The gazette-times., April 08, 1915, HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 8, Image 14

HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
What the Government Has to Say A Page of Special Articles
Bulletins Issued by the United States Department of Agriculture of Interest to the Northwest;
Suggestions Covering a Wide Range of Activities; Result of Federal Investigations, Etc.
8
Sour, or Bitter, Orange
Makes a Palatable Jelly
SPECIALISTS of the Bureau of Chemis
try, of the United States Department
cf Agriculture in the course of experi
ments have observed that the hitherto
useless fruit of the sour or bitter orange
can be made to yield a highly palatable
Jelly which promises to afford a use for
a large amount of this wasted fruit. This
fruit is too bitter to be eaten raw.
The chemists, however, found that the
pulp or interior of this orange, with the
unusually bitter skin removed and with
the addition of twice as much sugar,
would jell tnto an amber-colored product
not quite so bitter as bitter orange mar
malade but having some of the charac
teristic flavor of that conserve.
The method of making the Jelly is de
scribed as follows:
Take all the pulp of the orange, includ
ing the seeds. Add to it twice its volume
of water and boil it until the pulp falls
to pieces. Strain the mixture through a
cotton or canton flannel jelly bag and add
to the strained juice twice as much sugar
by weight as there was original fruit
pulp. Boil down this mixture until it
reaches the "jell point." Put while boil
ing hot Into clean glasses and seal the
same as is the practice with other jellies.
The chemists recommend the following
test as a simple one to determine when
fruit sirup has reached the "jell point":
"Make a thin, flat stick or a small pad
dle, about an inch broad, and whittle this
down to a straight edge. Dip the paddle
or stick into the jelly mixture and re
move it. Hold the end down, and if the
mixture has reached the jelling point, it
will be noticed that the liquid will not
drip off in drops but will flake off; that
is, a strip of jelly will fall off from the
paddle in one mass."
The sour orange has been used exten
sively as a stock on which to bud the
commercial citrus fruits. It was intro
duced into the Gulf States by the Spanish
colonists for this purpose and during the
Intervening years has spread considerably
by natural seeding, as it is a very vigor
ous tree and grows particularly well in
low, moist ground.
There is a considerable qauntity of
fruit from these trees which has hitherto
been of little or no use and the chemists
believe that the publication of the process
for converting the fruit into jelly will en
able owners of sour orange trees to do
some profitable preserving and possibly
may lead to the making of the product on
a commercial scale.
Study Is Made of Helpful
and of Destructive Birds
THE biological survey has studied the
economic status of birds, largely
through the method of analyzing the food
in their stomachs to determine whether
their feeding habits were helpful or de
structive to agriculture. As a result of
this study, 11 birds were added to the
lists of bird enemies of the boll weevil,
making a total of 64 thus far discovered.
In the matter of the alfalfa weevil, 45
species of birds as well as frogs, toads,
and the salamander were found to feed
upon this beetle. The most active en
emies of the weevil among the birds are
the Brewer blackbird, the Western mead
ow lark, the valley quail, and the English
sparrow. Of vertebrate enemies other
than birds, the Rocky Mountain toad
renders good service in destroying breed
ing adult insects in Spring and larvae
later in the year.
An examination of the stomachs of
600 birds seems to indicate that birds are
of no value as enemies of the full-grown
range caterpillars. Mammals, particu
larly the skunk, seem to be the import
ant enemies of this pest.
In addition, the bureau made Investi
gations of the economic relationships of
the birds of Porto Rico and, In co-operation
with the Smithsonian Institution,
Studied the birds of Panama.
Study was given also to methods of
attracting birds and encouraging them to
build nests and live about human habita
tions. A Farmers' Bulletin telling how to
build attractive bird houses and attract
birds in other ways, is now in course of
preparation.
The bureau also has given much atten
tion to a study of bird migration, and is
completing a bird census.
