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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 10, 1959)
t ' MAIL TRIBUNE, MtdforJ, Or. B Thursday, Dec 10, 1959 Ag Board Plans Salem Meeting On December 16 .' Salem The annual meet ing of the state board of agri culture will be held in Salem Dec. 16 at the state depart ment of agriculture building. This will be the last ses sion' of the board as presently constituted, as 1959 legisla tion authorized changes in the board, effective Jan. 1. The board will discuss these changes at the December meeting. Under the new law, the gov ernor is authorized, to name a seven-member board with not more than four from the same political party. All members must be engaged in the pro duction of agricultural com modities. This will automati cally remove from the board the consumer representative, which post has been filled by Mrs. Kenneth Livingston of Portland. Appointments Listed. Since Governor Hatfield as sumed office, he has appoint ed four new board members as result of resignations or term expirations. His appoint ments include Ernest Jern- stedt of Carlton, present chairman: Frank Tubbs, Adams; Hubert F. Willoughby, Harrisburg; and Joe Saito, Ontario. He also renamed Ward Spatz, Medford, to the board. Under the new law, the board continues in an advi sory capacity. No two mem bers at the time of appoint ment may have the same mam commodity interest. Other members of the pres ent board are R. A. Long, Fort Rock cattleman, and F. E. Price, Corvallis, ex-officio as director of the agricultural extension service. Frank Mc Kennon, director of agricul ture, is board secretary. The members first appoint ed to the new board will de termine by lot the length of their terms, which will range from one to six years, with two members to draw the six year terms. Thereafter, the terms will be for six years. Members of the new board may be removed only for cause and no : member may serve more than two consec utive terms. Eagle Point Sets New Activities Br DELMAR SMITH Crater Chapter Reporter Eagle Point - Eagle Point Future .Farmers of America chapter is winding up its p re Christmas activities and plan ning others, Chapter adviser Nat Etzel said today. The chapter recently sold 250 boxes of Christmas cards round the Eagle Point area to gain additional chapter funds. Chapter members, also, re cently shipped 150 pounds of mistletoe to a retail florist in Portland. Tonight the FFA chapter Is initiating some new chap ter members into the green hand degree, the first degree in the FFA program. The chapter is planning a joint ceremony soon with Phoenix FFA chapter for initiation of chapter farmers, the second degree presented. Ceremonies this year will be in Eagle Point. ' Another adult agricultural education class is planned in Eagle Point after the first of the year. Bob Lonzway, work unit conservationist ''for the Sams Valley-Beagle soil con servation district, will .help conduct a class in soil con servation. - Renelle Huffman, 17, was elected Eagle Point chapter sweetheart at the recent chap ter barn dance 'put on for the Eagle Point High school. Homemade Apple Cider I Homemade apple cider tastes good and is easy to make. Use good quality, ripe, but firm, clean apples. Scrub them clean removing all dirt from stem end. Mix sweet and sour varieties together for best flavor. Slice apples into halves or quarters. Crush them in food grinder or chop per and press. A simple "nutcracker" ap ple press can be made by loosely hinging together two 1x8 inch boards, a feet long. Detailed directions for it in circular "fruit and veg etable juices," available at the Jackson county extension office. - Add V teaspoon of ascorbic acid to each gallon of juice to help retain color and flav or. Strain juice through cheese cloth. The juice will be cloudy but it is better flav ored that way. Freeze or can excess amounts. (It begins to "work" in 24 hours at room temperature.) . Try adding spices such as cinnamon and cloves just before serving. -- CHIT CHAT By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor . Now that the Rogue valley is facing one of the driest seasons on record reclamation projects assume greater im portance. As more and more wells run dry people are beginning to wake up and realize that greater reserves of water are needed such as the Talent project is providing and as the Rogue basin project could provide once people decide which is more important fishing or irrigation. It's interesting that non-farm uses of land, also grow as federal reclamation projects are being developed, according to a crop report and related data published for 1958 by the United States Department of the Interior. "As projects grow and prosper, the towns spread out over the farm lands taking them out of agricultural use," ac- l-eording to the report. "This is try, but it perhaps attracts more attention in irrigated areas where the investment in land is high and the supply of good, land is limited." . In 1958, 790,641 persons lived In the suburban fringes which lay between cities and farms. The switch of acreage to nonfarming use proves that reclamation indirectly builds cities with employment and investment opportunities far greater than those of the farms alone. So, while development of