TWO MEDFORD (OREGON)
Bumble Bees Said Harmed by Sprays;
Pollinators Protected in This Area
Bumble bees are now dis
appearing In Oregon because
of widespread use of chemi
cal sprays, according to Dr.
VT. P. Stephen, entomologist
and bee specialist at Oregon
State college.
These large colorful bees
were once among the state's
leading crop pollinators, Ste
phen said.
Dr. Stephen said he has
found bumble bees all but
gone from intensive farming
areas where sprays are used
constantly to check destruc
tive pests.
Referring to this area, Clif
ford B. Cordy, county horti
culturist, said, "We have more
native bees around now than
we used to have. The types
of sprays now being used gen
erally kill only the bee who
gets into them. He does not
carry them back into the nests
where other bees may be kill
ed, Cordy explained.
Phosphate Materials
Dr. L. G. Gentner, ento
mologist at the Southern Ore
gon Experiment station, said
sprays using organic phos
phate materials are usually
applied after the cover crops
in the orchards blossom and
o to seed. As little of the
organic phosphate materials
as possible, which are most
injurious to bees, are used in
the spraying programs, Gent
ner said.
These bumble bees do help
with pollinating seed crops
and are valuable in setting
alfalfa seed, the entomologist
said. Sprayers covering these
crops try to do their spraying
early in the morning and late
in the evening when few. bees
are flying.
r Explaining the difference
between the bumble bee and
the honey bee, Gentner said
the bumble bee is larger, the
size of a thumbnail and cov
ered with hair. Unlike the
"smaller honey bees they live
in nests in the ground. Their
young are fed with pollen, in
stead of stored-up honey.
.Some Bees
T According to Dr. Stephen,
some bumble bees still remain
along the, coast and in other
sections of open land where
their ground nests are not ex-
L' posed to sprays. In those
areas, they are particularly
useful as pollinators of cran-
-berries, blueberries, and red
clover. They are more effec
This Week's
T I L 1 I I I 70-0 "I
X ' i FAMILY OM ft . ft. 6- 1
"i Z Ki S.NOOK r-t '8'i TTlAI 0
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' SPdl pLAN NO. 3 5Z&
.J-j -1 IPlTfW.-..-..-..-.,----;---? 0 2 134. Sd FT.
: By HIAWATHA ESTES
; The rugged shake roof and
stone veneer of this 2134
;square foot home makes it
Tappear to have "grown" from
lits natural setting. Hewn
Ibeams protrude from the
jgables and a unique design
;is incorporated on the garage
door. The wide expanses of
Iglass and functional interior
plan mark this home as com
pletely modern.
' Destined for popularity is
the family room, with a big
fireplace in one corner. On
the opposite wall triple glass
.doors slide open for easy
transition, between indoors
hd outdoors. A door also
ppens to the patio from the
iervice area, making it easy
to serve meals outdoors when
the weather is warm..
ZZThe outer service entrance I
fc only a step from the rear I
MAIL TRIBUNE
tive than honey bees on red
clover and blueberries and
honey bees do not like the
cool, wet conditions under
which cranberries grow.
While the decline of the
bumble bee can't be helped
or halted, it can be "lament
ed," Stephen said, and every
attempt made to check indis
criminate spraying that use
lessly kill off wild bees.
Honey bees are protected by
moving them in and out of
spray areas, he noted.
Technical Bulletin
Stephen recently published
a technical bulletin on bum
ble bees of Western America
and has been given a S9.500
grant by the National Science
Foundation to continue work
for another three years. He
plans eventually to compile
data on bumble bees of the
world.
The thing that makes some
bumble bees particularly ef
fective as pollinators is their
long tongues, Stephen said.
The three-jointed tongue is
sometimes as long as the bee's
body and twice as long as the
tongue of the honey bee.
Twenty-four species of
bumble bees are found in Ore
gon. Deserted mice nests are
favorite homes for the bees
and the big build-up in mice
this year may mean more
bumble bees next summer,
New Booklet Ready
On Tree Planting
Corvallis Advantages of
putting marginal cropland
into forest plantings under the
Soil Bank program are ex
plained in a new booklet just
published by Oregon State
college extension service in
cooperation with the Oregon
state board of forestry and the
U.S. forest service.
