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About The gazette-times. (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1914)
HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION Washington State College is the Friend of the Farmer Bulletins and News Notes From the Staff at Pullman. ;f Vx", k 2 , -,ztso&&i View of Washington Agricultural CoUege, Pullman, Washin gton, the Bole Aim of WUci Is to Aid Agnculturiats. ORCHARD POLLINATION. rIE Kxperiment Station at Pullman has been engaged for several sea ; sons in a study of orchard pollina tion to deUrmino which varieties of apples are self sterile and need to be planted near other varieties in order to 1)0 fruitful urn! which, if any, can suc cessfully pollinate their own blossoms. Tests have also boen made with a niim ler of tho more important varieties to how what combinations give the best results in cross pollination. Most of these studies have been carried on at J'ullman, but this spring considerable work was done in several orchards at Opportunity, Washington, and the re mits may bo of interest. . Nineteen varieties were tested for self Sterility. Itmic Beauty and Baldwin were H12 only' varieties tested which gave any proroisn of being able to pro fluce a crop without cross pollination, And these set much I 'ss fruit than when crossed. Ben Dials, V(r.I(liy and Yel low Newtown were slightly self fertile. King Dnvis, Delicious, Jonathan, Wag fner, Winter Kin,?, R;tzonburg, Yel low Trnnsp.ir?nt, Rhode Island Green ing nr.il Winrsnp failed to produce any fruit from self polinatrd blossoms. Rome Beauty, -Mcintosh, Delicious, rpitzenbnrj, Hen Davis and Wagencr all gave good results as pollinizers of Jonathan. Winter Banana aud Yellow Newtown were also crossed successfully with Jonathan, but gave fewer fruits than the other varieties. Jonathan, De licious and Ben )avi crossed most readily w''ii Wagoner and Rome also gavo some fruit. Wagencr, Delicious, Jonathan und Winter Banana gave the best results with Rpitzenbnrg, while Yel low Newtown and Ben Davis gave quite good results, and Rome, Mcintosh and AVinesap were found to cross pollinate tha Bpitzenlcrg successfully, Rome Beauty was most successfully polleoized by the Wagoner, though this is not a Tery desirable combination in orchard practice as the Wagoner is an early bioumur and the Rome .blossoms rather lute. Jonathan, Delicious, Ben Davis and Spitzenburg all gave very good re sults as pollinizers for the Rome. ' In most cases it has been found that tarieties which blossom at tho same time will cross pollinate successfully and, as a rule, set more fruit than the same varieties when self pollinated. Winesap and Stayman Winesap, how ever, have failed to give good results as .pollinizers on any of the varieties tested. Tho Experiment Station has a bulletin iu preparation giving the re sults in detail of this and other pollu tion tests. Maintaining Fertility. The plots show (1) that the fertility of the soil may be maintained eitheT through the use of barnyard manure or by a rotation of crops that includes clover or some equally good soil improv ing crop; (2 that it is kept in a high state of fertility. It ii not necessary to practice summer fallowing with the rain fall received at Pullman, either to give the land a rest or to conserve the mois ture of two seasons for the growth of ono crop. If the soil is sufficiently fer tile, one inch of rainfall may carry more food into the plants than two inches of rainfall may dissolve and carry to tho plants from a very poor soil. This is beginning to be very apparent in the field practice on the college farm. Kxeept in small experimental plots, Sum mer fallowing 1b no longer practiced on tho stato farm, but a rotation is fol lowed that involves cropping annually with clover, alfalfa and peas grovru periodically to improve the soil and corn to servo as a soil cleaning crop (Corn is a soil cleaning crop only when it is properly cultivated corn itself has no effect in cleaning tho soil). Increased Production. IMPORTANCE OF LIVE STOCK AND CROP ROTATION. BE importance of keeping live stock J and of practicing a rotation of crops ,. in maintaining tho producing ca pacity of the soil is becoming more ap parent each year on the Stato College farm. Three plots show this fact very Strikingly. One plot has been growing wheat continually every year since 1899 without any manure or other fertilizer ' being applied. The eoeond plot has frown wheat every year since 1899, but has 'had a light application of manure plowed under each year. The third plot bas had no manure applied and has grown a crop every year, but a rotation of wheat one year, oats one year, clover iwo years and eorn one year has