TUESDAY,
Good Time Now
to Fertilize
With Nitrogen
' BT EUGENE WINTERS
", County Extension Agent
-I The latter part of February
and first part of March Is a
good time to apply nitrogen
fertilizers to improved irri
gated pastures.
irrigated pastures ,ln Jack-
son county . are generally
planted to Ladino Clover, or
.: Birdsfoot Trefoil . and . Alta
fescue, orchard, grass, peren-
nial ryegrass or meadow fox-
. tail. Fertilizing ; weeds or
: weedy grasses seldom pay,
.!; Improved1 pastures .with a
good stand of clover or lotus
and perennial grasses in me
. proportion of about half grass
and half legume will benefit
appreciably with a fertilizer
- nroeram consisting ' of ' be-
:tween 30 and 40 pounds of
'actual nitrogen before the
- middle of March. Applications
of lime, -phosphorous, potas-
.. glum and boron should be
based upon soil test reports.
: Thirty to 40 pounds of sulfur
t should be included in the
' fertilizer program each year,
Sulfur can be included gen
erally with other spring ap-
: plied fertilizer materials.
' No Superiority
l;ft Oregon State college soil
scientists "have found little
' basis for claiming superiority
of one kind of nitrogen ler-
tllizer. over another. In 65
field experiments in Oregon,
' no one nitrogen fertilizer was
consistently better than, an
other when the fertilizer was
' applied properly. Fertilizers
' compared include: ammonium
nitrate,' urea, ammonium, sul-
: fate, calcium - nitrate,- anhy
drous ammonia, and aqua
ammonia, x ' .'..'
if! Regardless of the type of
nitrogen fertilizer used, farm
ers can expect less than five
per i cent loss of nitrogen to
the air , when the fertilizer
ia applied properly to the
soil. ,,; ' .
v Listed are three sttuatibns
when farmers should expect
loss to .ihe air. '
i When nitrate nitrogen is ap
plied to soils wet enough to
have a poor supply ' of oxy
gen; when ammonium forma
of nitrogen and urea are left
i on the surface of soils with
; pH above. 7.0; and when
high rates of urea are left, on
' the surface, of acid, sandy
textured, moist soils at high
temperatures (vegetable cover
Will reduce this urea joss;."
W Losses front urea should hot
he expected- when Irrigation
or rsin immediately follow ap
' plication. .:'.''. i . -'
J Researchers-found some ex
periments where one souce of
nitrogen- gave better results
i than, other sources. But In
every case there were other
experiments where this source
of nitrogen wasn't . superior.
On .the basis of this recent
study, OSC, researchers came
to thla concluslon-the nitro
gen fertilizer that costs the
least for each pound of ac
tual nitrogen applied to the
oil is usually the -best. Costa
of transportation, handling,
and. application should be -In
cluded in figuring cost; .
; Of course, there are items
'. other than' cost to keep in
'mind.. The-value of ..other
.phint nutrients such as sul-fur-ln
Some, nitrogen , fertil
iser's should, be recognized,
but only If ' that plant nu
trient is needed in the soil
ELEPHANT BRAND
FERTILIZER PAID
FOR THIS CAR
This is not an exaggeration. By the yer better-grade
; proper and effective use
Brand fertilizer thousands of farmers
have been able to make the money for
something they wanted, such as a
new car or new farm machinery.
With Elephant Brand fertilizer, you
grow bigger crops. Your cost of grow
ing the crop is spread over more crop
units (more "bushels, bales, tons or
pounds) so you grow each unit for
(ess. Lower production cost per unit
: means you increase the difference
between cost price and selling price
that difference is your prof iU
Using. Elephant Brand will mean more
money for you in three ways: first,
Itl'HANT It AND PIUS VAIUU
A w) mte f t4ae U4 ntlw UnifwM-tlst4 m Stit fwHtttud ioiMi
AS titMim kklr wtT MhiUc Stiwia, oeallm mlneal, in alts hfa
IT PAYS
e-aa-ia
riMnRglJrl.l.'.aj.ni,-w.'i.iMiL;ijij.j;i,UL-;,i-M.'i.ri
I
COHtNCO PRODUCT. INC.. lOKANf. WAIHIHtlbH.
