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HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Oregon Agricultural College is the Friend of
Page of News Notes and Interesting Articles Specially Written by College Experts For
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$ The following valuable arti-
3" cle on selecting and handling
S loganberries, is contributed
J specially for Farm and Homo
Magazine Section by C. 1. Lewis,
4 horticulturist at Oregon Agri-
cultural College.
$5SSS$SS.S.3$SS
;N INVESTIGATION will show that
many of the inferior dried and
evaporated loganberries are due to
one or all of three causes: poor selec
tion of the fruit and careless harvest
ing methods; rough handling in remov
ing the fruit from the field to the
evupurator, and unskillful methods em
ployed in evaporation. Too much stress
cannot be placed on the question of
harvesting. Early in our investigations
we soon determined that harvesting
alone was responsible for many of the
poor berries that were being evap
orated. It is only by very careful
handling and correct knowledge of the
proper berries to pick that one can
deliver to the evaporator a product that
is desirable for evaporating. In addi
tion to careless handling in the field
many berries are ruined in being trans
ported from the field to the evaporator.
The best berries to select for evapor
ating purposes are firm ripe berries.
Care should be taken, however, not to
pick these berries too soon. If they
are light colored or very bright col
ored and hard, they do not make a very
satisfactory product. It is true a very
pretty product can be manufactured,
one which is very attractive, but the
fruit is too tart and it also loses too
much weight when in this condition.
During the early part of the season
growers need to be unusually cautious
not to pick the berries too green. The
berries are apt to ripen slowly and a
grower has a tendency to become more
anxious to remove the fruit and to
start the evaporator. The presence of
large amounts of this unripe fruit is
probably partially responsible for the
ereater loss in weight through the
evaporation process during the early
part of the season than is experienced
during the latter part; thougn, possi
bly, the fact that there is apt to be a
little less moisture in the ground at the
end of the season may be responsible
for some of the difference in mois-
ture content of the fruit. The berrieB
which are over-ripe should not be used
for evaooratine purposes. Such berries
can be utilized for juices, syrups, jams,
and jells.
Cost of Picking.
The picking is done mostly by
women, girls and school boys, the aver
age price being one cent per pound.
Borne growers praenco giving live
sixths of a cent early in the season
and pay about one and one-fourth cents
when the picking becomes poor in tne
latter part of the season. It is, at
times, hard to get really first class
work done by the class of people who
present themselves to our growers. The
system of paying by the piece encour
ages the pickers to be very careless
and if this system is maintained it is
absolutely necessary that eareful su
pervision be employed. A check system
of some nature so that the grower can
check up on his pickers would be very
advisable whether they pick by the
piece or by the day. This is the only
wav he can keep out undesirable fruit.
items, leaves, etc. Up to the present
time the growers have had very little
difficulty in securinff pickers. Good
camping facilities should be furnished
and whole families will move to the
loaanbcrry district and enjoy an out
ing, and at the same time the young
Deoule can earn money lor scnooi dooks.
and other necessities. Owners of
View of Oregon Agricultural Coliefe, Corvallis, Oregon, the Sole Aim of Which la to Aid
isolated patches, small in area, may
have some trouble in securing proper
help for picking.
The method used in handling pickers
by one of the most successful logan
berry growers in the state may be of
interest to our readers. This man has
85 acres and estimates that it is neces
sary to have 400 to 500 pickers to
handle the crop. He is putting in a
model camp ground with electric lights
and sanitary surroundings. He ulso
provides watchman both night and day.
Under his present arrangement he is
able to secure more pickers than he
can use.
He requires pickers to sign a written
contract that they will stay with him
throughout the season and will work
eight hours a day if required. He
pays the pickers one cent a hallock, but
at the end of tho season gives a bonus
of one-fourth cent a hallock to all those
who have done first class work.
