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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1956)
rOUlOTTKMEBFOllD! (OREGON) MAIL TRIBUNE gundiT- July 1. 1958 New- Method off Measuring Moistyre Used Here County Agent Sees 'Big Step' Toward Orchard Culture A "big step" in Jackson county orchard culture is believed to be in the making right now. In about one year local ex periment station officials and county extension agents hope to unveil a new mechanical means of measuring the amount of av ailable moisture in sou. The method involves burying small disc-like devices in the ground at various depths. The rectangular-shaped "discs" are attached to wires which are long enough to penetrate the soil sur face. When an orchardist wants to know when to irrigate, he at taches the wire ends to a battery operated meter. The meter indi cates the amount of water his soil contains at the different depths. 20 Art Installtd ADDroximately 20 of these discs, called "soil moisture waf ers," have been installed on an experimental basis , in various types of soil in seven Medford area orchards. These include the Ralph Cook, Dunbar Carpenter and Bear Creek home orchards, all containing heavy soil, Oak- dale. Hollywood and Alfred Car penter orchards, containing in termediate soil, and the Rogue River company's Clancy orch ard, containing light sou. Clifford B. Cordy, county horticulture agent, explained that an average of two wafers are installed in each hole. The num ber of wafer sets installed per orchard depends upon the uni formity of the soil. If the earth - texture is heavy in one area and light in another, two sets would be needed, he said. Some times more than two are needed and in other instances, where soil type is generally uniform, only one set is necessary. ' Spun Glass The wafers, each measuring about one inch by l'i-inch around and about one- fourth inch thick, consist of spun glass partially encased in metal with the wires attached. Cordy ex plained that trie spun glass ab sorbs the moisture and, when the meter is connected, the wire and metal casing work together to conduct the moisture reading from the wafer to the meter. The meter shows the moisture content in terms of microamp eres. The" orchardist interprets this reading according to a chart adapted to his particular type of soil and the season in which the reading is taken. Before installing the wafers, orchardists at the experiment sites send samples of the soil to Oregon State college laborator ies. The soil is analyzed there is determine the amount of wa ter still in the soil at the point where trees wilt from lack of available water. Varies in Earth This factor varies in differ ent types of earth so individual tests must be made on samples taken in several parts of the or chard. Information from this an alysis is used in interpreting ' meter readings. This moisture testing service, was started at OSC just last spring. The next step involves dig ging a hole in the ground, pre ferably with a soil auger. Depth of the hole depends upon the lowest point at which the orch ardist desires a moisture reading. At the Rogue River company's Clancy orchard, the hole was dug approximately 4Vi feet deep. One wafer was buried at that depth, another at 30 inches and another at 15 inches. As the earth is removed from the hole it is kept in order and returned to the hole in the same order. This is because soil con ditions vary at different depths. If surface soil were placed at the bottom of the hole, or if 41 2 foot soil were placed on the sur face, the reading would not be a true one. Cordy explained. Post Installed After the wafers .have been planted, a post is installed and the varying lengths of wire are attached to the post. This keeps the wires from becoming buried and the post also serves as a marker. Cordy said on two of the ex ' periment sites, curious people have seen the wires on the ground and pulled on them. "The wires came up but they became detached from- the wafers. We had to start all over again and plant new wafers." Now orchard ists are urged to explain the ex periment to employees before the employees try to find out about it on their own. Meter readings are made " weekly at the various orchards by experiment station officials and the county agents. In regular use, Cordy said, it wouldn't be necessary to make readings so frequently. Right now, while . the method is still in experimen tal stages, it is necessary to keep , a constant record. Others Used While the spun glass moisture ' wafer is strictly a new develop-1 MEASURING MOISTURE Martin Luther Jr., left, watches as Clifford Cordy, county horticulture agent, turns dials on a meter to determine moisture content in the soil at the Rogue River company's Clancy orchard. Three soil moisture wafers, consisting of spun glass partially encased in metal, are buried at varying depths in the earth. The wafers are attached to wires, which extend above the earth surface. The meter is connected to the wire ends to give the moisture reading. ment for this area. Cordy said similar devices made of gypsum and plastic have been used be fore here. "These weren't really satisfactory" he explained. "Gyp sum also tends to rot and can't be used very long. Plastic is in adequate because it is influenc ed by salt contained in the soil." The county agent said Dr. R. J. Higdon, horticulturist for the Medford experiment station, happened to see the spun glass wafers in use by experiment sta tions in another part of the country. The spun glass seemed sturdy and appeared promising for use in all kinds of soil. Ver satility is an important factor here since Oregon soil types are so varied. Thus, with assistance from the extension service. Dr. Higdon brought the spun glass wafer experiment to this area. Ultimately, it is hoped the new moisture measuring method will take some of the guess work out of irrigation. Soil may ap- School District Gets Taxes on Wrong Land Salem L! ) The wrong Marion school district has been receiving taxes on about 60 acres of valuable river bottom land for the past 76 yeart The error came to light when Mrs. Chester Austin requested that her 40 acres be annexed from the Salem district to Riv erview. Another error discovered at the same time was that George Hoyser, a member of Riverview district school board forjl8 years, has served illegally since he was in the Salem district. Everyone took for granted the land was in the Riverview district, Hoyser said, and his grandfather even donated land on which the present school is located. Hoyser planned to pe tition for a switch in the boundary. No Protests