XCLUfllVK U.. ALt AOCNT fO ILKPHANT BRAND riRTTLIZCRt, BALroUR. OUTXRIK CO. IIMITEO
SAN rRANCTBCO LOB ANQlLCB ' B CATTLE PORTLAND BPOWANg MINNEAPOLIS
FEBRUARY 28. 1981 ' :
Pea rs H ave Future i
In Willamette Valley
'Tn (Via fnp of n -mild near
planting boom, the first one
in 30 years, ' Henry Hartman,
Oregon state college Horticul
turist urged Willamette valley
growers to be cautious.
The horticulturist who is
working on the pear , decline
raaii-Vi In the Rosue valley
made this statement at the
Mid-Willamette pear meeting
in Salem last weeir. . , t
cham rfrnns in Dear Deduc
tion in the Rogue ; valley,
Washington ana cauiorma
has brought a current thirty
of increased demand lor, Wil
lamette valley pears not af
fected by pear decline, Hart
man noted. ' ;
"However, growers in those
areas are not discouraged:
They are replacing lost trees,
Cost of Living
Increases Pass
By Farmer
1 nnruniiiB-lrVint of llvlni fn-
crcases-those built-in' 'escala
tors in the weekly pay check
-by-passed the farmer almost
completely during the past 10
years.:,',,-y, ' !, . ,- .. ,:
.Net income for the average
farm operator Increased only
3 per cent since-. I860, reports
M. D.Thomas, Oregon State
College extension agricultural
economist.- In the face of ris
ing -living costs, this meant
the farm family income, in
1960 would buy- 13 per . cent
less than in 1950.
At the same time, the aver
age person working off-farm
for wages' or' salary earned
about' 50 per cent more in
1960 than in 1950. Allowing
for inflation, this provided
about one-fourth more, real
Income.- ' 1
The bit! squeeze on the farm
er came with rising operating
costs ' coupled with lower
prlces'for the things he raised.
Main cost gains nave orcu
Interest -on. borrowed.' funds,
property taxes, and "wages of
hired workers, according to
a recent national 'survey by
the U.S. 'Department of Agri
culture. ' !
Wagas Up ?
Wage rates for farm work
ers were up nearly 50 per
cent and factory products
used on the, farm showed in
creases, ranging from 5 per
cent on fertilizer ' to, 40 per
cent for farm machinery.' .,
. ,.;rhose items needed for pro
duction which showed de
creased costs, themselves origi
nated, oh' the nation's farms.
Feed, seed, and 'feeder live
stock' prices In 1960 were
lower than in 1950 by ,7 to
11 pier. cent. '.
Cost items, which 'have
shown little change in recent
years include prices of motor
vehicles, gasoline, oil, tires,
and building materials, 1 nom
as noted. . . ',
The farm production, cost
picture is . outlined in the our
rent Issue of Oregon farm and
market Outlook published by
OSC. extension service.:. The
outlook , also Includes a detail
ed report bh trends in fruit
and vegetable production and
marketing. Free copies of the
outlook circular may be .ob
tained from local county ex
tension offices. .
on whioh the fertilizer - is to
be applied, . "' : . i
of Elephant
prices; second, your bigger yields give
you more to sell and third, you get a
greater profit on eack crop unit ef
whatever yo grew.
GET A BIGGER MONT "SLICE"
AS -V
WITHOUT PIRTILHtm
Think of this "trie as the money yon get for
Ter? crop amt sou grow. Tne aarKtnvd
prHn l yeur profit. Ftrtlllnr htlpc yw
tt a lMr praflt "loe".
9 btwislre werneese syttem fef fa
TO CHOOSE FROM THE
mTRAPmilSC33.5-0-0 1 18-W-a 1 11-41-1 1
10-30-10 . 13-13.13 ,
Elephant- Brand
w.i.r .oiui.i. F E RTI LI Z E RS
the horticulturist pointed otit,
He predicted, that .new acre
ages of pear orcnaras in can
fornia would more than com
pensate for tree flosses which
are expected to' be heavy.-in
the next three years.