Copies of the booklet,
"Planting Trees Under Con
servation Reserve," may be
obtained from local county ex
tension offices or the OSC
bulletin clerk, Corvallis. t
Deadline for putting land
under a conservation reserve
contract for 1958 is April 15,
said Charles Ross, OSC farm
forestry specialist. Ross co
authored the booklet with
Carl Hawkes, forest service
forester.
Town, Country House
door of the garage, and the
half -bath is handy to the
work area, patio and play
yard.
An expanse of windows
lights the big front living
room. Book shelves are built
in and double doors open to
unite the living room and
separate dining room for
parties and social gatherings.
Although the fireplace is
shown in the family room, it
could be relocated in the liv
ing room during construction
or, if you wished, fireplaces
could be built in both of these
rooms. '
A separate bath and dress
ing room with double ward
robes are part of the master
bedroom suite. Twelve-foot
wardrobes are welcome fea
tures of both the other bed
rooms. .
Two water heaters supply the
Thursday February 13, 1938
Stephen believes. All but new
queen bumble bees die with
the first frost each fall. The
queen overwinters and builds
the colony.
Bumble bees vary greatly
in behavior and color. Some
a're vicious, others docile. Un
like the honey bee, the bum
ble bee can sting more than
once. In Oregon, they are
mostly yellow and black.
Beef Balloting x
To Gel Review
Salem Mailed ballots in
the beef commission referen
dum are expected to pour into
the state department of agri
culture immediately' after
Feb. 10, Director of Agricul
ture Robert J. Steward said
today. More than 4,000 pro
ducers who registered prior to
Jan. 21 are eligible to vote.
To be counted, ballots must
be postmarked to the depart
ment at Salem by Feb. 24,
or be deposited by that date
in an official ballot box in the
office of any Oregon county
extension agent, he said.
Because of the wide inter
est and broad coverage of this
referendum, and the heavy
vote expected, Steward said
arrangements have been made
with two prominent Oregon
ians to serve as a reviewing
board for the ballots cast.
One of these is David
O'Hara, who retired last year
after more than 40 years as
head of the elections division
for the state of Oregon. The
other is E. R. Jackman, Ore
gon State college range spe
cialist for many years, with
wide acquaintance throughout
Oregon's cattle industry.
All votes will be cast in
sealed ballot envelopes which
will be opened and tabulated
only at the department head
quarters in Salem, Steward
said. The reviewing board
will check all votes cast upon
the close of the referendum
period.
NO CAN
Beacon Falls, Conn (IP) A
homeowner, tired of dogs for
aging in his garbage can, pad
locked the top. He reported
later that a canine made off
with the whole can.
bathrooms and kitchen with
plenty of instant hot water.
Closets along the hall, a pan
try, broom closet and storage
rack in the double garage pro
vide ample storage room.
A forced air heater keeps
this home at the desired tem
perature the year around.
The kitchen opens onto the
dining room, family room,
service area and hall. Yet,
there is more than ample cab
inet space, built-ins and an
extra large breakfast nook
has been provided.
Complete working drawings of
me aDove pian can oe ootainea at
a cost of S7.50 for the first set and
S5 for each additional set. when
ordered at the same time. This plan
will be available for a period of
four months from this date. Please
allow two weeks for delivery. If
the above home does not entirely
meet with your satisfaction, a new.
home plan book. TOWN and
COUNTRY HOMES mav be pur
chaser for Si- Send all orders for
either plans or books to: Hiawatha
Estes. P. O. Box 404-T. Xorthridge,
Calif.
Joint Conference
Slated For Heads
Of Food Groups
Salem At the suggestion
of leaders of several of the
commodity commissions in
Oregon, Director Robert' J.
Steward of the state depart
ment of agriculture has called
a joint meeting of all chair
men and administrators for
Tuesday, Feb. 18, in Salem.
Steward said the commis
sion administrators are select
ing topics which will be dis
cussed at this first joint ses
sion, and are drawing up the
agenda for the meeting. He
said so far he has been ad
vised by one of the larger
commissions that it would like
to see a discussion on four
topics. ' J
Public Relations
Two of these are public re
lations and tithing to the state.
