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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 13, 1960)
TUESDAY. DECEMBER 13. 19B0 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEDFORD, ORE. I , w I ? ' -, r J i r v'1i iv - i vj l; kmmmA Ifci Mnlifi Si r "fl'i i r a - GRAND CHAMPION-Michael Clark, of the Oak Grove dis trict, Medford, showed his 1,535 pound Angus bull in the Midco Purebred association show and sale Dec. 7 in The Dalles and took the grand championship lor the Aligns breed. Clark is a 1954 graduate of the Crater high school FFA and vocational agriculture classes. " Young Breeder Gets Championship A young part-time farmer from Madrona lane, Medford came home with the grand championship for Angus after entering his Angus bull in the Midco Purebred associa tion show early this month. Michael Clark, an employee In the engineering department Short Course Set For Seed Growers On Jan. 19-20 Corvallis-Oregon's $30 mil lion seed industry, shooting for increased foreign; sales, hopes to squeeze more effi ciency from its already highly developed seed process ing plants. A seed processors short course at Oregon Stale col lege, Jan. 19 and 20, will pre sent new research on seed cleaning and discussions of warehouse management, mar kcting regulations, and other operations affecting Oregon's competitive position in domes tic and foreign trade. , Local seed growers meeting recently at Portland tabbed Africa, the Far East, and Lat in American countries as out lets for increased Oregon seed sales, but noted that both Canada and Europe were streamlining their seed indus tries in a bid for these mar kets. , Jesse E, Harmond, OSC ag ricultural engineer and chair man of the short course, said the two-day course includes morning lecture sessions and afternoon demonstrations on seed processing, plus a school on seed identification by the OSC official seedtcstlng lab oratory. New Methodi Liittd New methods of separating different kindj of seeds in volve principles of electron' ics, magnetic response, elec trical vibration, dimensional differences in seed, and pneu matic process. Other topics are use of multi-wall bags for seed handling, maintenance of air-screen machines for clean ing seed, and fluorescent tests for seed viability. . Also scheduled for discus sions are U.S. department of agriculture seed laws and reg ulations, and management and bookkeeping records for small seed cleaning plants. Seed certification, seed borne diseases, and control of insects, rodents and other haz ards in seed cleaning plants are among topics slated for the course. Harmond urges all persons interested in any phase of the seed Industry to enroll Housing reservations should be made with J. Ritchie Cow an, farm crops department Oregon State College, Corval lis. of the Camp White Veterans Administration domiciliary, hopes to do as well in the Klamath Falls, Oregon Angus association sale scheduled for March. However, he already has some championship ro settcs hanging on Ills wall These include the reserve grand championship ul the Josephine county fair and the reserve Junior championship in the Oregon Slate Angus sale last year. Young Clark was graduated from Crater high school in Central Point in 1054. He got his start with Angus under the FFA and vocational agri culture program then. He has been a part-time farmer and full-time employee in the Camp White domiciliary en gineering department since his four years in the Air Force. Aiming at Breeding Clark is aiming at a breed ing business and while not working at the domiciliary is trying to raise bulls and sell them. His father, Lewis Clark, has a 100-acre dairy farm where the young breeder lives and keeps his stock. His herd includes Tl head of cows and calves, built up since lie start ed raising steers in 1948. Clark's advice to olher young farmers starting out is to buy only good stock, keep the best bulls and take good care of them. "I like Angus since tins breed is naturally polled (no horns), have very little calv ing trouble - have smaller calves and due to their black color don't get pinkeye," the young breeder said. "I never had any trouble getting loans. My full-time job helps. 1 also keep detailed records. Clark observed thill popu larity of Angus in the valley is growing. 'I en years ago there were hardly any Angus herds and now there are number of them, he noted. CHIT CHAT-- By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune 'rm Editor The AWOC IS coming into Medford next year to organ ize the pickers. And when it does, it probably will be tied in with the Teamsters union. This we learned after talking over the problem with a nninn snnrrp. We Quoted an article published in the Ore- gonian earlier last week and received only an amused smile from a union member as an answer. A newly organized union group must have a certain minimum membership to qualify for a union charter. After that it's not likely that the AWOC will disintegrate as the Portland newspaper claims it is. According to our sources, "practically all of the pickers in California" are organized. We saw the little green cards with AWOC stamped