During the year permits were issued
for importing 475,392 birds, among which
were 368,676 canaries, 36,760 partridges
and 4148 pheasants. There was a notice
able increase in the importation of par
tridges, as a number of states, including
Iowa and Oregon, are experimenting in
the introduction of these game birds for
restocking purposes.
During the calendar year 1914, the
Forest Service reforested 1074 acres of
burned over land in Oregon. To do this
required the planting of 600,000 tree3.
It is expected that three times that many,
will be planted out during 1915. '
Careful Filtration Good to
Remove "Eels" From Vinegar
VINEGAR matters who have been
troubled with the nematode known
as "eels" have written for remedies to
the United States Department of Agricul
ture, and in response the department's
specialist suggests that the "eels" may
be removed from the vinegar by filtra
tion, as the eggs and larvae and all forms
of the eel are too large to pass fine
filters. Coarse filter paper may be used
for this or sand put in a receptacle with
a cloth or other poms bottom.
It is always easy to test the filters, by
saying out a little of the filtered vinegar
and allowing it to stand for a few days,
when, if still eel-infested, the eels will
make their apperance.
It will be found advantageous, in ex
amining filtered vinegar, to use some sort
of centrifuge, an apparatus somewhat
similar to the Babcock milk tester. - In
this way a relatively large quantity of
vinegar can be quickly tested for eels.
These centrifuges are made by a large
number of firms for various purposes,
and the cheaper forms, such as will be
suitable for this purpose, are not expen
sive. The operation is very simple di
rections will be furnished by the manu
facturer. Vinegar eels always come from eggs
or larvae of other eels. These exist in
nature in orchards, finding sustenance
in decaying fruit which goes through al
coholic and acetic formations, as in the
case of manufactured vinegar. When the
eels are introduced in the manufacture
of vinegar, it is usually through the use
of rotten or imperfect fruit.
Once the eels are In the works they
collect in any part where there is suf
ficient stray vinegar to furnish them with
nourishment. Any crevice, even of the
most minute character, may furnish them
an abiding place. Hence all such crevices
or collecting places should be abolished.
It is useless to expect vinegar to re
main free from eels unless the establish
ment is kept perfectly clean. The vats or
other receptacles in which eels have been
found should be thoroughly disinfected by
heat, when It is not working. This can
be done, either by using team or boiling
water which should be applied copiously
through a pipe, or in case of the water,
with ladles, to all the surfaces and crev
ices where eels might accumulate.
More Douglas fir is used than any
other wood in the world.
THERE is an aerial machine far more
economical of energy than the best
aeroplane invented, and that is the
bird known as the golden plover. This
bird, according to the United States De
partment of Agriculture's new bulletin
on "Bird Migration," can fly 2400 miles
without a stop, making the trip in not
quite 48 hours, and using only two ounces
of fuel In the shape of body fat.
A thousand-pound aeroplane, If as eco
nomical of fuel, would consume In a 20
mile flight not the gallon of gasoline
required by the best machines but only a
single pint. The fact that the screw
propeller of the aeroplane has no lost
motion, while the to-and-fro motion of
the bird's wings appears to be an uneco
nomical way of applying power makes the
fact regarding fuel seem even more
strange.
Even the little humming bird can do
better than the aeroplane, for in its mi
gration across the Gulf of Mexico It files
over 500 miles in a single night. Nearly
all birds, in fact, show in their soaring
and sailing that they are proficient in the
use of several factors in the art of fly
ing that have not yet been mastered
either In principle or practice by the most
skillful of modern aviators.
Defying Gravity.
A vulture or a crane, after a few pre
liminary wing beats, sets Its wlnga and
mounts in wide sweeping circles to a
great height, overcoming gravity with no
exertion apparent to human vision even
when assisted by the most powerful tele
scopes. The Carolina rail, or sora, has small,
short wings apparently 111 adapted to
protracted flight, and ordinarily when
forced to fly does so reluctantly and
alights as soon as possible. It flies with
such awkwardness and apparently be
comes so quickly exhausted that at least
one writer has been led to infer that most
of its migration must be made on foot;
the facts are, however, that the Carolina
rail has one of the longest migration
routes of the whole rail family and easily
crosses the wide reaches of the Carib
bean Sea.