Another subject suggested by
this administrator is the effect
of the term "commission" as
a name for commodity mar
keting organizations. : There
is a growing sentiment that
this term does not clearly
identify the commodity groups
as being engaged completely
in self-help programs for their
respective industries.
The fourth discussion topic
suggested is the routine cleri
cal and office services wnicn
a 1 9.7 law authorizes the state
department of agriculture to
nrovide the smaller commis
sions upon their request. Other
topics will be offered for the
agenda.
Steward says' those who
have suggested this joint ses
sion are hopeful that if the
Feb. 18 meeting proves a suc
cess, the commodity groups
may arrange to meet together
once every three months on a
continuing basis to discuss
their mutual problems.
Fryer Offices Set
For Ag Building
Salem Temporary offices
for the Oregon Fryer commis
sion will be with the State
Department of Agriculture at
the Agriculture building in
Salem. At its Jan. 31 meet
ing, the commission voted to
take temporary advantage of
a 1957 law that stipulates
commodity commissions may
utilize the facilities and ser
vices of the state department
of agriculture.
A $55,000 budget for com
mission? operations in the next
16 months was established at
the same meeting. The bulk
of the money will be spent on
promotion, according to the
chairman, B. J. Rogers of
Springfield.
In its first administrative
order, the commission estab
lished a March 1 assessment
date and made a change in
the original rate to differ
entiate between live and
dressed birds.
Chairman Rogers indicated
the commission would be in
terested in hearing from can
didates for executive secre
tary before its next meeting
in Salem on Feb. 20, although
no final decision has been
reached on the creation of a
full-time position.
Short Course in
Insect Control Set
Corvallis An intensive
short course in damage, de
tection, behavior and control
of forest insects and diseases
will be held March 19 to 21
at Oregon State college.
The Northwest Forest Pest
Action council and the OSC
school of forestry are spon
sors. The; three-day course will
cover the Douglas fir beetle,
silver fir beetles, mountain
and western pine beetles, en
gravers, wood borers, spruce
budworm and other major de
foliators, sucking and cone
seed insects, root and heart
decay, foliage and stem dis
eases. Other topics will include
surveys, general control meth
ods, deterioration of killed
timber, and general manage
ment problems.
Tonnage Said Higher
In Fertilizer Sales
Salem Oregon farmers
used a little more fertilizer in
1957 than in any other year
on state record.
Tonnage fee reports made
to the state department of ag
riculture show 183,719 tons
were sold, or 701 tons more
than in 1956, the previous
high year.
GRAIN MOVEMENT
Salem More than 9 per
cent of 4.5 million bushels of
wheat unloaded in Portland
during January contained
smut and more than 23 per
cent contained foul dockage.
This shows up in the monthly
report of the state department
of agriculture's division of
grain inspection. Exports from
Portland totaled 3.5 million
bushels, mostly wheat, and
were down from a year
earlier.
CHIT CHAT
By JOI COWLEY
Mail Tribune Farm Editor
Effective use of commodity commissions to promote
consumption of Oregon products by Oregonians and others,
forms the big hope for both Oregon agriculture and addi
tional community payrolls, indicated Bob Steward, director
of Oregon's department of agriculture. An important meet
ing will be held in Salem on Feb. 18 with the heads of all
the commodity commissions, he told those attending the
annual Jackson County Stockmen's association meeting in
Central Point Tuesday. At this meeting the various com
mission representatives will find out where they can agree
and work together to develop a joint program.
"We are letting other areas get the value of processing
Oregon raw materials," Steward said. "This particularly
applies to feeder cattle and lambs. During 1956 we sent out
of the state 335,000 head of cattle. Major buyer of Oregon
feeder stock was California at 100,000 head."
Steward said he would like. to see the feeder operation
retained here and the finished product shipped out. Oregon
now has a surplus of forage and cereal crops which could
be utilized, he pointed out. This state now produces and
has available half the total meat products for its own popu
lation, the agricultural director said.
Steward said if the state can only "hang tough" the time
will come when a large population will consume everything
produced here. The period from 1945 to 1957 has registered
a 27 per cent increase in population for the Pacific North
west, he said. However, with this increase of population,
there has been a 30 per cent decrease in dairy cattle, a 41
per cent cut-back in hogs and 21 per cent drop in the num
ber of sheep raised.