on the outside. Dues are $2 a month and can be paid when the Dicker is able to, we were told by a shop steward. The nickers apparently feel that the union is their only salvation If the teamsters join forces with the AWOC the pickers will have a mighty strong bargaining weapon. If and when that happens, then we'll again see Richard Carney, Portland attor ney who has been so ably defending O. H. Bengtson, Med ford Attorney. Carney handles the legal work for the Team sters. The people we talked to also saw "Harvest of Shame on television. They feel, as we do, that the Ed Morrow film showed conditions much worse than those on the Pacific Coast. Conditions here aren't that bad, but could stand con siderable improvement. We visited with some pickers who stopped in one of the local trailer camps while en route to another harvest area. They had been delayed, but were looking forward to pick ing orange in California. The trailer we sat in was so spot less that you could have eaten off the floor. The two fam ilics we interviewed were dressed inexpensively, but cleanly and neatly. If you saw them in town, you would probably figure they were people from small ranches here. They em phasized repeatedly they pick because tthey would rather do that than anything else. In fact, one of the husbands was working temporarily in a lumber mill and didn't like it. Old Water Meets Group Tonight ' A meeting will be held at 8 o'clock tonight in the Sami Valley Grange hall to reactivate the old Sami Valley-Beagle Water De velopment association, ac cording to County Commis sioner Ralph Jamei. "We feel that reactiva tion of thii group will give us more of a voice at the plans for the Rogue River basin project come closer to completion," James said. The group was active in 1950. Ben Day, Medford attorney, is president, and Ralph James, tecretary-traasurer. What kind of life do they lead? Talking to these two families we got the picture of open highways, picking fruit under sunny skies while children played near the trees, and a group of friendly migratory workers always willing to help one another in a pinch. Their two main complaints were poor living quarters and unfair picking foremen. Our two families, typical of Pacific Coast pickers, follow a regular circuit. They pick citrus fruit in California all winter, which allows their children to stay in the California schools through the school year. Then, late in May, they start thinning peaches in California, around Modesto, Marys vill and Yuba City, then pick them. Next they move into the cherries around Stockton, move to Oregon's Junction City, Salem and may go as far as The Dalles for cherries. During this period, some may pick beans in eastern Oregon and Washington. They come down to Medford to pick pears. After the pear harvest they shift to olives in northern Cali fornia, then to oranges and other citrus fruit. "We would stay longer in Medford if we had belter liv ing quarters and working conditions," one of the women pickers told us. "When you figure it costs $30 to $50 to move from one area to another it pays to stay in one spot as long as you can. These people complained of paying $35 a month for cabins with warped floors, Infested with bugs and having only an outside toilet. This doesn't include heat and electricity. They weren't complaining of wages as much as the unreas onableness of some ranch foremen. Some get trees loaded with fruit and others get "thin" trees. It all depends on how you stand with the crew foreman, regardless of how efficient you are at picking or how many years you have been returning to a particular orchard. An average pear picker can make from $8 to $15 a day or $90 a week, they told us. They figure they can make $15 to $25 a day in cherries, and some, $30 to $50 a day. 'Pear Decline' in Vaiiey Takes 250 Acres of Trees, Cordy Says These pickers complain of being forced to use Canadian buckets, which are bigger than U.S. buckets, for picking fruit in other areas. They tell of pickers quartered in bunkhouses without heat or blankets, forced to eat green beans all mixed in with scrambled eggs, of room rents and groceries suddenly going up in price as the pickers move into an area. These people feel they are doing an honest day's work and should be treated as well as anybody else working for wages. One of the husbands is a trained flight-line electrician from large aircraft plants, but prefers the freedom of a picker's life. WFA Meeting To Highlight I960 Progress Highlights and plans for the i960 oper.