the Rogue basin is being held up pending reports on how proposed dams on the Rogue river may affect fish the build er, the baker and any other moneymaker is losing potential income during each month of delay. Remember, too, that it takes quite a few men nowadays to keep the farmer producing. These people populate the communities on the fringes of agricultural lands and. help create suburban developments or build up smaller towns. Personal observations of the agricultural census-takers indicate that the big trend in the Rogue valley is toward part-time farming. How many part-time "farms exist here can't be revealed until after the figures are released offi cially after the first of the year. However, this is an impor tant activity throughout the west. . Reclamation projects also furnish water for cities and towns, too. For instance, projects constructed by the bureau of reclamation provided 789,949 acre feet of water for municipal,-industrial and other non-irrigation uses in 1958, ac cording to the data report. A good example of this is the metropolitan water district of southern California, which obtains water from the Parker Davis project and serves over 75 cities including Los Angeles and San Diego. . Some people claim that the Rogue basin project waters would be used for surplus agricultural crops like wheat. Feed crops are the most important of those crops grown on recla mation farms, according to the report. This means such crops as field corn, oats and barley. These are the cropsused ;for raising beef. Irrigation is the farmer's insurance policy against cycles of drouth and winter storms. Production of grains on 1 million acres of project land and forages on another 3 million acres nearly all support the west's livestock industry. Wheat grown on irrigated farm lands is used . almost entirely for livestock feed instead of for human use since the varieties and quality raised is not the kind and quality which can be used for milling. Nearly one fourth of the -irrigated acreage raises alfalfa hay. This crop builds soil as well as producing feed. In 1958 it was valued at nearly $104 million. , Another main use is for irrigated pasture. Value of pas ture production is estimated at $30 million. Crop residues and by-products play a great role in raising farm livestock. Ensilage, for instance, shows the highest per-acre value of all the other feed grains or forage crops. Irrigation has made the western states leaders In produc ing many important commodities. Reclamation farms produce 35 per cent of the nation's dry edible beans, 72 per cent of the hops which go into your beer, 44 per cent of the sugar beets, 8 per cent of the short-staple cotton and 54 per cent of the premium extra-long staple cotton. The fresh vegetables you eat during the winter come from irrigated farms in the southwest. Lettuce, spinach, as paragus, peas, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, celery and other protective green vegetables give your winter dinners both color and vitamins. Nearly 17 per cent of the value of irri gated farm harvest is from vegetable production. The seed crops of the Rogue valley are already world famous. Alfalfa seed grown here on irrigated farms is shipped to Greece, for instance. Placing of more land under irrigation here could add to this already valuable farm production. Farm-wise, the United States has a big problem. How to meet the demand for products when that demand comes and how to meet rapidly changing market conditions. These problems of adjusting to production patterns within agriculture have been complicated by severe drouth, a ma jor depression, a major war and Korean "police action." This has meant agriculture has had to both expand and shrink. The funny thing is that attempts of politicians and others to stabilize the farmers' incomes have delayed these natural adjustments. These delaying actions have come while the need for them continues to grow more acute. So .how does irrigation help? In dryland wheat areas, irrigation projects diversify farming enterprises. This eases the wheat problem and gives the farmers new opportunities to grow items in current demand. We do not have a surplus of meat and fresh fruit and vegetable products grown on reclamation farms. These are. the products a rising standard of living demands. - A bonus from reclamation projects are recreation facili ties. A sailing club has already established its headquarters on Howard Prarie reservoir, fishermen have already taken out beautiful catches of large trout, plans are underway to provide picnic and camping grounds there. An investment in water is a good investment. It bolsters the agricultural income through a wider range of farm prod ucts, provides water for cities and towns and industry and establishes recreation areas everyone can enjoy. Veterinary Chairman Plan Originated by Crater FFA Central Point Jay Alsenz, Crater high school junior and a student in the third year vocational agriculture class has originated a new project and chapter job. He is the new chapter veterinary chair man. , Crater chapter believes that if a member thinks, of a worthwhile activity he may become chairman of the ac tivity. Alsenz decided there is a wide field of work and ac tivity available In veterinary medicine for