Pear Shorten Temporary"
- Current prices should hot
be used in planning for 25-30
years ahead, Hartman recom
mended.. The,, pear - shortage
due to decline wiU be a tem
porary one, ne sam. . .,f.
"Pears are a long-time proj
ect; some trees planted in the
Willamette valley iiv"1885 are
still, producing wejl," ..he
noted..' .-. .'.:,'( . '?
However, he warned that
the one principal reliable vol
ume outlet for the future will
be. processing plants.' There1 is
but one variety1 Bartlett
.There is little demand for late
pear varieties in the Willam
ette valley and Bartletts are
not used for fresh markets, he
explained. Medford and Hood
River pear areas can get twice
as - much a box for Bosc and
D'Ahjou varieties : than the
Willamette valley growers.' '
Oregon pear production has
grown steadily since 1930,
Hartman noted. In .1958 Ore
gon ranked second in the U.S.
in pear production,'; growing
20 per cent of the total. Hood
River and Jackson county pro
duces more than 90 per cent
of the pears grown in Oregon
and they are about 50 per cent
of the Bartlett variety. ?
Last year the prevailing
price was $90 per ton -for
Bartletts, the highest since
1950, the horticulturist said.
In Favorable Position - .4;
, Willamette ; valley growers
are in a favorable position, be
cause of ready access to proc
essing plants, Hartman noted.
Packers have- done a great
job in advertising, standardiz
ing and maintaining quality.
But to face future competition
we may find that growers will
have to . employ - production
techniques. beyond those need
ed in the past," he continued.
- Proner Browlne sites .and
soils are available in the Wil
lamette valley for pear yields
equal ', to . other ', established
areas if proper trees and good
cultural methods are . used,
Hartman explained. Freedom
from frosts is a big advan
tage. .
" The valley is generally free
of fire blight which is still. a
serious economic handicap in
many areas. - Last year some
growers dusted trees 30 times
during . the growing season
and still' did not control the
disease, Hartman' said.
No survey of 'possible pear
decline has "been made in the'
Willamette ' valley, but Hart
man believes the ' danger ..is
not great.", ; . p '.
4-H Hews
Daffr Dills ,.";: .- , , ' -
The- Daffy. Dills' had their
February meeting at Mrs. Ah
horn's place. Danny Hill Join
ed our club and Is going (oo
be safety chairman.
We planned on' getting , a
window downtown and we
thought that the Central Point
library'swindow 'would '.oe
nice for our 4-H Week display.
Phyllis Brown read a poem;
Mrs. 'Anhorn showed'.'us a
film c ailed the "Gift of
Green." We 'had a' game which
Elaine Yound won. "
Cathy Anhorn A
. f .'' ; Reporter ': " '.' ,
crops bring highe
WITH PCKTH.IHK '
ELEPHANT BRAND LINE
HWMONIUM SUlfHATE (21 t-8 )
I
14-k-t uwea (-43.0 0)
CHIT CHAT-
''-.V-:;'' ...-' .- Mail: trikaiie !.' : i-;S;; ',V:( -, i(
While 'the farmer Is being .careful"' to ' see ' 'that ' people
don't Yet the wrong impression of him,-he should be equally
careful to -see he doesn't spread the wrong Impression' about
people-(who; affect his 'operation.' :i' ' 1 '- '
-1 ff T-.j: -.' ' ' ' 1 - ""''" -,r:,,l-.,V.'(,
; ... 4.- .,'.- , , i (..-..- ' -t . -..r . ,. :
; ' Farmers. , and their families . have long resented being
steotyped as "hayseeds." The farm family-is as well-dressed
or perhaps even better dressed than the city, dwellers; the
farm - home has, all the modern- conveniences, the pickup
truck is as smartly streamlined
Therefore,' the farmer 'should be 'ctfr'eful he' doesn't de
scribe or refer to his. associates in stereotyped descriptions,
also; . Too often, we have heard farmers', say -that' as soon
as they .fix their fences and paint their barns' their- taxes
will go up. This Is deliberately
We were somewhat concerned when; we read .Wheeler
McMillen's column in the February issue of the Farm Jour
nal,! We are glad he labelled one . item as ''Farm Fable
for February." That's what -it is, a fable. " But it's the kind
of fable too niany -people take -as the- gospel truth. ..' .