-Uions of the West ern Furniers association will be reviewed during the dis trict director nomination meeting set for Jan. 5, 1901 In Salem, according to Jack llan klns, Medford branch man ager. One of the directors will be nominated to represent the Rogue Valley urea which the Medford office covers, accord ing to llunkins. The Rogue Valley representative will serve on WFA's policy-making board for three years. A di rector will be elected by in dividual voling of members, Hankins expluined. The meeting will start promptly Ht 1 1 a.m. with a free luncheon lo ull members and director candidates. "The Challenges and Op portunities of WFA in the Sixties" will be the key ud dress by Hurry J. Beernink, general manager at Scuttle, Wash. This will feature lust minute details on WFA ac complishments of 1900 plus project plans and progrnms for the years ahead, lie will also tell of the operating mar gins earned. Kenneth F. Lundberg. WFA operations director, will speak on "Looking Forward with WFA Farm to Market Serv ices," a pictorial presentation. Tickets may be obtained from WFA branches or from truck operators in Jackson and Josephine counties, llun kins said. Oin- two pear grower friends can say "we told you so." Suggestions for Improved picker conditions made by these two families interviewed correspond exactly with their's. These are: establish a large, central migratory labor camp and set picking rules according to tree harvest conditions. Tlie.se people propose an area which would include attractive parking sites for houselrailers or family type houses, plus an attractive but practical burrocks for single men. They would set picking scales according to whether each orchard has good or poor crops and how easily trees are picked. Such a picking scale should be worked out with a represen tative of the pickers and the grower, they suggest. Such a scale should be based on whnt an average picker can make and what the best picker can possibly earn, they added. Now, hang onto your hats! California farmers have pro posed something very similar. They have set up their own employment service as part of a four-point program. Idea is to provide a readily available pool of domestic workers for furniers throughout the state, according to a California newspaper. The over-all program is designed "to improve the lousy image the public has of the farmer," according to John V. Newman, a Ventura citrus grower, president of the Council of California Growers. Olher parts of the program are: health insurance for mi grant workers, paid in part by farmers and In part by work ers, a drive to persuade government authorities to provide housing for migrant families, a campaign to obtain adequate public schooling for the children of roving field hands. This new employment service will be run by the Call forniu Growers Farm Labor committee which has been in Ihe forefront of the farmers' battle against organizing efforts of the Agricultural Workers Organizing committee of the AFL-CIO. The farmers voted the program in after a recom mendation by the council. The health Insurance propositi would pay premiums for the migrant workers, but not for his family, while he is working for the farmer. The next farmer would take over Ihe premiums while the migrant worker is employed by him. When unemployed, Ihe worker pays his own premium. Incidentally, the pickers interviewed thought the workers should be charged rent for housing at the labor camp. They don't want free quarters to be considered part of their wages. Also, any picker can get a good education if he want it, trouble is some don t. they pointed out. One prominent packing house operator replied that there are three or four growers who have housing and working conditions the rail of the industry is not proud of. However, the vast majority do their best to provide sanitary and neat housing. Picking rates are adjusted if tome trees, such as those on ditch banks, are harder to pick than others, he said referring to his own orchard. The state of Oregon has strict regu lations on housing, sanitation facilities and on the ve hicles which carry pickers, he added. On the light side-"The cow Is a mobile animated machine, housed In unprocessed leather. On one end it is equipped with a mower, a grinder, and other standard equipment, Including bumpers, headlights, wing flaps, and foR horn. "At the other end is a milk dispenser and insect repcllcr.. More than 250 acres of Rogue valley pear trees have been destroyed by "pear de cline" during the past two years, and another 750 to 1, 750 acres of trees can be ex pected to be similarly destroy ed, according to Cliff Cordy, county horticultural agent. Cordy made these observa tions at the Medford Chamber of Commerce round table luncheon Monday in the Jack son hotel. He had been called on to explain pear decline. Cordy said pear decline has been defined as "any malady that attacks a pear tree for which there was no known or obvious cure." He noted that this is a poor definition because it implies "igno rance." Although some thing known about the disease, Cor dy said there is not, nor prob ably will be, a cure for pear decline. Recent Years Threat He said pear decline has only become a threat to the valley's pear crop in recent years. It started several years ago in Washington and then slowly worked its way south, he said, finally hitting Cali fornia "with a whallop" last year. Local growers became con cerned about the disease in 1953, he said, and poole $28, 000 and employed a Southern Oregon college professor to study pear decline. Asked just how serious the disease is, Cordy replied that Yakima, Wash., was hit so hard that the canneries clos ed down. The Yakima pear output declined from a "nor mal" 180,000 tones a year