked. . . '
It is believed commonly that the
mole works only at regular periods each
day, but direct observation taken in
later summer and fall fall to substan
tiate the. theory. The moles are dis
tasteful and seldom eaten by domestic
cats and dogs which have learned to
catch them. Hawks and owls take small
toll from tho mole tribe, as an examina
tion of the stomach contents of oyer
2,000 of these birds disclosed the re
mains of but 13 moles, 5 of which had
been eaten by the red-tailed hawk, 4
by the red-shouldered hawk and one
each by the broad-winged hawk, the
barred owl, the great gra yowl and
the screech owl.
Stomachs Are Examined.
From an examination of the stomach
contents of 200 moles taken in all
months of the year it was found that
earthworms and white rubs constitute
the bulk of the food. Beetles and their
larvae, spiders, eentipedes, cocoons and
puparia also form a part of the diet.
Seed eoats of corn, wheat, oats and
peanuts have been seldom found in
stomachs of the moles. f
Complaints of damage or depreda
tions by moles are frequent and insis
tent. However, in very many eases a
thorough investigation would show that
the smaller rodents which follow the
mole's runways are responsible for the
damage to corn and other cultivated
seed products that grow under ground.
Trap Efficient Destroyer.
When it is desirable to destroy the
mole the trap will be found to be tho
most efficient means. So far all ex
periments undertaken with the object
of finding an acceptable poison bait
have given negative results, as the very
nature of the animal's food makes it
difficult to secure a satisfactory sub
stitute of live worms, grubs, and in
sects. Moreover, the little animal seems
to be shrewd and quick to sense tho
danger in poisonous substances.
There are a number of excellent mold
traps on the market, most of which will
give good results if properly set. There
are the harpoon, the scissor-jaw and
the choker types. Harpooning traps
are designed to impale the mole in the
ground by spring-driven spikes. The
seissor-jaw 'traps are intended to be
set astride the runway to gTasp the
mole firmly -when he attempts to pass
in either direction, and the choker
trap has a set of wire loops that en
circle the burrow when the trap is set.
All three types are designed to be
sprung by the same sort of mechanism,
a trigger pan resting on a depressed
portion of the mole ridge in such a
way as to be lifted when the animal
passes beneath.
E
XPRFCSSING the view that it is
easy to dispose of first class pro
ducts, but that the profit of the
fruit and vegetable business depends
very largely upon a utilization of the
second and third class products. Pro
feasors C, I. ".Lewis and W. S. Brown
have isroed a new college bulletin call-
led "Fruit and Vegetable By-Products, "
m which they explain the conditions
and processes of organizing and run
ning by products factories.
,The highly important questions of the
amount of money necessary, tho quan
tity of products raised within tho pro
posed by-products territory, and what
kinds of plants to establish, are treat
ed intimately from the point of view
of the grower.
"The question of what kind of plant
should be put in cannery, Vinegar
works, evaporator, or jelly factory
cannot be answered off hand," says
Professor Lewis. "There is undoubted
ly a splendid field for all these manu
facturing plants, tl wouldi be unwise,
however, to try working all our low
grades into any one of these forms. ' If
we were to attempt to work all valu
able produce into vinegar we should
easily overstock the market. We must
remember that there are only certain
types of products that are adapted to
each of the special uses. The ideal t6
which every association should work is
first to handle as large a percentage of
the product as is feasible in tho fresh
state, to establish a canning factory
that can handle large quantities of both
vegetables and fruits, and to install an
evaporator for the handling of all
classes. Finally the vinegar -works
should be, added. In other words wo
should aim to have a plant so organ
ized that nothing would go to waste,
each plant supplementing the others."
As as example of this method it is
shown how peelings and cores from the
eannery could be used in the vinegat
works, or if more profitable, how the
peelings eould be dried to excellent ad
vantage Rnd later worked into jams
and jellies. By a combination of plants .
losses in all lines would be reduced to a
minimum. -
Because the success of the association
for handling these products would de
pend very largely upon the character
of the contract entered into by .the
growers this question is treated quite
fully m the new bulletin and sample
contracts are presented in the appea
dix. Methods of organization are also
treated quite fully so that the bulletin
is of the greatest practical value to al
producers who must face the profit and
loss situation in their industry. Those,
desiring copies may secure them by)
writing to ti. v. jletzel, director, cor-
vallis, Oregon, for Extension Series 2,
No. 21.
courses provide for one year of college
work in agriculture, one in dairying,
one in home-making, three years in in
dustrial arts, five months in forestry
and two years in business short course.
What a wonderful opportunity this ofJ
fers to people of Oregon who desire to
fit themselves for doing their chosen
work in the most efficient manner.' 0.
A. C. may justly be called a college of
the people, by the people and for 'the
people, and its open' doors invite all
who find the time and the means tot
enter1. The foregoing course begins
September 22, 1914. j
Students of the Oregon Agricultural
College are working at the forest nurs,
eiry on the Sinslaw forest. The arrange
ment is said to be mutually satisfactory
since the students gain experience in,
forest nursery practice and their ass
sistance lowers the eost of nursery,
work. j