The -column tells of how,
husband. until he : cleaned, up his trashy barnyard, painted
and-repaired his fences and buildings and even landscaped
the premises. . The assessor came along and raised his taxes,
according to this yarn. Then a rich city man drove, by,
admired the farm and bought, it, for twice as, much. Moral
to the story was even' if a-wife is. wrong, she will turn out
right.' v- ''.''.i'.-'i- ..'-''."."'.' ' I :.". ''"' ' ':'
In case you '.didn't know;
taxes on your farm property
merely, determines the'value.
any county when, you -"vote for.
vices , and , ,' expenditures, new schodl 'buildings, ', Improved
roads, etc. Fortunately in this county O and C (timber
receipts finance county roads, some-timber-receipts even
help support -the Schools and timber receipts are used also
to finance the operation of -county offices.'-- '; t J ; .-
As we ' have tried to -bring out .in. the series of land
appraisal problems we have been running on this page, .there
are r many, -many factors to., consider in -establishing the
appraised valuation .of land.-.,. It's, this "appraised 'valuation
which foims the base -for your property: tax. Levies made
by-such special districts : as -fire, water, andf. irrigation also
affect your-prbperty-tax. ( r ... ;f )..';v..:'- .jv'. , :.
X i i' )'. V":,;, 'it ;,::' ' r
Incidentally, we were interested 'in', the comment of Ar
nold Bonner t, Central , Point
the home rule, committee lr county expenditures are inclined
to. go up, since. they, are not.
we did . not nave the u ana
would probably be held at lower levels. Bohnert is a mem
ber of the county budget : committee wnjch sets the budgets
for .ali.countv'officesl z t j t' ' ' ' '!. ' .V1 v ;'' ' "
. - : V., '.- ''" '
Personally,,; we 'hope we, -
"bubble" of economy., Other counties are pressing ior state
laws to share these timber receipts. Lumber companies who
pay the money, for; cutting the government i timber report a
bad year. A portion of what -they pay'-for the government
timber goes to the county so this 'could have a serious effect.
Anvwav. what we are aettina' at-the, farmer should not
continually kick a man in the
depends on 'this ; man's- governmental services. The local
assessor's office contains a. highly skiUed. conscientious crew
anxious to set a fair tax value
property, : Such silly stories about taxes. going: up every time
a farmer.'paints his fence or
tween the . farmer , and assessor s office. . The- assessor de
serves a pat on .'the. back, not
This,- too.-W good - public relations.-(.,.,,-$ v .Kr
And while we are-on'-this
irrigation district managers
tion, than they do. They, like
ment station personnel, are vital to the farmer's welfare and
agricultural progress.; Tlie ' irrigation district' manager is
responsible for- regulation of water flow and maintenance
of the vital agricultural arteries of ditches 'and canals. .
'' The -county- agent' may be
or some cither, symbol of appreciation; upon .retirement. If
the Irrigation district manager
tinual pressure from those who want more than their share
of water and the .continual stream of complaints on other
matters, he is allowed- to; limp
-' We 'heard about a man.
to return to dairy t farming
.while.' : He's been, selling farm, machinery. He had -another
farmer. over to dp -some part
milking shed... .