been earried on since 1899, the 1914 crop be ing wheat. The important lesson to be observed art this time is that the plot that has grown wheat continually without Annuro promises a very low yield. To the observer, the plot that has boen manured and the plot that has not been manured, but has grown a rotation, thorn an equally good growth of wheat at this time and show a better growth than they did fifteen years ago, One twolve-ncro field lying on a south slope was in summer fallow in 191. It has grown a crop evtnr vrnr since. Every five years a well cultivated corn crop has helped to keep the soil in good tilth and Ireo from weeds, while peas and clover, interspersed at about like periods, have served to keep up the supply of nitrogen and humus. The field now produces much better than when it was first taken over by the college. In 191 1 it yielded forty-seven bushels of wheat per acre. In 1912 it yielded forty bushels of peas per acre. In 1913 it yielded forty-six bushels of wheat per acre. At present there is an excellent crop of oats growing on this field that will produco a very satisfactory yield if the season is fairly normal from now to harvest, Tho rich color, nnd rank growth of nearly all crops on the farm are begin ning to show the effect of tho use of barnyard manure and the growing of peas, alfalfa and clover. One of the fields last purchased has not yet re ceived a treatment of clover or alfalfa and the yellower, more spindling'growth of tho barley shows a striking contrast to the ranker growth on the other fields. The importance of maintaining a high state of fertility applies equally well to tho semi-arid regions and to the moist regions of Western Washington. While it would be impossible to grow a good crop annually with the very limited rain fall of Central Washington, it is quite possible for the low rainfall to bo much moro efficient with plenty of fertility available to dissolve and carry to the plants. The number of crop failures can be very materially reduced and the aver age fields greatly increased by keeping more live stock, saving and aplying the manure carefully and by growing soil improving crops to keep up the fertility. Many sections of Western Washington might grow two crops per year or three crops in two years where they are now scarcely able to grow one good crop, if the soil were kept in a higher state of fertility. rollment that has ever been in the de partment. There has also been taught during the year in the department 439 persons, deducting . 149 duplications, where stu dents Save been in more than one class, 290 individuals having been taught in the department. Tho popular work given by the de partment is advanced physiology to young women of the Department of Domestic Science, and the work in dis eases and accidents of animals, simple remedies and sanitation, given to agri cultural, horticultural and other stu dents. This is the kind of work that makes a department valuable to the state. On March 11, 1914, four months be fore graduation, Thomas Elliott, a Sen ior student in the Department of Votor inary Scicnco of the !tarc College, took the United States examination for vet erinarian in the Philippine service. A few weeks ago, Mr. Klliott received in formation from tho Cvil Servico Com missioner that lio had passed the cxam iualioV and woull be subject to ap pointment, as Foo-.i as tho commission received authentic information that he lad graduated. The position to which the passing of this examination; makes Mr. Elliott eligible pays $1700.00. Mr. Elliott is to be congratulated on being able to pass cs difficult an examina tion as the United 8tntes Commission gives for eligibility to this position. four months before he graduates. VETERINARY SCIENCE. THE Department of Veterinary Sci ence of the State College is doing splendid work among tho students of the college, judging from the re port which Dr. Nelson, head of the de partment, recently made to President Bryan. In this report the following state ments occurred: This year there have been ten students enrolled in the four year course, and. 26 in "the three-year course, a total of 39, the largest en- FEEDING TURKEYS. iff HETHER ono is feeding incubator hatched turkeys or turkeys hatch ed from tho hen, the first feed should be stale bread moistened with sweet milk, chopped onion tops, grit and pure water. At this time the poults aro nearly threo days old. About three days later tho bread is changed gradually to commercial chick feed cooked with curds and lettuce. Throe or four days later there is added to this feed dry bran and beef scraps five parts bran to one part scrap, mixed and placed within thoir reach iu shallow boxes, which is kept