the chapter. Some of the duties of the new chapter veterinary chair man consist of keeping ' all veterinary equipment clean and stored in a sanitary area, checking veterinary instru ments out to members as it is needed, and posting print ed material pertaining to vet erinary work on the chapter occurring throughout the coun bulleting board. He also keeps on file records of various vet erinary and animal practice skills carried out by chapter members. He has even visit ed members on their farms and assisted them in dehorn ing, marking1 and vaccinating animals. Recent disease control prac tices carried out by the chap ter include treating a heifer for a freshman boy, dehorn ing and assisting two farmers in worming and vaccinating approximately 250 sheep for shipping fever. The heifer was treated at home but was brought into the agriculture shop for a few days so the students could watch her progress and give regular medication. The chapter does not give instruction to replace a vet erinarian, but instead at- Water Projects Considered Goal Of Soil District Conservation of water is one of the goals achieved through ' cooperation of the Sams Valley-Beagle soil con servation district, according to Elwood Abbott, chairman of the soil conservation dis trict. This district was one of the first in Oregon (organized in 1946). It started in Sams Val ley and now covers all of the north half of Jackson county. Irrigation water storage dams built and paid for by member-cooperators of the district now total 48 with a total storage of 6,098 acre feet, of water. This represents an investment in conservation of one million dollars. Loca tions for economic construc tion is at a premium. How ever, the district is blessed with 25,000 to 30,000 dry acres of-the best potential irri gation land in southern Ore gon, Abbott said. Assistance Given Assistance for the coopera tors came from the U. S. soil conservation service, the state engineer, private engineers and the county watermaster. Federal cost-sharing has been available from Jackson county agricultural conservation and stabilization committee. Some of the outstanding ex amples of dams are those at the Lester James farm, Sams Valley area; Ramsey canyon dam, Vic Gardener 'farm, Eagle Point area; Charles Stanley . farm, Lake creek area; and Ina Woolfolk farm near Brownsboro. On the governing board of the soil conservation district are Abbott, the - chairman; Bill Wattenburg, vice chair man; Ramsey Thomson, treas urer; Vic Gardener, supervi sor; Charles Stanley, Burdett Dodge and Bill Jess, all. su pervisors. Assistant supervi sors are Merton Bradshaw, Lester James and George Loftis. Directors Chosen At FB Meeting Talent Directors were elected at the Tuesday night meeting of the Talent Farm Bureau center at the Valley View school. New directors are W. R. Bagley, Gilbert Hill, Dewey Penrod, all of Talent; Evan Rasmussen, Medford; Robert Lytle, Ashland; and Mrs. Ly tle, women's chairman. The Talent center is intro ducing a new idea in meet ings. The directors are to at tend to business and resolu tions monthly with three meetings a year open to all membership. These three meetings will be preceded by dinners or picnics. Robert Boyer, Medford at torney and member of the Jackson county planning com mission spoke to Farm Bu reau members on the' aims of a zoning ordinance. Many peo ple do not realize zoning is a protective measure to the home-owner instead of just plans for the use of their land, he pointed out. Boyer urged members to attend planning commission meet ings and appear at hearings. Dewey Penrod reported on the annual Farm Bureau con ference held in Ontario, Ore. in -November and reported also -on the captain's member ship drive meeting held Dec. 4 at Bend. E. H. Taylor, county chair man, reported on the mem bership drive which was scheduled to start with a breakfast today. Maurice E. Davies, Eagle Point, is orga nization chairman for the 1960 year. Spray Now Oriental types of arbor vitae and lilacs, and home plantings of blueberries, holly, and peaches can be sprayed now for the control of various diseases which in fect them. A copper spray with a spreader-sticker is effective. Follow general directions on the package label. These ma terials are available at most garden supply stores. Diseases to be controlled are Berckman's blight in the oriental types, of arborvitae, bacterial blight of lilacs, bac terial canker of blueberries, leaf and cane spot of caneber ries, leaf and twig blight of holly, and coryneum blight of peaches. Thorough coverage is im portant with all spray appli cations. Apply so spray has .ample time to dry before it rams. tempts to create an awareness in its members of different diseases in livestock and the need to practice a few skills necessary until a veterinarian arrives. The toys are taught the skills which will help them manage livestock in a recommended manner. GARDENING TIPS By Don Berry Jackson County Extension Agent PLANT TREES SOON Nurseries usually start digging their salable trees when leaves have fallen. Then trees are dormant and the ground is thoroughly wet. It won't be long. If you're inter ested in planting shade or or namental trees here are a few you might want to consider. Large shade trees with good fall color are sweet