.This. brings. up two points:
improving and the number of farmers doing part-time work,
Dairy farmers must still be 'in' the firm erio of the cost-
price, squeeze. OSC reports ' that the state has, fewer milk
cows than expected earlier and fewer of them than in any
previous year since 1914, according to the latest USDA es
timate revised on the basis of
And, nationally, the milk-cow
1909.- . ';":' .. i
' OSC.Ag Economist Stephen C. Marks gives -the reasons
as technological changes and
farmers during the post-World
cattle for beef has been more
Another OSC' report states that mllkfat receipts are
slightly below a year earlier. Receipts of mllkfat in manu
facturing milk during September, ,1980 were : 3 "per cerit
more than , the' same month a' year earllef.'. but receipts' of
butterfat 'lri qre'aih-were 10 per cent lower. ' The January
September accumulated totals showed one per cent more fluid
milk, but' 5 per cent less butter fat In. cream compared with
the' same period last year.- Milk production Is' unchanged
from last year.' ' '"'1 ' ' ' .;-
; Better management on 'the farm 'doesn't always produce
the extra needed greenbacks. New-money is needed;. This
means either the farmer or 'wife,' or 'both, must work, off
the farm,, or'htw ideas to produce more farm money must
be found.' A.few months ago we mentioned "cow-sitting"-as
explained in the Ford farm almanac. This means that' when
the farmer wants to take a week end off, he hires a. man
to take care of his cows.. This means extra money for: the
farmer who has the time. ' 1
Other people in this area have squeezed their feed costs
by feeding dried cull pears to beef and porkers: - We know
of another farmer who invented a corn drying, machine
which uses the gases from, sewage wastes- for powerv He
did custom drying for farmers.. The dairy farmer we wrote
of earlier probably will continue to sell farm machinery and
have his teen-age. son handle many, of the farm chores. '
Near the Sun Valley, Idaho, winter resort many farm
families rent rooms to skiers who don't want to pay the
higher resort prices. With the development of one or two
winter recreation areas- here,' nearby farmers might' follow
suit. - - - - .-. :;. ' - -" - - ,
Before he left for school in California, County v Agent
Don Berry was trying to get more' fruit growers to use
sour cherry trees for lnterplantings. ; There is at lust one
flower bulb farm here that we know of. . Perhaps other
people could grow bulbs on part of their acreage to earn
a little additional moey. These are Just a few ideas -of prob
ably hundreds which could become profitable. As farmers
are finding out,-, it takes Ingenuity te keep ahead of the
mortgage. , . - '. ..' .-. ,;: -
MEDfORD MAIL1 TRIBUNE, MEDFOHD, ORE. :
K " I .'k " , -
as any .passenger car. .
. spreading a false impression.
al farmer's wife. nagged her
.the - assessor' doesn't 'raise. 'the
or; anybody else's property. He
'You raise your own taxes -in
increased governmental ser
''". '.--y-r. - -,-
area farmer, when asked by
tax,-supported. He replied if
i; lunds county, expenditures
"' '"I - "-.'r -v :;. '-'.
aren't riding. : too high i on.a
seat of -the pants, when he
on farm land and any other
barn, do not nelp. relations be
a figurative kick, in the pants.
theme, lt seems to us that
'should' receive : more - apprecia
the .county . agents and experi
presented . with' a' gold watch
is able to survive, the con
o to seclusion. .
out our - way who ' is- planning
tafter - ib'elng' out. of , it' ;a little
- time .work on his barn and
-., . .. .;. ; ,-.
.the dairy-business must be
the 1959 census of agriculture.
Inventory Is the smallest since
- iV, .5,.. 1 ,:,u -t
the cost-price squeeze on dairy
War II -years-and producing
rewarding in recent years.
Garden Tips
Br JOHN W, McLOUGHLIN
County Extension, Agent'
ROSE PRUNING
Now Is the time' to Drune
roses.' Since flowers are Dro-
duced ' on new wood, prune
annually, to encourage strong
new flowering wood. - , '
, There are basic, pruning
principles , to follow on all hy
brid, tea, roses.. First, remove
all dead or diseased wood,
suckers, and any canes' cross
ing the center of the plant.
Suckers are distinguished
from canes in that they; orig
inate below the bud . union
and have seven leaflets. Canes
originate above the bud union
and have five leaflets'. , ,
Remove old canes in pro
portion to the amount of new
canes- being formed to retain
the ' balance of the " bush.
