HOME AND FaM MAGAZINE SECTION
The Agricultural College Is a Friend to the Farmer
Bulletins and News Notes From the Staff at Pullman.
2
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V1KW OP WASHWGTOX
Recommendations for
Making Seed Corn Bed
A LARGE number of farmers in
Eastern Washington are plant
ing a few trial patches of corn. Many
of these will fail in their Summer's
trial, largely because the seed bed
has not been properly prepared. Pro
fessor George Severance, agricultur
ist of the State Experiment Station at
Pullman, gives the following recom
mendations in regard to the prepara
tion of the seed bed.
It must be remembered that the
growth of the young plants will de
pend largely upon the supply of food
they secure, and that this food is se
cured through the root system of the
plant. It is necessary, then, that the
corn plants make a rapid and com
plete development of this feeding
system.
The root system Is extremely deli
cate, and contains such an immense
number of small rootlets and root
hairs, when properly developed, that
no space, even as small as a pea, can
be found in the upper part of the soil
that does not contain some of these
root hairs. For such development it
is necessary that the roots do not
come in contact with hard clods. The
entire furrow under the mulch should
be thoroughly pulverized.
Where the land has not been
plowed until time to plant corn, nor
the surface disked to hold the mois
ture, the furrow breaks over in
chunks. If the surface is then
worked only with a smoothing har
row, the bottom of the furrow where
this root system must develop is in
, no condition for proper root develop
ment. Soil In this condition at the
time of plowing should be disked
before plowing, and be worked with
some form of compacting and clod-
mashing tool after being plowed and
disked, in order to work the soil
deeply enough.
Every root hair should come in
contact with soil grains, hence the
furrow should be well worked down,
leaving no large holes, as is usually
the case with late plowed land, par
ticularly if considerable straw, stub-
hie, or other trash has been plowed
under.
This is also necessary In order to
insure a good Bupply of moisture.
The presence of large air spaces per
mits the rapid drying out of the soil
and breaks the capillary connection
with the soli moisture beneath, so
that the young plants In the seed bed
are deprived of the moisture they
must have.
Many farmers reason that because
the corn is a cultivated crop they may
save time by planting the corn and
fitting the ground later. This is en
tirely wrong.
The first growth of the plant is
from the limited amount of food sup
ply stored in the seed. This will
keep the plant but a few days. It
must then draw Its food from the
soil. If the young, delicate plants
are to make a vigorous growth from
the start, the roots should find the
soil in proper condition at the outset
to enable them to develop quickly and
extensively, so that there will be no
check in weaning from the mother
seed.
Furthermore, the future cultivation
does not fit the soil directly about
the hill, where the plant in its tender
ed stage is obliged to draw Its food
If the ground is to be properly pre.
pared for corn, it should have been
plowed last Fall so that the moisture
may have been completely absorbed
and the furrow settled by the Win
ter rains. This has the further ad
vantage of letting the weeds start
in the early Spring, so that they can
be largely cleaned out before the corn
is planted. It also encourages tbe
development of valuable food.
If the land is not Fall plowed", the
next best thing is early Spring plow
ing. But whether plowed in the Fall
early Spring, or late Spring, the fact
must not be overlooked that the seed
bed must be thoroughly prepared be
fore planting if complete success is
expected.
AGRIOTLTt R AL COLLEGE AT FI LLMX, WASH. ITS SOLE AIM IS TO AID
Care of Chicks
A a subsequent article to that (
rrofpsiior Stontbiint oa incnlutlloa,
published last week, the follow iag
contribution br Helen I)ew W blinker,
head of tbe poultry department ef
the Washington state College. thvuM
be read nlth Interest,
LIFE at one time offered $1,000.
000 to the man who could cap
ture the "ultimate" and deliver
it to the editors of that publication
intact. The ultimate in brooders
would well be worth $1,000,000 to
the poultry industry of the United
Slates. We have wrung the changes
from lampless, tireless, oil heated,
gasoline heated, steam heated, room
neatea back to the old red hen. The
problem of brooding chicks differs
with environment and numbers.
There will never be any on brood
ing system that will suit all condi
tions, and doubtless we shall' come
to understand in time that the op
erator is the vital part of any brood-
ng equipment.