gum, su gar maple, red maple, scar let oak, pin oak and willow oak. Other large trees of inter est are tulip tree (not mag nolia), sunburst and moraine locust, crimson king and Schwedler maple, European ailanthus white birch. Small trees of 10 to 25 feet with bloom are silk tree, goldenrain, many dogwoods, many flowering crabs, au tumn Higan cherry, blireiana plum, Japanese pagoda, and clerodendron. Other smaller trees of in terest are various Japanese maples, staghorn sumac, cut leaf staghorn sumac, variegat ed boxelder, aralia, sassafras. These are all deciduous (drop leaves in fall). The list is not complete but many of fer a few new ideas. These are all trees worth considering. Others are not listed. Some of those may be as good or even better than some given here. DWARF FRUIT TREES Dwarf fruit trees are very popular now. Apple and pear dwarf rootstocks are - quite well developed. In cherries, plums, peaches and other fruits dwarf rootstocks are also satisfactory. - In apples, dwarf rootstocks are known as "Mailing" and come in Mailing Nos. 9, 7, 5, 2, 16 and 25.: No. 9 is most dwarf and 2, 16, and 25 are least. For espaliers and hedge rows use Mailing No.- 9 root stock. For the back yard or garden trees,. Nos. 9 and 7 are smallest (10 to 18 feet) and probably most ' practical. Trees with Mailing .No. 9 rootstock should be supported by a post, fence, or. similar structure. Most popular apple varie ties are now available on any of the various Mailing root stocks. For example, golden delicious can be obtained with a No. 9, 7, 5, 2, 16 or 25 root stock. So, you can get a gold en delicious tree to grow to the size you desire. ; FINEST HOME APPLE The finest home apple is considered by manv to hp Golden Delicious, an excellent an purpose apple. It bears early, is fine for cooking and dessert, one of the very best flavored apples, and is self pollinatine. It bears Kn heav ily .that the fruit should hp thinned for it to bear a crop annually, some varieties of apples may exceed the golden delicious in one way, but probably none will in all inese respects. Storing Walnuts Store walnuts after dry ing in glass or plastic contain ers to prevent excessive dry ing. The nuts can be stored in deep freeze or frozen food locker to prevent worm and bug infestations. Frozen nuts will keep from six to. 12 months. Before Planting Trees and Shrubs Before planting trees and shrubs be sure to consider drainage, soil and exposure. Humus needs to be added to soil for many plants such as rhododendrons, azaleas, heaths, and heather and will help nearly all plants. Some plants require full sun, par tial shade, or full shade and most will do better in one or the other. Check with the nur seryman from whom you buy your plants, trees or shrubs. Fall Care of Evergreen Shrubs Many evergreen shrubs have been planted too cose to the house foundation. Never plant closer than two feet, and usually three or four feet where the overhanging eaves is wide. Some shrubs not do ing well might be moved now while the weather is cool. Acid loving shrubs like rhododendrons, azaleas, ca mellias, etc., should not be nearer than three feet to the cement foundation, brick walls, or concrete walks. The lime will be detrimental. Al ways feed such plants in the spring and early summer with acid type fertilizers. Keep the soil watered if plants are so placed that they do not get natural moisture. Winter Storage of Gladiolus Corms Two kinds of corm rot, com mon on gladioli, can be elimi nated mostly by drying and curing the corms as quickly as possible after digging. This prevents development of root and corm rotting fungi called Fusarium and Botrytis. Hold corms for three weeks at room temperature for ade quate drying. If special drying equipment is available, the drying period can be reduced to two days at 95 degrees Fahrenheit and 80 per cent relative humidity. Adequate air circulation is required during the drying pe riod. Where the drying tem perature is below 95 degrees Fahrenheit more time is need ed for proper curing. Store bulbs thr&ugh the winter in a cool, well-ventilated place. Inspect Dahlia Roots Storage rots caused by Ver ticillium and Fusarium fungi can cause dahlia roots to de cay during the winter months. At digging time and through the winter, check the roots at intervals for visible rotting or breakdown. If diseased plants are kept and planted next spring, they will probably develop stem rots and wilts. Very few, if any, healthy dahlia plants will grow from such roots. Store roots in a cool dry place. 