Prune new canes hack to one
outside bud 12 to 18 inches
above the base of the plant.
Demonstrations .
Rose ' pruning demonstra
tions will be held at the fol
lowing times and places: ; '
Saturday,' March 4-10 ajn.,
rose 1 garden. . Lithia - park.
Ashland, corner of Nutley st.
and Winburn Way and 2 p.m.,
public : library, Medford; ,n
Monday, March 6-1 p.m.,
public library, Medford, and
at 3 p.m., rose garden, Lithia
park, Ashland,, across f r om
tennis courts. ...... -, rr
LANDSCAPE
A i home . landscape course
has been scheduled for 1 p.m.
on .March 29, 1961 at . the
Jackson - . county courthouse
auditorium., r
Mrs. . Fred Lorish will , be
the instructor.- Persons inter
ested In attending should for
ward - a postcard containing
their name, address and
phone number to County Ex
tension Service, P.O.. Box
1069, Medford, Oregon.
LAWN SEED
Quality is the ail import-:
'ant word in purchasing lawn
seed. Consider the guaranteed
purity and germination of the
seed and Its adaptabllltyto
this area. '; - ,
- Blu'egrasses (Kentucky,
Newport, Merlon) and fescues
(Illahee, Rainier, Chewings)
are preferred for new plant
ings. -
-- Because of the Intense man
agement required for success
with bentgrasses in this area,
they are not recommended. -
Home owners purchasing
bargain lots of seed are buy
ing seed with a poor growth
0 LOCALLY
In the
t .- . .1
Long
you won't do better
than Trading at...
GRANGE CO-OP
v v ' . -rtneSSS'mmmm
mm
HIGHWAY 99
Phone NO
Coordinated Plans Laid Out
For Battling Pear Decline
Coordinated plans for com
batting the pear decline prob
lem are continuing among
California, Oregon and Wash
ington top level; agricultural
administrators. ;
A revised request for allocation-
of funds on the state
level . for - pear decline - re
search has yet to be worked
out in all details, it was, re
ported.. ,. ;'j" .
- During a meeting in Berke
ley, Calif., on Feb. -17 agricul
tural -. administrators of the
three western' pear-growing
states' and- the U.S.. Depart
ment ' of ' .: Agriculture . laid
plans , to coordinate, the over
all pear decline research proj
ect to make : the most . effi
cient, use .of. funds available.
This malady, first-observed
in British - Columbia, Wash
ington and - Oregon, invaded
California last year. Surveys
show losses in excess of $3
million in California.
Approximately 30; adminis
trators and pear.experts from
the three states met in Ber
keley earlier this.' month. It
was agreed each of the three
states experiment stations,
the ,' USDA and the California
Department of Agriculture
will, take one . portion 'of. the
research project,, ,'. ' . ;' '; ; .
To Pool Results '..,.;' : ,
The Iresults1 will': be pooled
in hopes of: finding the quick
est possible remedy.
; Paul F.. Sharp-of the Cali
fornia ' Agricultural , Experi
ment station was- host. - The
three - western 'states account
for 90 per cent of the pear
production 'in- the United
States. : ' ' - r -. ' . .-:-.-.-.
"I think one of i the im
portant results of this meet
ing was the exchange of ideas
among the ' researon "people
ahd the realization that even
before this, meeting, the work
on pear decline research, was,
well coordinated,"' S h a r p
commented. ! ' '.'. i : "
"If ' California's i pear pro
ducers are to survive, a rem
edy for pear ' decline must be
found and toward that' end
the University of California
Agricultural' Experiment sta
tion has organized an all-out
rate,, small amount of pure
grass seed or a lot; of weed
seed. A seed' bag containing
one quarter of one per cent.
(.025) of -weed seeds . is
enough to sow five or more
weeds per square foot,. v
0 LOCALLY CONTROLLED
Run
' ' t(""j '-A:-l ,:.:.-?;: ,v" i
IN CENTRAL POINT
4-1261 or SP 3-4022 ..
mmm co-op
research' program .-. guided , by j
a statewide committee. . ur.