"Meanwhile, we have to tool up for expanding require
ments of the increasing state population," Steward said.
"Helping with this advance planning is Julius Jensen and
his newly created state planning and development office."
By June 30, 28 of a total of 36 Oregon counties will
be certified brucellosis-free, according to Steward. By June
30, 1959, the whole state will be so certificated, he added.
This Droeram has two main imais-
. w B""" VVIlik WA UklU AQUA-
cation of brucellosis, and (2) free movement of female cattle
between counties and states, the secretarv of aprirnltiirn
said.
Ted Hyde. Of the Oresnn
who is plugging for the beef commission, told us there is
bound to be a switch in eastern Oregon in favor of the pro
posed commission. So far from that area there has been
loud-voiced opposition against the idea. Hyde said in any
movement there is always a well-organized group of "agin
ners". He said he believes
beefland people are for the
Hyde said the need for
sale of beef is underlined bv
ing to back up in the cold storage lockers. The present
period of high beef prices could make the beefmen overly
complacent, he added.
Incidentally. Hvde
sign on his brief-case. The large red and white sticker reads,
Lamb's my meat." Ted explained that this was the only
sticker he could get for promoting meat. It's up to the
cattlemen to form a commission to put out other stickers,
he said.
Speaking of eating, we have long maintained the farmer
and his family eat with better sense than city people. One
thing they do, mainly because of the nature of their work,
is to get up early enough to eat a good breakfast. The wife,
Little Diminity, argues only in the "olden days" did the
wife get up to fix her husband a good breakfast. Now, with
both the wife and husband working, the husband gets up
and does the cooking, she says.
She may be right. But out of curiosity, we would like to
know how you feel. Send us a post-card or letter addressed
to this column and tell us whether or not a good breakfast
prepared by the wife is or is not" necessary to the health
and welfare of the family.
If you go to the county courthouse looking for the ASC
office you will find it moved to the third floor of the annex.
A room has been especially arranged there. It used to be
on the first floor of the main courthouse building not far
from the county extension office. Don't forget Feb. 20 is
the last day to sign up for the acreage reserve program.
April 15 is the deadline for the conservation reserve sign-up.
Those Duttine their Cattle On forpst ran? lanrie in tht
area just missed eettinz an
to an announcement by state
Harold Brown told cattlemen at the Central Point meeting
it was decided, to give the cattlemen another year before
every animal on government' ranee is tatrsrprl to nmwont
putting too many animals on
not new ana nas Deen going
understand. Siskiyou summit,
over-grazing. .
To ease this problem, some rehabilitation work" has been
started. A small project is now underway in the Silver Fori
basin, just down from Jackson gap.
The idea now is to rotate cattle from one piece of range
to the next. The rancher gets
the forest range lands are protected. The only excellent sec
tion of pasture now in this once lush grassland is a 20 acre
meadow consisting of two grass
tom meadows. The turfted hair- grass on it proves it is in
excellent shape.
The Jackson County Stockmen's association starts the
year with a new slate of officers elected during the Tuesday
meeting Burton Bradshaw, president; Armon Richter, vice
president, , Don Nichols, treasurer, and County Extension
Agent W. B. Tucker, secretary.
A number of people have been plugging for a cooperative
here along the lines of the Eugene Fruit Growers associa-j
tion. A survey was made two years ago to see if there was
enough acreage in fruits and vegetables to support such an
industry. It was learned there was not. Now it is hoped with
the coming of the Talent project and other similar projects
for reclaiming land more acreage will be planted to fruits
and vegetables to make such a co-op economically possible.
Copies Mailed To More
Than 2500 Meat Dealers
Salem Copies of Oregon's
standard of identity for ham
burger have been mailed to
more than 2500 licensed retail
meat dealers throughout the
state. The state department of
agriculture will begin analyz
ing hamburger" samples for
composition immediately.
The administrative order,
signed by O. K. Beals, chief of
the department's division of
foods and dairies, weights and
measures, gives labeling re
quirements for ground beef
or hamburger, plus the per
mitted composition of the
product.