'Inspect roots at inter vals and discard unhealthy ones. The chemical will not con trol perennial weeds includ ing quackgrass, morning glory, and Canadian thistle. Simazine is most effective when applied on soil that is weed free. A combination of cultivation and hoeing clumps of grass and other es tablished weeds will prepare the soil for Simazine. The soil surface should also be smooth and moist. Ideally, the last cultivation should be fol lowed by a rain before Sima zine is applied. ;- If groundsel is the main weed present, ' solid spraying is preferred. Simazine is ef fective also on annual grasses, chickweed, and filare. Applications should be made according to the label since an overdose may prove harmful to the berries. Copper vs. Bordeaux Both copper and Bordeaux are often recommended for control of various plant dis eases, especially at this sea son of the year. For the home gardener copper sprays are more practical, and probably more . effective, than Bor deaux. Bordeaux sprays-lose "strength" rapidly after be ing mixed. Thus prepared Bordeaux sprays are usually less effective than copper sprays. If prepared and mixed at home, just prior to using, m the Feed You may THINK that bulk feeding facilities on your farm will be costly, but we found that bulk facilities can be built into your present building at a', yery nominal cost. If you are not enjoying the'many advantages of bulk feeding, just ask us to figure the savings for you. There is no obligation whatever. So just give us a call and we will be happy to come to your ranch and show you the benefits that result from using a bulk feed system. THE UK Higher UT VM Quality FKDS , J4s - ' TOO! M Sim Assoei HIGHWAY 99 IN CENTRAL POINT Phone NO 4-1261 or SP 3-4022 Gardens Need Cover For Winter Season By J. VERNON MARSHALL For Rogue Valley Nursery men & Growers Association Your garden-lovers who want early, healthy plants and lots of blooms should winterize your gardens. Harm is done more often by covering hardy plants too early, or too heavily than by not covering it at all. If you are located in sections where severe winter conditions make it necessary to protect perennials or biennials, it is always well to delay covering them until the ground is froz en. To pile manure, straw, or leaves, or sawdust on top of such plants as foxgloves, Canterbury-bells, Shasta dais ies, Coreopsis or others before the ground is frozen and while their tops are still in growing condition is to ask for trouble. Not only do some plan tops rot off before spring, but there is danger of field mice or moles destroy ing them, also. Caution Advised While it doesn't matter how heavily or how early you cov er a peony, a phlox, or a hardy aster, all plants that re tain all or a part of their fol iage should be treated more carefully. . . Always avoid placing even well-decomposed manure di rectly on top of such plants. It is too heavy. A light but thick covering to keep the sun, light and raw winds away from the plant tops is best. Always wait until regu lar winter conditions have set in before you cover. The plants not protected during January and February suffer most. Almost anything in the perennial line will survive al though under a few inches of snow from the end of Novem ber to the middle of March. , Alternate freezing and thawing is usually what mak es the flower beds look sick in early spring. Freezing does not- harm the plants as much as exposure to dry winds and changeable weather condi tions. Purpose of covering Bordeaux sprays are veryef fective. Preparing and mix ing Bordeaux- is not conven ient. Copper sprays should always be used with a .spreader-sticker. them is to keep the plants in the best possible dormant state until spring. By early March, if mild weather prevails, you can be gin to remove a part of the covering. Don't take it all off until actual growth begins. There is just as much danger in leaving the covering on too long as uncovering the plants too soon. Conditions Right Conditions in the Rogue valley are right now for cov ering most perennials or bien nials like sweet William, del phinium, columbine, fox glove. These may be cut back and covered without harm to the plant and will result in keeping them in a much bet ter dormant condition. We are covering such plants at our nursery at this time, and are using sawdust. Also, we are planting the late crop of fall bulbs, now, such as tulips, Dutch iris, hyacinths, dapho dils and others. We are covering them with about an inch of sawdust not only to keep them a little warmer, but also help in con trolling weeds. If you do not use straw, but use only saw dust, with not more than an inch for covering it will not be necessary to uncover in the MODERN ARTIFICIAL BREEDING WITH FROZEN SEMEN FROM AMERICAN FOR . . . Production Proved Sires in 6 Dairy Breeds Performance Tested Sires in 7 Beef Breeds Expert Technical Skill CALL SP 2-4093 C. C. Williams ROGUE VALLEY PROVED SIRE SERVICE rv Farm I o I Faster Service REMEMBER You don't have to be a MEMBER to trade here and SAVE! B AND WATER STS. Ashland MU Simazine For Strawberries Use Simazine now for ireed control in strawberries. The recommended rate is one pound actual material per acre (solid coverage) for growers who have not al ready sprayed this f alL The cost is $2.80 per pound of the 50 per cent wettable powder of $3.60 per pound actual material. "Spending $5.60 per acre now for Sima zine will do a considerably better job of weed control than waiting until groundsel and other weeds have covered the strawberries. The highest drying air tem perature of a crop intended for seeding purposes should never exceed 110 degrees. spring. The plants will grow up through that amount of sawdust. The sawdust will be an added protection fpr little tender green leaves. Immediate Delivery MULTI-BARK Natural Organic Sell Conditioner & Mulch for Flowers Shrubs Lawns Gardens Also for Erosion Control KOGAP LUMBER IND. SP 3-6601 Est. 46 BREEDERS' SERVICE n or usDimess. Greater Supply i o i IN ASHLAND 5-4021 mm
