The gazette-times., May 13, 1915, HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION, Page 2, Image 8

HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
The Agricultural College Is a Friend to the Farmer
. Page of News Notes and Interesting Articles Written by College Experts. '
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VIEW OF OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE AT CORVALL1S, OR, ITS SOLE AIM IS TO AID AGRICULTURISTS.
Lactic Acid Organism - Farm Institutes Prove Checking Epidemic
Check to Putrefaction Stimuli to Field Work - of White Diarrhea
(Special.)
THE lactic acid producing organ
isms, (Bulgarian bacteria),
found in Yohourth and Kefer, fer
mented milk drinks, are able to es
tablish themselves in the intestinal
tract and produce enough acid to
hold in check the putrefactive pro
cesses which otherwise exist there,
says Professor Beckwith, of the Ore
gon Agricultural College.
Yohourth has been used by the
Bulgarian tribes for a long time. It
is made by the Bulgarians la skin
bags. At least two species of bacilli
are present and one yeast capable
of producing lactic acid in very large
amounts. This Bulgarian lactic or
ganism is very hard to obtain in pure
cultures because it grows with diffi
culty on ordinary laboratory media.
These organisms produce a much
higher percentage of acid than the
common lactic acid bacteria and
grows also at a much higher temper
ature. It is possible to secure this acid in
practically pure culture by growing
it in milk at a high temperature.
When the Bulgarian bacteria are
grown in pure culture they will pro
duce from 1 to 3 per cent of acidity.
It grows well at temperatures be
tween 37 degrees and 40 degrees.
Very recently a number of fermented
milks have been put upon the market
which evidently have been derived
from Yohourth. The flora of these
preparations appear to be the same
as that of the original Yohourth. All
of these, milks are recommended by
physicians because of their effect
upon the digestive system.
Quite recently there has been de
veloped a very Important industry
in the manufacture of artificial but
termilk. This is made usually by
adding a culture of Bulgarian lactic
acid bacteria to skim milk. YeastB
are commonly added in the manu
facture of artificial buttermilk. The
skim milk is often pasteurized in or
der to get rid of the miscellaneous
flora which it contains. Thi3 product
contains nearly pure culture of the
lactic organisms. Earl Fraley.
Union County Doings.
' ' (Special.)
That the people of Union County
are very much alive on subjects
related to better farming is very evi
dent from recent reports. Very well
attended meetings are held at two
or three points each week by County
Agriculturist Claude C. Cate.
Many invitations are given him to
return and talk on other subjects.
The people in the Mt. Glen district
especially are very anxious to co
operate in several lines of work.
The students In the high school show
much interest and asked for practical
talks on potato diseases. Mr. Cata
is making arrangements for a colt
show at Imbler and dairy demonstra
tions or judging demonstrations at
Cove.
The professor of science at the La
Grande High School has promised to
make a mechanical analysis of the
various types of soils of the county,
which will be of value both to the
farmers and to the students who help
do the work. The Science Depart
ment will also co-operate in making
a collection of local economic needs
and in determining the best methods
for their eradication.
A page of Interesting Items from
the Oregon Agricultural College at
Corvallh) will alternate In the farm
weekly with a pane of news notes
from the Washington State College
at Pullman, This will afford an in
terchange of views from the two big
agrirnltural college of the North,
west that should prove of benefit to
the reader, fur the institutions deal
with similar problems.
(Special.)
RB. COGLON, County Agriculturist
for Lane County, states that as
the result of the Farmers' Institutes
or short courses in agriculture held
in that county January 1 to 9, he hag
received many calls from farmers
seeking information, especially in re
gard to good cows, pure bred sires,
and drainage problems. The at
tendance in most cases, while not ex
ceedingly large, was for the moBt part
composed of farmers and their wives
who attended regularly all sessions
of the institutes. Meetings were
held at Junction City, Creswell, Cot
tage Grove, Willakenzie Grange Hall
and at Eugene. The total attendance
was over 1400, In addition to the
lectures and demonstrations for farm
ers, other sessions were given by the
domestic science department of the
College. Several farmers have asked
information as to where they could
procure pure bred Jersey cattle, pure
bred hogs, and goon seed corn.-
The question of soil acidity In Lane
County has caused considerable activ
ity in the application of various forms
of lime. The majority of the farm
ers evidently are of the impression
that in order to raise normal crops
on acid soils it is necessary only to
apply lime. During the Farmers' In
stitutes special attention wag given
to this matter and an attempt was
made to impress upon the farmers
the necessity of good drainage in
order to secure the maximum benefit
from applications of lime." The dis
cussions of this matterhad the im
mediate effect of a number of re
quests for personal visits and making
of drainage plans for the installation
of systems at an early date.
