HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION ,
Oregon Agricultural College is the Friend of the Farmer
Page of News Notes and Interesting Articles Written by College Experts.
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Oregon Agricultural College, Corvallis! Oregon, the Solo Aim of WhidTT?tTAlTAgii-iciilturlst!i.
FOOT AXD MOUTH DISEASE
AND METHODS OF SPREAD
FOOT and mouth disease is one or
the most contagious of all the
diseases from which animals suf
fer, says Dr. Simnis, veterinarian at
the Agricultural College. Cattle,
sheep, goats, and hogs are attacked
most frequently, but horses, cats,
dogs, and humans have been known
to develop this trouble. Some in
Testigators have claimed that the
fowl is susceptible.
The cause of this disease is not
definitely known. Experiments have
proven that a porcelain filter which
will remove all bacteria from a liquid
will allow this germ to pass through.
For this reason it Is called a filtrl
able virus.
Practically all of the excretions of
an animal affected with foot and
mouth disease are infectious. The
milk, the salvia, the feces, and the
fluid in the blisters contain the
virus. The sick animals may con
taminate everything with which they
come in contact The viru3 may be
transmitted to other animals by di
rect contact or indirectly. Cases have
been known in which the disease was
spread through hay carried from an
Infected farm, through wool or hides
of infected animals, and by people
who carried the virus on their shoes
or clothing. Hence the quarantine
must be very strict to' control out
breaks. From three to six days usually
pass between the time of exposuro
and the appearance of the first
symptoms. At the beginning there
Is fever and loss of appetite. This
Is usually followed in less than twenty-four
hours by the appearance of
blisters or vesicles. As soon as the
blisters form the temperature drops
back to just about normal.
In cattle the mouth Is nearly ai
ways affected. The animals either
eat very slowly or refuse food. The
mouth is kept closed and the lips
stick together. This causes a smack
ing sound when the mouth is opened.
The blisters form on the inner sur
face of the cheek3. They vary iu
size from that of a pea to as large
as an egg. After one to three days
they rupture and then healing fo'
lowws rather slowly.
In sheep the mouth Is quite fre
quently not affected and In hogs the
mouth Is usually free from disease.
Hogs nearly always, and cattle and
sheep very frequently develop similar
vesicles or blisters on the feet. The
most prominent symptom is the lame
ness which appears as soon as the
vesicles begin to form. The animals
may Ue down the greater part of the
time. The blisters are most fre
quently between the toes and at the
base of the dew-claws.
Other parts of the body which
may be affected are the udder, the
kin around the base of the horns,
the muzzle In cattle and sheep and
the snout in pigs. v
Most cases result in recovery in
from two to three weeks from the
appearance of the first symptom.
The disease is a' very serious one
not on account of its high mortality,
but because it is very infecious and
by attacking so many animals It
causes a very considerable loss in
milk, In beef, and in pork.
Any suspected cases should be
separated from all other animals as
goon as the first symptoms appear
and either the state veterinarian of
the county veterinarian should b?
notified at once.
GOOD CULTURAL METHODS
USE HALF THE RAINFALL
AXIMUM production in the Ore
gon dry farming areas is de
pendent primarily upon the
fullest possible utilizations of pre
cipitation according to investigations
conducted by H. D. Scudder, agrono
mist of the Oregon Station. Till
age operations were developed In
these investigations whereby fully
one-half of the total annual precipi
tation was conserved for crop use.
This is a much larger use of the
available moisture than is now gen
erally obtained, the average farm
probably utilising for crop produc
tion not more than one-fourth of the
i total precipitation.
! Among the cultural practices
which conserve moisture to the ex
tent indicated are deep plowing, fall
plowing and fall disking; or spring
disking, spring plowing, harrowing,
and sub surface packing. Methods
of Bowing must also conform to the
i special requirements of each case,
I broadcasting being considered as en
tirely out of place on the dry farm
where the practice has largely been
discarded. Pressdrilllng is employed
where soil is loose and somewhat
dry and where shallow seeding must
be done. Rolling is occasionally
practiced on -the dry farm, to brean
an extra heavy crust formed on win
ter wheat, or to form an overloose
soil in which the wheat is sowed.
Deep plowing is the first essential
in moisture conservation. By this
practice much of the railfall that is
ordinarily lost through surface run
off or evaporation is stored in the
deeped soil for crop use during the
succeeding season. "A furrow less
than nine or ten inches deep cannot
be considered deep plowing." Spring
plowing may be somewhat shallower
and a slight variation in depth each
year is practical to prevent forma
tion of plow holes. .
Fall plowing is the second step.
This leaves the land rough and loose
practice much of the rainfall that is
holds the snow and absorbs the rain
fall for later use. The fall plowed
fields should not be harrowed in the
fall but left rough and uneven.
If time cannot be taken for fall
plowing the land should be disk har
rowed after harvest. With the ordin
ary disk harrow double disking
should .always be done by lapping
half the first round, never by disk
ing crosswise.
Where spring plowing must be
done as is true in much of the dry
farming land of 'Eastern Oregon, It
should be done as early as possible
to save the moisture. The spring
plowing should be followed imme
diately by harrowing. Rapid evap
oration starts in April so that when
a deep furrowed slice of moist soil
is exposed to the sun and wind the
loss of moisture is very rapid, unless
stopped by a mulch created with a
harrow. .
