HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Washington State College is the Friend of the Farmer
Bulletins and News Notes From the Staff at Pullman.
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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,