to last year's 25,000 ton output. This was probably the low point in its pear production, he said. Kind of Virus Cordy said pear decline is thought to be a kind of virus, distributed by bugs, that at tacks the roots of the pear tree. Although probably all trees now contain the virus, only those trees with certain kinds of roots are susceptible to the disease and will die. Cordy elaborated on this and explained that each pear tree is started from a seedling root, some of which are im ported from other countries. In order to grow the local Cornice, D'Anjou and Bartlett trees, they are grafted onto the seedling root from which they then grow. If the seedling root is susceptible to the di sease, then the entire tree is doomed. Cordy said the most suscep tible of these seedling roots are apparently two varieties imported from China. There are two other Chinese vari eties, he said, which are not susceptible. Certain To Die Trees growing on these two varieties, he said, are certain to die. Another variety, this one coming from France, is apparently susceptible to the extent of 5 to 10 per cent, he said. It is not known exactly how many of the valley's pear trees were started from any partic ular root, and it can only be guessed as to the exact num ber of trees that will be af fected by pear decline. But, it is estimated, he said, that there are from 500 lo 1, 000 acres of valley trees that grow on the susceptible Ori ental roots. Adding the 5 to 10 per cent of French root trees, this will mean that a total of 1,000 to 2,000 acres of valley trees will eventual ly be destroyed, he said. Economic Loss If these figures are correct, Cordy said, it will mean a loss to the valley economy of from $2 million to $2t$ million. The 250 acres that have al ready been destroyed, he said, represent a loss to the valley of more than $300,000. Con tained on these 250 acres were approximately 17,500 trees, or Vh per cent of the valley's total number of trees. Cordy noted that probably no one valley orchard con tains all susceptible trees. He did say that some orchards contain up to 23 per cent sus ceptible Oriental root trees. Although there is no cure for pear decline, Cordy said we have learned how to evade it." An experimental fruit tree farm, established here in 1918 by Prosfcssor Reimers, he suid, has proved valuable in determining which kind of seedling roots are resistant to pear decline. 'Old-Home' Variety The best of these. Cordy said, is an "old-home" varie ty eastern seedling which is used as an inter-stock in the trees. An inter-stock seedling, he explained, is a seedling grafted onto the original seed ling. The final seedling, such as the Cornice or Bartlett, is then grafted on lo the inter stock seedling. It has been found, he said, that the old-home variety inter-stock seedling grows roots of its own, so that when the susceptible original root is struck and killed by pear de cline the tree can continue to grow on the interstock roots without any apparent harm to the tree itself. Nurseries are now being en couraged to graft the inter stock roots onto the original roots, he said. Start Planting Program Cordy said the Rogue val ley is fortunate to have started a tree-planting program sev eral years ago, using trees that would not - be susceptible to pear decline. This means then, he said, that in a few years, new trees will be coming into produc tion at about the same rate as the susceptible trees are go ing out of production. Cordy pointed out that it will take from 10 to 15 years for the new trees to start paying for themselves because of their slow growth rate in the valley. He noted that Rogue valley trees grow much slower than those in California. "We will lose faster than we will gain for awhile," Cor dy said, "but fortunately, we have a head start." GARDENING TIPS By JOHN McLOUGHLIN I County Extension Agent t It is a matter of time before! many of our house plants such I as Dracena, Dieffenbachia i and rubber plant grow out of place in the area of our homes we had originally planned for them. Two ways to cope with this problem would be to buy new plants and discard me old ones or to propagate new plants. I believe most home gardeners would receive more satisfaction trying to propa gate new plants. The method I would use to propagate would be air layer ing. The materials required for air layering are sphagnum moss, twine, an impervious covering material such as plastic and a sharp knife. Peat moss or sawdust may be found to be satisfactory sub stitutes ' for the sphagnum moss. The air layering method Is as follows. Ma k e a slanting cut extending one-third into the stem of the plant at the desired location for root for mation. For rubber plants this cut would be nine to 15 inches below the growing tip, in Dracena and Dieffenbachia just below the lowermost leaf. It would be advisable to make the cut slightly below the node. Put in Splint After the cut is made, place a splint in the cut to prevent the plant tissues from mend ing. Hormone powder may then be applied to the area. Wrap this area with two handfuls of wet sphagnum moss. Tie the moss firmly in place with .the twine and then wrap the moss ball with the plastic. The purpose of Ashland Couple Attend Meeting Of Farm Bureau Denver, Colo.