BIG PROBLEMS UP.
OREGON'S biggest agricultural
problems will be up for consid
eration at the Agricultural Col
lege conference during Farmer's
Week, Feb. 1-6. They will be handled
by the most successful leaders of
Oregon's agricultural interests, by
experts from the United States De
partment of Agriculture, and by spe
cialists from the leading agricultural
colleges of the country. Farmers
are invited to bring their most im
portant problems for solution.
GREAT OPPORTUNITIES
I FOR OREGON HORSEMEN
lljyjRE-BRED horse breeders of
Oregon are to have their
chance," says Carl N. Ken
nedy, horse specialist at the Agri
cultural College. "The effect of the
European war upon the importation
of horses is bound to increase the
demand for the home produced ma
terial. This demand will 'give the
Oregon breeders a chance to dem
onstrate' to stallion owners that the
home bred animal Is just as good
I breeding stuff as that from foreign
! countries.
i
"The outlook for pure-bred horse
has never been brighter than it is at
the present time. Bnt with the great
opening" for pure-bred horses in this
state the pure-bred breeders should
use discrimination In selecting thei
istallions, castrating as colts those
that lack any of the essential quail
ties. It Is more than likely that
with Increased demand there will be
a tendency to sell anything that ts
purebred, but this should be dis
couraged. "Everything that can be done to
encourage the breeding of pure
breds to take the place of the grade
and the mongrel is being done by
the Agricultural College. It is the
belief of the Animal Husbandry peo
ple that nothing- can be done to im
prove Oregon horses more quickly
and surely than to use sound, pure
bred horses for breeding. There Is
no reason why Oregon breeders
should not furnish this material."
FARMERS' WEEK FEB. 1-6.
FARMERS' Week exercises have
been scheduled for February 1
to 6, 1915, and placed In charge
of the Extension division. The charac
ter of the exercises, modified to suit
the changing conditions, will be
largely that of congresses, confer
ences and conventions of representa
tives of the leading agricultural in
dustries of the state. Among the
conventions already announced are
those of the Jersey, the Holsteln an.1
the Ayrshire Breeders' Association,
and it is expected that an organiza
tion of the Guernsey breeders will
be affected at that time. The State
Dairymen's Association will meet at
'the College during; the week. A
conference of connty agricultural
agents from the eleven Oregon coun
ties maintaining the work will be a
highly important feature. Leading
representatives of the various rural
Interests, social as well as Industrial
and commercial, will be in attend-"
ance from Oregon, from other states
and from the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.
A MAII TO BE
First Considers Quality, Then"
Buys at Lowest Prices.
SEE ME TOR
WATER SYSTEMS
of All Kinds.
LIGHTING PLANTS
Electric and Carbide.
PLUMBING SUPPLIES AT
WHOLESALE.
R. A. TWISS
Fourth and Jefferson Streets
Portland, Oregon.
PURPOSE AND METHODS
OF FINISHING SURFACE
ALTHOUGH stains, fillers, var
nishes, shellacs and waxes may
be prepared by the finisher
they are all put up by concern!
handling them and it is usually best
U6e. Oil stains and spirit stains ara
for beginners to buy them ready to
both used, writes H. C. Brandon, O.
A. C. manual arts specialist, "tha
latter being very penetrating. Oil
stains are made by mixing the pig
ments, such as timber, sienna an
others well known, in turpentine c
benzine. The desired tone is secured
by combining properly two or mora
of the pigments."
Stains are used to change the
color of the wood and to improve ita
grain and texture. The purpose at
the filling is to giva a perfectly level
surface for the varnish or other fin
ish. It should be used on all por
ous wood after staining. Varnish la
a resin dissolved in turpentine, ben
zine, etc After being applied to the
surface the spirits dry out leaving
a thin coat of resin. Shellac Is dis
solved in grain alcohol aad applied
with a brush. After drying, the
work Is free from dust Wax (bree
wax and other ingredients) is dis
solved in turpentine and applied as
a polish.
O. A. C HORT SHOW.
OREGON fruit, vegetable and flow
er growers were given an oppor
tunity to see a4 exhibit in each
of these lines designed and built up
by experts, at the Agricultural Col
lege Hort Show on the first Satur
day in November. The exhibits wre
educational in their nature, and in
cluded mostly varieties of the me
dium, commercial types, most p re
ntable for home and market pur
poses. Indeed the abnormally larg
types were grouped Into separate ex
hibits as "horrlbte examples" et
what not to grow and display, and
were plainly termed monstrosities
Cultural methods and marketitis
methods, including parsels pout ship
ments, were demonstrated for the
benefit of producers and consumers
alike. The Hort Show was so suc
cessful that it will be continued as a
'part of the work of the division of
; Horticulture.
SOLVING, PEST PROBLEMS.
INVESTIGATIONS of damage to
strawberry vines In Oregon ara
being conducted by the Agricul
tural College Entomological depart
ment with a view to more effective
control of thte insect causing the
damage. Extensive material collect
ed in Eastern Oregon, and othei
parte of the state is being made th
subject of experiments by G. L. Mof
nette of the Experiment Station,
staff.
SUCCESSFUL