beforo them all the time until they become five months of age. A convenient hopper for this dry bran feeding is a box four feet long, six inches wide and six inches deep, with a strip two inches wide nail ed lengthwise aud in the middle across the top. Supply this hopper daily just enough for a single day's feed, ail that the poults will eat. Fresh green stuff, such as lettuce, kalo aud cabbage is fid liberally daily, morning, noon and evening. Also sweet milk and fresh water. The drinking vessels are wash ed clean daily. A box of gravel, cracked shells and a dust bath are kept in their nursery. ' From the time they pick up oats, corn or wheat, their grain ration should consist of equal parts of these grains, mixed and scattered in the ruu-way three times daily, as much and no more than they will eat. Two weeks before these turkeys are to be marketed for Christmas trade, they- aro placed in roomy pens, containing four birds each, and are fed, aside from the grain and bran ration mentioned above, the fol lowing fattening ration three times daily all they will eat up clean; the change, however, must be made gradu ally: six parts middlings, two parts beef scraps. This is weighed out and moistened with milk. The green feed fed as before. an eloquent address, paid tribute to the noble character and earnest devotion to agricultural pursuits of the Hon. James Wilson, ex-Secretary of the United 8tates Department of Agricul ture, and in whose honor the building is named. The unveiling of a fine bronce bust of James Wilson was one of the fea tures of the exercises. The presenta tion was made by D. S. Brodie, of the United States Department of Agricul ture, the first graduate of the Agricul tural Department of the Stato College to receive a degree from the college. The eorner-stone exercises were eon-i ducted by Judge Herman D. Crow, chief justice of tho supreme court Mr. Crow represented His Excellency, Gov ernor Ernest Lister. A special train from Spokane brought 125 people rep resenting the Chamber of Commerce,' educational, business aud railway inter ests. Miss Rhoda M. White, dean of wo men at the State College, is making a tour through Idaho, Oregon and Wash ington for the purpose of securing speakers for the Vocational Congress which will meet at the College next year. Women iu inral localities who have made a success of business in anj line, as farming, newspaper work, bank-; ing, etc., will confer a favor if thej will communicate with Misi White. SEED FOB TREES. NEW HALL FOUNDED. TIIE founding of the James Wilson Hall at the State College, June 11, marked an epoch in agricultural development in the Northwest. ; Henrj Wallace, the veteran editor of "Wal lace' Parmer," Des Moines, Iowa, in It is seldom possible to plant tree seeds where the trees are expected to grow permanently. Many trees grow very well for the first three or four years, but they can be obtained better in a nursery, and then transplanted. The seed tf the Russian wild olive- may possibly be obtained from Bar teldcs Seed Company, of Lawrence, Kansas. Thu firm makes a practice of dealing in tree seeds more particu larly than almost any other seed house in the hnitcd Statet The Russian olive, howeveT, is not ar very popular plant in most parts of the United States, and perhaps it be neces sary for you to buy young plants grown' from cuttings. The seeds may be treated' cither by freezing in moist sand during the winter, tr by pouring hot water- over the seed, and letting it stand for about twelve hours before planting. In: order to grow a good, solid hedge, or windbreak formation of this plant,' voung trees should be set about two- and one-half to three feet apart in the row. The best form of windbreak, hown ever, is not made by a solid hedge row. formation, but by a strip of timber. along the windward side of thn orchard land that you seek to protect. The black locust seed may best be- sprouted by pouring boilinj hot wateTi over the seed and letting the seed stand, in enough water to just cover them fort about twelve hours, then draining the. water away and planting wit-out dry-i ing. You will have the best success if you plant the seed in the nursery row and transplant the young locust tree at one year old. The trees may be set as close as three feet apart to develop a hedge formation. The better plan however, ii to set several rows six of eight feet apart, and the trees three to four feet apart in the row. SACKS New and second-hand Sacks of all kinds. Hop Cloth, Burlap and Twine. Sacks of all kinds manufactured. Wa ship anywhere and buy everywhere. Country orders solicited. WINKLEMAN BAG CO. ; Oldest, Largest Second-Hand Bag ' D alers in Northwest 173 Front St Portland. Or,