Coos County Dairymen Banquet.
(Special.)
J. L. Smith, County Agriculturist
of Coos County, writes of a suc
cessful meeting of the dairymen rep
resenting two of the cow testing as
sociations in the county. Namely,
the Coquille Valley Cow Testing As
sociation, which in this instance was
banqueted by the Bandon and Lower
Coquille Cow Testing Association.
The meeting was held at Coquille,
at which time both associations were
re-organized for 1915 and new of
ficers elected. Several new herds of
cows were entered in the two asso
ciations and the work is going for
ward with much interest. He writes
further that "Everyone present en
tirely enjoyed the big feast, the
music, and the speeches, nnd the
dairymen responded with hearty
spirit throughout the programme
that was good to see and hear."
Largely due to Mr. Smith's efforts
Coos County now ranks second in
the United States in number of cows
in cow testing associations. Total
number of cows in that county un
dergoing test now exceeds 3000.
Short Course Succeeds.
(Special.)
The Agricultural Short Course
given in Marion County during the
week December 2 8-January 2, by the
Extension staff ol the Oregon Agri
cultural College . and the County
Agriculturist, L. J. Cbapln, was very
successful. Meetings were held at
Aurora, Silvcrton, Woodburn, Clover
dale and Salem, lasting from one to
three days at each place. A total
of 1864 persons attended the meet
ings. Eight persons from the Oregon
Agricultural College took part in the
work in addition to Mr. Cbapln.
The largest attendance was at
Woodburn where as many as 185
persons attended a single session.
Mr. Chapln states he received enough
invitations to make personal visits to
farms to keep him busy all Summer.
Most of the requests were for help
along the lines of efficient farm man
agement, cropping systems, and bet
ter livestock.
EXTENSIVE Investigations recently
conducted by the O. A. C. de
partment of bacteriology have dis
closed the fact that where 65 per
cent of chicks suffered mortality
from white diarrhea, approximately
65 per cent of the hens of the flock
were Infected with the disease germs.
Of 150 hens killed and examined, 98
of them were found to be infected,
having diseased ovaries. While it
was impossible to examine all of the
chicks that died, an examination of
large numbers was made and from the
dead chicks and causative agent of the
disease, a germ known as Bacillus
Pullorura, was isolated.
Many of the hens from which these
chicks were bred had been examined
previous to their slaughter by the
brood test which gave evidence of
their having ovarian infection with
white diarrhea germs in the unde
veloped ova or eggs., Not all the
hens slaughtered had been given this
blood test for the reason that it was
thought best to clean up the old stock
by killing most of the older birds.
These birds were later used for
market since the germs of the dis
ease are not harmful to humans and
do not injure the birds for edible
purposes.
The flock upon which this Investi
gation was conducted was that of the
State Insane Asylum at Salem. This
plant is under the supervision of C.
N. Wilcox, a former O. A. C. gradu
ate, who realized that In order to
run the plant successfully and mako
it pay from a business standpoint it
was necessary to save the chicks and
also get at and remove the cause of
the trouble. This view was endorsed
by Dr. R. E. L. Steiner, head of the
Slate Institution, under whose
courtesy the Investigation wbs made.
These findings soem to Indicate
that where white diarrhea becomes
a serious epidemic in a flock the
most sure and profitable way of
eradicating is to kill off the breeding
birds from which the germs are
transmitted, and at the same time
make an effective and thorough clean
ing up of all grounds, buildings and
equipment.
Klamath Comity Progress.
(Special.)
County Agriculturist H. R. Glals
yer reports the first issue of ' the
Klamath County Monthly Farmers'
Exchange List as having met with
the general approval of the farmers
and business men alike. Twelve
hundred copies were printed and
mailed to all farmers and business
men of the county. In less than two
weeks three-fourths of all the items
listed were sold or exchanged.