Voiced In Budget Hearing Central Point No protests were voiced and no one was present at the public hearing on Central Point's 1956-57 city budget last week.. City councilmen passed ordi nance 421, which officially adopts the budget for the fiscal year. Councilmen also estab lished a city hall building sink ing fund and amended the city building code to allow construc tion in dwellings without use of floor joists. The council also requested that the planning commission set up standards for streets, parking strips, sidewalks and service areas within the city. pear dry a few inches, under the surface and the orchardist may think it's time to irrigate, the county agent said. Soil Augers Used However, examination at a depth of three or four feet may reveal there is sufficient mois ture in the soil and irrigation at that time could be damaging. Soil augers have been used to determine moisture in earth at greater than surface depths, but seem only partially effective. Cordy said cost of the mois ture measuring equipment is about $50. Experiment station personnel and the county agents are en thusiastic over early indications in their experiment. They hope to be able to recommend the soil moisture wafers for general use here in about a year. Medford National Guardsmen Return From Two-Week Training Approximately 200 Medford National Guardsmen of HQ and HQ Company and Company A, both first battalion, 186th in fantry regiment of the 41st di vision, arrived home Saturday afternoon at the end of the an nual two-week encampment at Fort Lewis, Wash. The local group arrived by train about 1:15 p.m. They left Medford at 12:01 a.m. June 16. The last week of camp fea tured night firing demonstra tions, the division rifle match and a testing program for 1,000 selected troops. The testing was to determine how National Guardsmen compare with active Army troops in basic military knowledge. Each National Guard division in the nation will carry out the testing this summer. The 41st division was the second group to complete it. 98 Per Cent This year's camp attendance was approximately 98 per cent of the total strength of more than . 9.600 officers and men. Brig. Gen. George S. Cook, Seattle, in his first year as division com mander, said he was pleased with th-- attendance record and the training level exhibited by many units. Training in the final week in cluded small unit tactics, prac tice on artillery ranges and bridge building by the engineer unit. Tank companies fired 90 millimeter guns at the Yakima Firing center, firing jeep-mounted 105 millimeter recoilless rifles. Highlight of the encampment was the annual Governor's Day review held Saturday, June 23. Troops received pay Friday, 4 ARMY FIELD RADIO Recruits of Com pany A, 186th Infantry regiment, look on with interest as Pvt. Larry Gants. far right, explains the use and importance of the Army field radio. From left to right are Pvt. Ralph Waldo, Pvt. Dick Callender, Pvt. Glen John son, Pvt. Ted Yarnell, Pvt. Gene Dalbec, Pvt. Ross Taylor, Pvt. Don Pelham and Pvt. Gants. During the first week of training, the recruits attended a 785-member school where they learned operation of weapons. They moved into the field with their home units for the second week of training in their assigned jobs. These southern Oregon men meet with Company A in Medford. (Oregon National Guard photograph) - J ' MACHINE GUN SQUAD Field training in mock warfare is a major part of defense. These Natronal Guardsmen, members of Med ford's Company A, 186th infantry regiment, are engaged in "battle" with a simulated aggressor enemy. The machine gun squad consists of, left to right, Sgt. LeKby Jahnke, squad leader; SP3 Bill Cardwell, and PFC Theodore Keys, assistant gunner. The squad is armed with the .30 caliber light machine gun. (Oregon National Guard Photo). Fire Engine Kills 6 Injures 10 in Japan Tokyo (U.PJ A speeding fire engine veered into a crowd of pedestrians in Northern Japan Friday, killing six persons and injuring 10 others. Police at Kushiro, Hokkaido Island, said the engine was en route to a fire when the driver tried to avoid a child on a tri cycle in the street and swerved into the crowd. Fruitland Man Dies Of Injuries in Fall Ontario, Ore, (U.R) George H. Bacon, 73, Fruitland, Idaho, died Saturday of injuries suffer ed Friday when he fell from a pickup truck near the Ontario livestock commission yards. v h The dead man's son, J. Robert Bacon, said the truck was "not in motion when its door sprang open and the elder Bacon fell onto the ground. Bacon had been in critical con dition in Holy Rosary hospital in Ontario, until the time of his de'ath. For ALL Your Hot . Weather Refreshments MARKET v, 1202 North Riverside OPEN EVERY W NIGHT TIL - LlinkllrtUT NESBITT'S P t your eEfflB Favorite Jjj GR0CER !SiS - '-'ffi -'' , f, aij SWITCHBOARD OPERATION Pvt. Michael Smith, member of Medford's Headquarters company, 186th infantry regiment, operates the first battalion switchboard, while PFC Jerry Arm strong, also from Medford, watches. Elk Lumber Announces New Mill Opening Elk Lumber company hag an nounced it will open its new stud mill at 7 a.m. Monday. This is the second new phase of the Elk operation to be started within a period of five days. The company began using its new power house last Thursday. ' George Flanagan, general manager of the firm, said the stud mill is designed to reduce wood leftovers. He said the logs are broken down into small parts by use of thin gang saws and a larger proportion of the logs can be utilized. The new power house is pro viding energy for operation of the new mill. 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Guardsmen from dis-1 tant points, including Medford, j returned home by train, while ! other units made the trip in motor convoys. : The men consumed $140,000 ! worth of rations in the two j weeks, used 10,000 cots and mat tresses and fired more than 1, 500,000 rounds of ammunition. The 1,200 vehicles used 100,000 gallons of gasoline in two weeks. Medford's - National Guardsmen were quartered in the northeast section of Fort Lewis. HOUSE of MYSTERY North of Gold Hill AT Open Throughout The Year On Display - One of the West's Finest CollecHons of Gold Dust and Nuggets Summer. Hours 8 to 7 Under Founder's Management Since 1930 m,IMl'UII-M'MJ ogives you n n n n GUE 0 IIS OT(gD1)(S ...with the same secure savings! New broader policy of Farmers Insurance Exchange protects more members of your family, against more types of accidents than ever before. The most liberal all-inclusive policy in our history. 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