Ocean Flight Easy.
The popular belief that birds under
ordinary circumstances find ocean flight
wearisome, and that after laboring with
tired wings across the Beemlngly endless
waste they sink exhausted on reaching
Giant Seaweed in Pacific
Contains Very Much Potash
ALL along the Pacific Coast from Mex
ico to Alaska there is a vast quantity
of fertilizing material in the form of
giant seaweed known as "kelp." "This
material," says an investigator in the
Uniter States Department of Agricul
ture's new bulletin (No. 150), if treated
by a process slmiliar to. that used to con
vert the waste from fish canneries into
fertilizers, will yield a commercial fer
tilizer of particular value because of its
relatively large content of potash."
Any scheme for using kelp on a large
scale as a fertilizer must be based on
some method of concentrating Its valu
able constitutents, because green kelp
contains so much water. Investigations
seem to show that at present, consider
ing the economic conditions on the Pa
cific Coast, kelp may be best prepared
for the trade merely by drying and
grinding.
Even wet kelp, w'hlch contains 85 per
cent moisture, contains 2 1.-2 per cent of
potash, where stable manure, alfalfa and
cowpeas all contain less than one per
cent. Drying, however, increases the per
centage of potash to 15.8 per cent. This
commercial product also has 1.6 per cent
of nitrogen and Bome phosphorus. On the
retail market of the Pacific Coast the
total value of a ton of kelp should be,
according to estimates, $22.94. In the
eastern wholesale market it should bring
$16.45.
The main fertilizers termed "potash
carriers" today used In this country are
the German potash salts. Laboratory
tests have shown that kelp is quite as
effective as the potash salts, and dry kelp
would enter the trade as a "potash car
rier" to compete with the imported prod
ucts. Kelp has been used as a fertilizer for
centuries in the British Isles, and has
been so valued there that lands carrying
kelp harvesting privileges brought spe
cial prices. In New England also kelp
has been found valuable.
The kelp on the Pacific Caost differs
from the seaweeds of the Atlantic because
of their much greater size. Already this
produce of the sea gardens of the West
has been used in Alaska, particularly in
fertilizing potatoes and on truck gard
ens. Near San Pedro, Cal., kelp haB been
harvested mechanically and shipped in
the crude, undrled condition to the
ranches and orchards of that part of the
state.
land, is dlsproven by facts, according to
the new pamphlet. It seems rather that
the powers of locomotion with which na
ture has endowed many birds are so won
derful that under normal conditions they
can easily cross the Gulf of Mexico at
its widest point and even pass without
pause over the low, swampy coastal plain
to the higher -territory beyond.
So little averse are birds to an ocean
flight that many fly from Eastern Texas
to the Gulf Coast of Southern Mexico
though this 400 miles of water journey
hardly shortens the distance of travel by
an hour's flight. Thus birds avoid the
hot, treeless plains and scant provender
of Southern Texas by a direct flight from
the moist, insect-teeming forests of
Northern Texas to a similar country in
Southern Mexico.
Where Do Birds Migrate?
Everybody knows'that birds when they
migrate In the Fall generally "go South,"
but knowledge is Beldom more specific.
The department's new bulletin brings out
the fact that while some birds go to
Florida or the West Indies or Mexico,
others, such as the bobolink and rice bird,
go as far south as Paraguay and the
southern part of Brazil.
Much has been learned about bird mi
gration but much yet remains to be
learned, and the following Is one of the
most curious and interesting of the un
solved problems. The chimney swift is
one of the most abundant and best
known birds of eastern United States.
With troops of fledglings catching their
winged prey as they go and lodging by
night In tall chimneys, the flocks drift
slowly south Joining with other bands,
until on the northern coast of the Gulf
of Mexico they become an innumerable
host. Then they disappear.