1 should like to put the eggs into
my incubator at such an hour as to
nsure a cleaned-up hatch in the early
morning. I would then remove the
egg trays, leaving the chicks in the
Incubator nursery the first night.
After removing the frays I would
not bring the temperature back to
more than 100 degrees and by the
following day when the chicks are
to be taken out of the incubator, I
should have gradually lowered the
temperature to 95 degrees. It re
quires a great deal of time and at
tention to keep the Incubator ther
mometers steadily and slowly regis
tering lower and lower, and this Is
just where the secret of proper tem
perature for the chick lies.
Brooder Temperatures.
Meanwhile, the brooders should be
heated through and through evenly
and their thermometers registering
90 degrees. Take the chicks as care
fully and quickly as possible from
the incubator at 95 degrees to the
brooder at 90 degrees. In 15 min
utes the heat of the chicks will have
raised the brooder thermometer to
95 degrees and the more venture
some chicks will be out for a drink.
I think we should bear in mind
that in gome brooders the ther
mometers are misleading, because
tbey are seldom so placed as accur
ately to record the actual tempera
ture of the space occupied by the
chicks.
I have learned before putting
chicks into a brooder, to run it empty
24 hours, not only to thoroughly dry
it out and heat It up evenly -through
and through, but also that 1 may use
at least two, preferably four ther
mometers before any chicks are put
Into the brooder, to get a line on
temperatures in various places, both
under the hover and out, nd to learn
how the reading of a thermometer on
the floor under the hover corresponds
with the one suspended over the
chicks' heads, which is the one reg
ularly used. The floor temperature
should be considerably lower than
the temperature in the hottest place
under the hover.
Less Heat Needed at Night.
I have learned that the chicks un
der the hover, as they are at night,
require less heat than when they are
in and out from the cooling room of
A put ef latercrtJar Heme (res
the Oregea Acrlenltaral Collet at
Camilla will alternate la the faint
weekl wHh a pace ef aewt ote
from the Wahlgta State Cellec
at Fallmaa. Thle will aferd aa t
terehaace ef viewa (rem tha tire Me;
agricultural colleges f tbe North,
neitt that iliould proTO el heaeflt to
the reader, for the iatltotles dral
with similar problems.
in the Brooders
the brooder, as they are by day. If
a little chick runs under the btver
and finds a cozy, warm spot, he will
snuggle up for a nap; if it Is cold,
he does not stay, reasoning that a
half dozen others will drop in to
help him heat up the place; instead,
he runs out crying that it is a cold,
cold world, and misses the much
needed nap. Tbe first three days of
the chick's life his greatest need is
for even, comfortable temperature
and plenty of sleep.
The statement that no brooder
thermometer is needed as one can
readily tell whether the chicks are
comfortable by looking at tbem, is
helpful, I think, where It is not
needed that is to the experienced
chicken raiser. The inexperienced
may be easily misled. The first
bunch of brooder babies I ever raised
looked comfortable to me at night
when they were laying all spread out
flat with their little heads stretched
out from under the hover.
For several nights I tip-toed away
content at the sight of their perfect
comfort; then some happy chance, I
forget what, caused me one night to
put my hand under the hover just
over their backs. It came back damp
with the steam of those over-heated
little sufferers.
"Looking Comfortable."
Now when I wish to see whether
or not my chicks "look comfortable,"
I raise the hover and look at the
underneath side for dampness. I put
my hand among tbe chicks to de
termine whether they are being weak
ened by a night sweat. I look at the
chicks for drooping wings in the
morning and lastly I look at my ther
mometer. Being satisfied by all these
tests, the chicks "look comfortable"
to me, they are plied pretty well
together, a little apart from the
source of heat, but not huddled or
bunched, and sleeping soundly, not
ready to waken and crowd at the
slightest disturbance.
There Is one feature by which to
condemn any brooder, and that Is
lack of ventilation. Personally I am
fond of most sorts of preserves, but I
make an exception In the case of pre
served air and odors. I insist npon
brooder which provides for a copious
Intake of fresh air, which cannot
possibly contain any fumes from the
lamp, and also provides equally good
outlet for the breathed-over odorous
air from under the hover.
After the first week I believe In
an every-day cleaning of the brood
erg, a cleaning so thorough that it
dispenses with old air, old odors, old
straw litter and every grain ot left
over food, and which leaves all
drinking dishes fairly shining in
brightness. Helen Dow Whitaker.