-By their vote in the recent election, farm ers clearly rejected proposals for increased government In tervention and subsidy in ag riculture, Charles B. Shuman, president of the Apnencan Farm Bureau Federation, told the organization's 42nd an nual convention Monday. "Farmers have now clearly demonstrated that their votes are not for sale to the high est bidder because they know that government price fixing and supply control mean low er, not better, farm income," he said. "This election should end for all time the fiction that farmers want more govern ment regulation and price de termination in their business The policies of the Farm Bu reau have been effectively vindicated as accurately re flecting the thinking of farm people," he said. Lose Markets "Artificially high prices re suit in loss of markets to sub stitutes and synthetics regard less of the means by which the price is forced to an arti ficial level. Farmer voting in commod ity - by - commodity referenda on government farm pro grams provides no assurance of sound solutions, according to Mr. Shuman. "Unsound government programs do not work any better just because farmers vote for them. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lytle. Ashland, are among the 70 Oregonians attending the an nual convention as official del egates. Oregon's two official voting delegates to the AFBF convention are Gerald Deter- ing. president, and Wiley Clowcrs, Madras, first vice president. Ben Robinson. Un ion county, served on the field crops committee. Centrally located is a conversion plant consisting of a com bination storage and fermentation vat, three converters in series and an intricate arrangement of conveyor tubes. "Special equipment includes a device for self-reproduction at yearly Intervals and a central pumping system. The machine Is unpatented, available in various colors, sizes and qualities."-according to a definition by the dairy industry. the plastic is to keep the moss constantly moist throughout the period of root formation. Leave a little hole on top in case additional water need be added. The new roots should be sufficiently formed in eight weeks. However, do not re move the new plant until a good root system is visible in the moss. At this time cut the new plant below the new roots and pot. Remove the plastic and cut the twine be fore potting but do not disturb the moss ball. Pay added at tention to the new plant until good root development has occurred. Foulbrood Rises, Ag. Dept. Reports Salem - More American foulbrood than in many years was discovered in 1960 in spections of Oregon bees, the state department of agricul ture reported. The disease is a killer and highly infectious in bees but does not affect honey. The final summary just re leased bears out early find ings. During the season 29, 045 colonies were inspected, also the greatest coverage in a number of years. Statewide. American foul brood was found in 4.29 per cent of all colonies inspect ed. This compares with 2.8S per cent in 1959. By counties, the disease incidence ranged from none to 27.19 per cet. Counties with over 5 per cent infection were: Clackamas, Deschutes, Hood River, Jef ferson, Lane, Lincoln, Mar ion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Umatilla, Washington, Yamhill. Don't Guess-TRY IT! Call for a HOME demonstration f the New OLYMPIA PORTABLE TYPEWRITER One Year National Warranty Term To Suit Ask About Our Rental Purchase Plant ,h,r A0vpii.Mak" "Your Olfici Boy" Office Stationary It Supply Co. US Weit Main, Medferi PHONI SP 3-1731 THROUGHOUT 'DECEMBER' Medford Mail Tribune Brings You in the Pages of FamilyWeekly Fmmlly Exciting features in the heart-warming, amusing stpt that characterizes Family Weekly Magazine -in life-like Colorgravure . . For some pleasantly relaxed reading msstents tins Decem ber, read Family Weekly every week! o o Coming December 18th! "NOW I CAN SMILE" by ED SULLtVAN- An exclusive feature1. He describes the wonderful world that opened up for him when he finally was able to lick his ulcer problem. "WHERE ARE THE WOMEN GENIUSESrJ by Kathleen Norrit We don't want to spoil this story for you by telling but we bet you'll be surprised when yon see Miss Norri8 choice. "COULD YOU WIN THIS 'GOOD WIFE AWARD?" by Clark W. Blackburn A marriage counselling expert gives some thought provoking advice to women about handling the man in the house! "SLEEP TOGS FROM SANTA" by AUyn Rice Fashions to keep you warm and well-dressed on these long winter nights . . . "FOOTBALL'S FUSSIEST, FANCIEST FAKER" by Robert G. Deindorfer Baltimore Colt star Ray Berry's zany habits pay off in points for his team: the author explains how! "AND ALL THROUGH YOUR HOUSE" by Melanie DeProft Elegant, easy-to-make, kitchen-tested recipes for Christ mas Turkey, cranberry de luxe and all the traditional dishes you'll want to serve for a complete feast! BE SURE TO SEE THESE AND MANY OTHER ARTICLES OF COMPELLING INTEREST TO EVERY ONE, EVERY WEEK IN Family Weekly with ycrr Medford Mail Tribune