He keeps field inspectors that he
pays $2.00 a day. It is the duty of
these inspectors to see that the work is
carefully done. They also keep cheek
of the men and the amount of fruit
which each picker handles. If it is ne
cessary for an inspector to speak more
than three times to any picker because
of carelessness or unsatisfactory work,
the picKer is discharged. Each picker
has a small book in which he keeps
account of the number of hallocks
picked. This is checked on a tally sheet
kept by the owner. The daily balance
is drawn each night. By Buch a system
it is possible to pay off the four or
five hundred pickers within two hours.
Methods of a Grower.
This grower provides canvas rest
rooms. (Janvas is stretcnea so as to
provide shade. This is very necessary
for the women pickers and where whole
families come there is a place for the
ihildren to play.
He sees to it that store keepers m
the vicinity charge no extra prices to
pickers for food products. The same
is true of milk or any food product the
campers need.
The fruit is picked for canning pur
poses and shipped in cattle ears, the
shipping being done at night. The
fruit then arrives in the morning in
Portland in very good condition. Of
course, it is necessary that the cattle
cars be very thoroughly cleaned before
loading but these cars afford ventila
tion that it is impossible to secure with
ordinary cars.
There are two points which should
be observed by the pickers. The first
is that the berry is not pulled straight
out from the stem, but should be picked
with a slight twist of the wrist, which
pulls the berry to one side. In doing
this less pressure is used and there is
less tendency to break off stems and
leaves with the fruit. Second, many
pickers have a tendency to hold too
manv berries at one time in tne nana.
The berry will soften and melt down
very rapidly when held in the' warm
hand. Again the berries are so sort tnat
where a number are held together in
the hand they bruise easily and the juice
begins to leak. These bruised berries
are very unattractive and give tho
carrier a mussy appearance. In some
eases we found the berries arrived at
some of the evaporators in such a mis
erable condition that we realized at
once that something was wrong in the
methods of field handling. Investiga
tions showed that the time of picking
was a very important factor; that the
best berries which were arriving at the
evaporators were picked in the cool
of the day. It is tho general practice
of the larger growers to pick a part of
their field every day, working every
day until noon, whilo in some' cases
thev continue and worn until lour in
the afternoon. Others pick every third
day but work all day. The time and
amount of picking is controlled to a
certain degree by tho capacity of the
evaporator. Berries picked early in the
morning will not only dry heavier than
those picked at noon or late in the af
ternoon, but they also retain their form
better. This latter fact is perhaps more
important than the gain in weight, the
oss of form and melting down of the
berries being responsible for much of
the drip which takes place. The berries
become warm in the afternoon and
when placed on the trays begin to drip
badlv. This drip consists of a heavy
syrup, rich in sugar, and its loss is very
serious. Not only is there a loss in
weight but this drip tends to caramel
and char on the trays and is responsi
ble for much of the unattractive burnt
fruit which is found on the market. If
possible wo should urge tho growers to
pick the fruit by ten in the morning
and under no circumstances to pick in
the warm hours of the afternoon.
SILO INFORMATION IN DEMAND.
JUDGED by the number of requests
for information on silos, they are
about the most popular of ail sub
jects that are engaging the attention of
Oregon farmers and dairymen. Al
though the subject is comparatively
new in Oregon, almost 700 farmers have
already sent in requests to the exten
sion division of the Agricultural Col
lege for the bulletin that is still on
the press on silos and ensilage, lhe
fact indicates a very deep and unusual
interest in the construction and uso of
silos in connection with dairying and
other branches of farm operation.
The use of silos is one of the means
by which producers hope to cheapen
the cost of farm animal production and
at the same time utilize field products.
Ensilage furnishes abundant and whole
some succulents at the season of the
year when they are almost or altogether
unattainable otherwise. Farmers are
fast coming to believe that a silo Will
enable them to save the hay crop and
utilize many farm products that now
are wasted.
This belief and interest have been
aroused within the last six months.