Retail meat dealers are or
dering new labels to fill the
requirements described in the
order. He said, "The regula
tions is now in effect and we
are expecting compliance."
In answer to questions re
ceived by the department con
cerning the order, Beals states:
1. Hamburger purchased by
restaurants and other eating
places must meet the composi
Stntn Cattleman'. :ecnii;Ki
commission.
the ronnrt that hoof nm i .tort.
ear - taseins? nrneram acenrilinff
forest service officials here.
that grass. This problem is
on for 50 years or more, we
particularly, shows signs of
more beef from the grass and
patches and is called Phan
tion standard and the labeling
requirements.
2. Any ground beef product
must contain only the stand
ard ingredients and should be
labeled as either "hamburger"
or "ground- beef". This in
cludes ground beef molded
into a particular shape and
given a trade name.
3. Labels on hamburger
packages should not be torji
off at the point of sale; they
are for the. consumer's infor
mation. (This practice is fol
lowed in some stores for ac
counting purposes.) I
is made entirely from a cer
tain part of the beef carcass
it is permissible to have addi
tional information on the la
bel. For example, "ground
beef made from ground
round" is legal; "lean ground
beef" is not.
The average American eats
more than 160 pounds of
meat a year. i
fparm
iJ" """" '"7"' ; ''"'l'' ' "S
i irtii 1 1 fir a.MaijAt,l,
A LOT OF BULL John Bohnert, standing at the halter,
and Don Bradshaw post for this picture at the recent Red
Bluff bull sale. This excellent animal was sold to Bob Fisher
of Medford. The two men of Seven Oaks ranch in this area
were among a large number of Jackson county people who
attended the famous sale. This sale was used to bring prime
bulls into the area.
Over 110,000 Inspections
Made By Foods Division
Salem More than 110,000
inspections and tests for the
protection of consumers, sell
ers and buyers were made
last year by the division of
foods and dairies, weights and
measures, state department of
agriculture. This is shown in
the annual statistical sum
mary of O. K. Beals, division
chief.
Nearly 500 more inspec
tions, or a total of 4,132, were
made of dairy farms during
1957 than in 1956. Slight de
creases show up in inspections
of dairy distributors and man
ufacturing plants due to fewer
operators in this field.
Nearly 2,000 samples of ice
cream and other frozen des
serts were tested, compared
with 1,758 tests made in 1956.
In spite of a decrease, of 26
in total number of fluid milk
dairies, the 10,409 fluid milk
samples analyzed in the de
partment laboratories are an
increase over a year ago.
Pipeline Milker
The impact of the farm
milk tank and pipeline milk
er on dairies shows up in few
er sediment tests recorded in
the last few years. Jn 1957,
for example, the 21, 58 sedi
Research Laboratories
Set Up By Department
Washington (IP) The
Agriculture . Department has
set up two special pioneering
research laboratories, has ob
tained charters for three more,
and plans to establish addi
tional units of basic research.
These special groups, or
ganized around outstanding
scientists, are being establish
ed in various divisions of the
Agricultural Research Service
(ARS). Their basic function is
"to explore the scientific un
known beyond the present
limits of knowledge."
The two special groups in
full operation are the pioneer
ing laboratory for mineral
nutrition, in the soil and water
conservation research divi
sion, and the pioneering lab
oratory for plant physiology,
in the crops research divisions.
Both are located at Beltsville,
Md.t the department's re
search center.
Charters have been approv
ed for three additional lab
oratories, also at Beltsville.
They are for blood antigen
research, in the animal hus
bandry research division, and
for insect pathology and phy
siology, in the entomology re
search division. Pioneering
research groups in a number
of other ARS divisions still
are in the planning stage.
Two Experts Named
Dr. Sterling B. Hendricks
and Dr. Harry A. Borthwick
already have been selected to
conduct that research project
now underway.
Hendricks is chief chemist
of the laboratory for mineral
nutrition. He and his associ
ates will work toward de
veloping a better understand
ing of processes related to the
mineral nutrition of plants. At
the outset, their research will
involve studies of how plants
accumulate inorganic ions and
how these ions function inside
plants.