Mr. Glalsyer also reports wide
spread Interest in regard to co-operative
field tests with different crops
for 1915. Many farmers have called
at his office in this connection with
out previous personal solicitation.
Interest is being shown especially in
regard to drying our alfalfa and field
peas in rows under dry conditions, a
good start along this line having been
mRde last season under the direction
of M. A. McCall, former County Agriculturist.
Need of a Few Good
Sheep on Every Farm
(Special.)'
MR. FARMER, why not Increase
your profits by running a few
sheep on your farm?
That sheep can be made the most
profitable of all farm animals on the
place, with proper management, is
the conclusion of Professor O. M.
Nelson, Instructor in sheep husbandry
at the Oregon Agricultural College.
When prices for wool are good a
rightly managed breeding ewe will
pay for her maintenance during the
year with her fleece, and in addition
will raise, one, two, or perhaps three
lambs, which are net' profit to the
owner.
On an average, sheep produce a
pound of gain with less feed than do
other classes of livestock. This fact
together with the Increasing demand
for good mutton and the prices that
can be obtained for it make sheep
husbandry pay well indeed.
The manure as a fertilizer is
worth more than any other except
that of poultry. In this connection
it has been found that there is but
very little impoverlshmentof land
upon which sheep run. They return
to it In the form of excrement almost
all that is taken from it In feed.
The establishment of a small band
does not require a large outlay of
capital in comparison with that for
other stock, since there is no need tor
expensive buildings to furnish proper
sheltering and housing. And the
business fits in well with other
phases of farmingi W. A. Luxton.
Tilluniook lias Best Cur Stock.
(Special.)
Tillamook papers are authority
for" the statement that the carload
of stock purchased by the Tillamook
ers at the Pacific International Live
stock Show in Portland was the best
carload ever brought Into the county.
All the bulls had. an average record
by nearest dams of over 30 pounds
of butter-fat each. Out of 192 head
on sale, Tillamook people purchased
25, consisting of five bulls and 20
heifers, all Holstelus. The total cost
was $6130.
Great credit is due the persons
who made these purchases for their
enterprise In bringing more good
stock to the county, and to the
County Agriculturist, Mr. Jones, In
working up the proposition and as
sistance in selecting the animals.
Soils for Orchard Fruit.
"Pears succeed on soils heavier
than that on which any other fruit
grows with success," says Professor
C. I. Lewis, horticulturist at O. A. C.
"Apples do well on a wide range of
soils, reaching from the clay loams on
the one hand to silt loams and sandy
soils on the other. Prunes seem to
do well on any soil that Is well
drained, and red hill lands have in
certain sections been well utilized In
prune production. Peaches require
either silt loam or very well drained
clay loam, although they succeed well
on well watered sandy loams. Cher
ries flourish on the lighter clay
loams. Nuts may be profitably grown
on any soil that is deep and well
drained."
Pasture In Pork Prodnctlon.
"To make pork production most
profitable In all its phases Oregon
growers should provide pasture for
hogs wherever possible,"' says R. E.
Reynolds, extension livestock man of
the Agricultural College. "Fresh pas
ture has a beneficial effect on the
health of the hog besides affording
valuable nutrients for the ration.
While grazing, the pigs obtain consid
erable exercise, which is essential to
economical gains, especially In young
pigs. It hag been proved that cheap
er gains can be made in a pasture
than In a dry lot. Likewise soil fer
tility 1b maintained more steadily,
Bince the manure, which is rich in fer
tilizing elements, is evenly distributed
co the lands pastured."
A pair of rare and beautiful Ger
man game birds known as "auer
hahns," has been placed in the O. A.
C. museum by Mrs. Sarah K. Newell,
of Roseburg, daughter of Honorable
D. S. K. Bulck, formerly Consul to
Germany, who says the birds were
killed by her father in the Sonneberg
forest in 1893. They are a species
of woodcock, and the aristocrats of
game birds.
Absolutely Free
A beautiful 42-plece set of dishes
given to our direct cream shippers this
year. Write for particulars.
F.S.T0WNSEND CREAMERY CO.
I. 0, Box 23.1, Portland, Or.
Creamery 12, Seventh and iiverett gta,