The Clank ( Dream.
Tbev Aade me follow fleet
Where my brothers work and play.
But the Cloak of Dreams blow over my
feet.
Tangling them from the way.
They bade me watch the skies
For a. signal dark or light,
But the Cloak of Dreams blew over my
eyes,
Shutting them fast from sight
I have no pain nor mirth,
Wonderment nor desire.
The Cloak of Dreams 'twlxt me and
earth
Wavers ita drowsy fire.
I dream In dusk apart,
Hearing a strange bird sing,
And the Cloak of Dreams blows over
my heart,
Blinding and sheltering.
Margaret Widdemer, In the Crafts
man. Unsuccessful.
Clerk Did you
Drug Clerk Did you kill any
moths with those moth balls I gave
yon?
Disconsolate Customer No. I
tried for five hours, but I couldn't
hit a one.
AGRICl!LTVRIST..
Sulphur-Soda Spray-
Inquiries Answered
HE Agricultural Experiment Sta
tion at Pullman is overwhelmed
with inquiries concerning a new
form of spray material widely ad
vertised to replace sulphur-lime. Dr.
A. L. Melander, entomologist of the
station, presents the following state
ment about these preparations.
Sulphur-soda preparations are not
new, although in their dry form they ,
have not been long on the market.
Ten years ago the Oregon Station
passed judgment on one of them as
"not at all efficient. At the same
time the Virginia Station, using a
sulphur-soda at double strength, de
cided it to be fairly effective, but
expensive.
In 1913 this station tried In a lim
ited way some dry sulphur-soda at
Clarkston and at Prosser. Compared
with sulphur-lime the results were
promising, but the next year the tests
were repeated at Clarkston, Walla
Walla, Sunnyslde and North Yakima.
In each case the sulphur-soda did not
prove so efficient as the sulphur
lime. Both sprays were used at the rate
of 30 pounds of solids to the 100
gallons, which is 50 per cent stronger
than the manufacturers recommend
for sulphur-soda and nearly 50 per
cent weaker than the customary
usage of sulphur-lime. In the case
of the gulphur-limo this amounted
to a dilution of one to 14, which Is
nearly twice as strong as the weakest
spray that will kill scale.
Unsprayed check scales would av
erage 80 per cent alive at the same
time, and in each case the heavy oil
sprays produced complete control.
There is no evidence to show that
sulphur in the form of sulphur-soda
is twice as efficient as in the form
of sulphur-lime. However, dealers
in dry sulphur-soda preparations
claim that a 100-pound drum of this
material Is equal to a 600-pound
barrel of sulphur-llme. The efficien
cy of sulphide sprays Is universally
believed to depend on the amount
of polysulphldo sulphur present.
A 50-gallon barrel of standard
sulphur-lime contains In solution
about 65 pounds of lime and 135
pounds of actual sulphur, of which
100 pounds are in the form ot poly
sulphlde sulphur practically 200
pounds of solids dissolved in 320
pounds of water. The slogan, "Why
pay freight on 500 pounds of water?"
Is therefore misleading. A drum of
dry sulphur-soda contains about 64
pounds of actual sulphur, of which
43 pounds alone have insecticidal
value.
The remaining Biilphur is combined
In the form of sodium thiosulphate,
which is tbe familiar substance
known to photographers as "hypo,"
which has no killing properties, and
which makes up practically half the
weight of the sulphur-soda compound.
Based on polysulphlde sulphur, there
fore, a drum of sulphur-soda should
sell at $4.30 to compare with a bar
rel of sulphur-llme at $10.
She Kaevr All Ahvnt It
He placed his hand near to his heart
and said:
"The world knows not how great ft
load I hear
Eight here." She looked ot him, then
turned her head
Away. Raising her handkerchief with
care,
She answered: "You're mistaken, I be
lieve; No one can stand as near you as I do
And not know all about it. Ho don't
grieve."
He
looked surprised, then ale an
other clove or two.
Lippincott's.
Horrible Thought.
George, you'll have to do some
thing with Willie. Today he dropped
a big worm down his little sister's
back."
"Oh, he's only a boy."
"That's what you always say. But
you'd better stop him now. It you
don't he may grow up and droy
bombs on hospitals."