Brothwick is assigned to the
laboratory " for plant, physio
logy. He is the co-discoverer
with Hendricks of the fact that
light-sensitive pigments con
trol flowering, seed germina
tion, and other behavior of
many plants that exhibit the
phenomenon known as photo-
BRILL
METAL WORKS
Commercial Industrial
Residential Sheet Metal Work
Stainless, Galvanized
and Copper Fabrication
2287 West Main
PHONE SP 2-4440
amid Gardeim
ment tests of all milk and
cream were less than 30 per
cent of the checks necessary
on this phase of milk quality
control five years ago.
In the weights and measures
area, 25,620 packages of food
stuffs were checked for ac
curate weight 4,000 more
than in 1956.
Oregon's gas pump numbers
continue to increase, as is re
flected by the fact 1,000 more
pumps were checked in 1957
than the year earlier. Weights
and measures inspectors test
ed 10,164 pumps for accuracy.
Nearly 3,200 fuel oil meters
were checked also a substan
tial increase over the previous
year's figure.
Among food establishments
at which sanitation inspec
tions were made were: food
markets, 144; meat markets,
476; locker plants, 908; bak
eries, 648; processing plants,
16; carbonated bevera-ge
plants, 145.
The report shows a substan
tial increase in the number
of economic poisons sampled
for laboratory analyses but
a slight drop in inspections
and sampling of feeds and
fertilizers.
periodism. He and his associ
ates'" will seek clearer under
standing of how plants are in
fluenced by such factors in
their environment as light,
temperature, and chemical
substances.
Dr. Byron T. Shaw, ARS
administrator, said the pio
neering research units are to
be established only in subject
matter fields for which re
search funds have been auth
orized and in which it can be
expected that new basic find
ings will substantially ad
vance agricultural science.
Shaw emphasized that the
new groups will do only a part
of the basic research under
taken, by ARS. The , regular
research divisions will con
tinue to plan and to carry out
fundamental i n v estigations
aimed at supplying new
scientific facts and principles
recognized as needed to solve
euro " l3K
(J
Spray Men Get
New Certificates
Following Course
Salem Certificates
awarded to 45 of Oregon's
licensed agricultural chemi
cal applicators who attended
the seventh annual short
course Jan. 27-31 at Corvallis.
Conference sponsors were the
college and the state deDart-
ment of agriculture.
It is more desirable for
farmers, home owners and for
esters to follow a regular pro-.
gram for controlling rodent
rather than "spot" controls
which are usually applied
when it is too late, declared
L. W. Kuhn. He is biologist
with the fish and game depa
ment, state experiment sta
tion at use.
Kuhn stressed that wooer
timing and coverage of the
complete area are two of the
most important things to re
member in rodent control.
Dr. Ralph R. Sullivan., stata
board of health, tolcf the
group Oregon has a eoorT rec
ord in use of agricultural pes
ticides, as far as preventable
incidents are concerned.
Periodic Blood Tests
He warned . "Don't dron
your guard when using agri
cultural pesticides." Applica
tors who use organic phos
phorus compounds consistent
ly in spraying should hav
periodic blood tests, he -warn
ed, lne public health official
also cautioned sprayers to be .
extremely careful when using
chemicals that fall into the
chlorinated hydrocarbon
group.
George Moose of Salem,
ragweed control supervisor
for the state department of
agriculture, reported nearly
4700 acres of ragweed-infested
areas were treated during
1957. He added that the plan
for 1958 includes educational
work with farm and youth,
groups during the winter. In
the spring suspected areas of
infestation will be surveyed,
Moose added, and actual con
trol work will probably start
in late June or early July.
At the Jan. 29 meeting of
Ground Sprayers, Inc., Ted
Glass of Eugene was appoint
ed president and Ray Collier
of Portland, vice president.
Gordon Jones of Portland was
elected to the board of direc
tors. Oregon Farm Prices
Show January Gain
Corvallis Oregon f armeri
started the new year with
prices at the highest level
since last April, according to
Mrs. Elvera Horrell, extension
agricultural economist at Ore
gon State college.
Prices received by farmers
in the state rose nearly 2 per
cent from mid-December to
mid-January, Mrs. Horrell
found in studying reports
from the U.S. department of
agriculture. As a result, prices
now stand at the same level
as a year ago.
particular agricultural r e
search problems.