Previous to the operation of the dairy
demonstration train by the extension
division and the Southern Pacifie Kail
way Company, the word oilo was scarce
ly heard outside the college and cxteu
sion lecture rooms. During this demon
stration service the great value of silos
both in saving crops and cheapening
meat and dairy products was thoroughly
demonstrated. Follow up work has been
pursued steadily since that time by the
extension division and by the leading
agricultural journals of the state. As
one Tesult of this campaign a great
many farmers of the Willamette valley
have already announced their intention
to build silos during the present summer.
BEST CROPS FOB CANNING.
IN SELECTING crops for the use of
association growers it is necessary
to plant only such varieties as an be
handled most successfully by the asso
ciation, according to Professor C. I.
Lewis, horticulturist at the Agricul
tural College. When it has been as
certained that a reasonable, steady and
profitable market exists for certain
varieties, it is necessary before making
selection of these to consider whether
they are entirely adapted to conditions
of soil, climate and tho time at the ais
posal of the grower. It is always best
to select those crops that fit in best
with the farming routine, provided of
e.nnrsn thev are ncceptablo from all
other considerations.
The canning qualities of fruits and
vegetables are of prime importance.
Many fruits excellent for home use and
for local market are sometimes too soft
or unattractive otherwise to be shipped
the Farmer
This Newspaper.
Agriculturists.
any distance and have very little value
for canning purposes owing to the fact
that they become colorless or mushy in
the can. It is not possible to put up a
uniform pack at any cannery unless
growers produce stock of the Bame kind
and varieties. Should each farmer
bring in the variety that he may choose
to grow without reference to the se
lection made by other growers that will
supply the cannery, the association
cannot put out uniform products. Th
best way to Becure quality and uni
formity in the pack is for the assoeia
tion either to buy seeds and plants fof
the grower or issue a list of deBirablo
products specifying what varieties
should bo grown. Ordinarily it is bet
ter for the association to do tho pur
chasing because better prices can be se
cured by buying in large lots.
Another reason why it is necessary
to ascertain the crops to be grown be
fore installing machinery is that by this
means only machinery that will be in
demand will be purchased. Unless
beanB and cherries are grown to ad
vantage in the association territory it
is a heavy and useless expense to in
stall bean cutters and cherry pitters.
Another point to be considered i
choosing the crops is that canneries to
be profitable should be run for as many
months during the year as possible.
Overhead charges of interest on the in
vestment, insurance, depreciation, ana
other expenses continue whether the fac
tory is in operation or not. Henee,
varieties should be selected with a view
to supply products from as early in too
spring as they can be grown until lato
in the fall when stored prouucis may,
be carod for.
MIDGE MENACES CLOVEB.
THE clover seed crop is Doing menac
ed in many parts of Oregon by tba
clover seed midge, according to Pro
fessor A. L. Lovett, assistant entomolo
gist at the Agricultural College. While
the midge renders the crop which it at
tacks practically worthless for seed, it
does not damage the crop very much for
hay, and farmers are urgently advised to
cut their midge infested clover for hay
even though they expected to harvest it
for seed. Evidences of the work of th
midge are plain to thoso who under
stand the nature of the damage done by
it. Clover heads that are infested by
midge start to blossom out but fail to
opon fully. Instead they take on a
brownish color and remain at half blos
som. When this appearance is noted a
eareful examination of some of the
brownish half-blown heads should be
made and if the midge is present the
entire crop should be cut at once for
hay. This not only saves the crop bnt
it also destroys the insect before it
reaches the reproductive stages, thug
tending to prevent a recurrence of the
attack. Control measures for this year
are powerless to Bave the crop. Farm-'
ers should co-operate in this in order
to prevent propagation of next year'g
crop of midge.
The average age of the IfiH class
at the Oregon. Agricultural College ia .
22.4 years. In numbers the class rep
resented a 40 per cent increase over
the class of last year,
SACKS
New and Becond-hand Sacks of all
kinds. Hop Cloth, Burlap and Twine.
Sacks of all kinds manufactured. Wo
ship anywhere and buy everywhere.
Country orders solicited.
WINKLEMAN BAG CO.
Oldest, Largest Second-Hand Bag
D lalers in Northwest.
173 Front 8t,
Portland, Ore,