Did they drop into the water or hiber
nate in the mud, as was believed of old,
their obliteration could not be more com
plete. In the last week of March a Joy
ful twittering far overhead announces
their return to the Gulf Coast, but their
hiding place during the intervening five
months is still the swift's secret.
In spite of the low rates charged for
the use of the forests, the TongaB Na
tional Forest is self-supporting almost
twice over. Twenty-five per cent of this
income reverts to the Territory for
schools and roaHs. -
Cheddar-Process Cheese
Is Better Than Ordinary,
THAT Cheddar-process cheese, If put
up in air-tight cans, has certain ad
vantages over cheese handled in the ordi
nary way, is the conclusion reached by
the Dairy Division of the United States
Department of Agriculture, after a series
of tests which were continued a number
of years. This method, in the opinion of
the specialists, seems to meet the needs
of handlers who have been trying to de
vise some individual package for this
kind of cheese or a method of handling
that would eliminate cutting and waste
between the factory and the consumer.
As a result of the experiments it was
found that it was commercially practic
able to press the cheese in hoops of small
diameter, cut it into pieces of desired
weight, and seal It in airtight tin cans.
This provides a sanitary package which
keeps the cheese from exposure to air
or contamination, and prevents loss of
weight by evaporation. In addition to
these advantages there is no rind, which,
of course, is always a loss.
The extra cost to the manufacturer, it
is estimated, is about 3 cents for labor -and
cans; a part of this cost, however,
is offset by the fact that there is no loss
on account of evaporation and rind.
Cheese cured in cans has certain points
of superiority that, besides its cleanliness,
recommend it to many consumers. It is
soft enough to spread and when well
ripened has a well-developed Cheddar
flavor. If there are facilities for keeping
it cool it should prove to be popular with
camping parties and on boats.
Also farmers who live at some distance
from stores would find canned cheese to
be convenient, as it enables them to lay
In a Bupply that will last and keep for on
or two months in cold weather.
When cheese is packed In an air-tight
can, the formation of gas that Is char
acteristic in- cheese ripening sometimes
causes swelling of the can, but this does
not necessarily indicate that the contents
are unfit for consumption.
Cheese handled In this way is as per
ishable as any other cheese, and should
not be allowed to stand in a warm room
too long before using; this is a point
which should be made clear to consum
ers, who may think that a cheese put up
in this manner will keep indefinitely. The
length of time that cheese of this kind
can be kept depends very largely on the
temperature.
The lower the temperature the more
natural fermentation of the cheese is
checked. At a temperature of 40 degrees
Fahrenheit canned cheese probably will
remain good for several months.
At the present time one of the large
cheese factories in Wisconsin, In co-operation
with a cheese dealer, is endeavorV
Ing to extend Its trade in this form of
product.
v The Clover Clly Chap.
I am a little farmer, ' t
And a city chap came on, ,
We formed a ("light acquaintance,
But not for very long.
I kept my eyes wide open
And his object I espied,
Was to make some easy money,
Which he very soon contrived.
He opened up an office, '
Some real estate to cell.
And everybody ho could beat, i
He beat them pretty well. J
My neighbors out across the field, I
Through him have lost their home,
And I am out some hundred bones, ,
Which to him I did loan. I
Now he's gone, the office closed, 1
And also my hard cash.
Ho now the soli I'll have to dig,
In Whatcom County, Wash.
Blaine, Wash. Mrs. N. J. House.
(This author certainly tells a homer
truth which Is applicable to almost every
little community of the Pacific Northwest.
Why should this be true? We once knew
an Interesting fellow who went Into a cer
tain community, built a shoe factory on
ground given him by the city with money
furnished by the citizens of the city ana
before the factory was complete he had
sold 50,000 pairs of shoes to the local mer
chants and collected the money for them.
We also wonder why this should be true.
When we undertake to analyze this condi
tion, which 1b not only true of the Paclflo
Northwest but of the entire United States,
we throw up our hands In despair. Per
haps some of our contemporaries can ex
plain. Kd.)
Red alder is now being used to make
matches, and western juniper has beea
found to make good pencils.
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