T. A..- Shalla,.. of . Davis, is
chairman," the experiment
station director said.
Committee personnel In
clude economists, representa
tives of the extension service,
irrigation specialists, entomo
logists, plant pathologists,
pomologists, and a plant
nematologist 'from Berkeley,
Davis : and .Riverside. The
California . State Department
of Agricutlure, the states of
Oregon and Washington, and
the United States Department
of Agriculture have designat
ed representatives to work
with the California research
committee. ' . ' ! ; !
Survey Conducted ; I
A total of ' 181 ; pear br-chards-25,000
' trees w ere
included in a statewide sur
vey. This was to obtain accu-rate-.data
on distribution of
pear -decline in California,
its rate -and pattern of spread,
and its relation to rpotstocks,
cultural - practices, soil types,
and: so- forth. The orchards
surveyed were selected at
random '"each county from
Orchards." producing 100 or
niore' "tons . during, the ., 1959
season, Sharp said. Such, or
chards comprise about 85, per
cent ,'of, the total California
acreage.. Bach tree was graded
as to degree ot decline and a
record .made as to .whether
It was quick decline or slow
decline, ,
;,Other,-.data obtained-in the
.orchards' :.examined included
.variety, age,, rootstocks, .and
interstocks, soil type, culture;
method of Irrigation, frequen
cy and amounts of water used,
location of. diseased trees ac
cording to position in orchard.
Other information gathered in
eluded amount and types of
fertilizers, spray program in
secticides, fungicides; orchard
location ahd types of soil man
agement; 'Sharp said. : ... ;
California'' ' researchers de
cided that from the Washing
tori experience . it is highly
probable : that all pear trees
on Oriental 'rootstocks, and a
certain amount on imported
French, may be killed eventu
ally by decline. " :i
The California experiment
station ' head, stated since de
cline spread has been so rapid
"there is every indication!
that no area will escape pear
decline. Reddening of pear fo
liage in the fall occurs as a
result of girdling or root in
II
and operated solely for the benefit of LOCAL
Farmers and Ranchers. Always quality products
and reasonable prices. -
f-h Remember
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"".'.; ". ,." '- .-.'f''.,t.Vi'lkMj - b a MEMBER fa
m '' F4 ' T,,l Ht, "
P i co-op 'Ifll ' .
L: : 111 : :
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421 A STREET
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jury.' This may ' Indicate lm
pending decline. .
Checking Insects ;
' Researchers in California
are. also trying to ,fiiid th
insect which may be respon
sible for spreading the de
cline. However, spread of the
pear decline has been so rapid
and extensive insect control is
not-promising as a partial so
lution. -.". .
Experiments are being con
ducted to test insect Species
possibly responsible for
spreading decline such as aph
ids; leafhoppers and the pear
psylla, Sharp explained; :.
; Only practical means now
of controlling pear, decline' 'is
by '.replanting bh resistant
rootstocks such as Old Home
now ' being propagated 1 at ths
Southern Oregon Branch Ex
periment station. There are ap
proximately 30,000 pear trees
on Old Home roots in the Med
ford area'' unaffected ' by de
cline,1 the California agricul
tural authority stated.' ' 'it.
Although the rootstocic be
ing developed; here is 'disease
free, California growers have
sdmehqw! obtained Old Home
stock, with a vein-yellows vi
rus which causes reduced vig
or and stunted trees," -particularly
in Comice.and DAnjou,
California also has found Bart
lett trees on Old Home -roots
with a high' rate of measles.
This is believed to -be "caused
by a virus which-may-i'educe
the pear crop by. brie-third to
one-half. - . ' ' '
s ". "The extensive. 'studies un
der way are designed i'tb find
the factors causing pear de
cline,, as well as to eliminate
those which are not," the ex
periment station director con
cluded, - J
Eisenhower Denies
Kennedy Criticism
. Palm Springs, Calif. - (UPD
Former President Dwight D.
Eisenhower has categorically
denied criticism of the Ken
nedy administration attribut
ed to him by Sen: Karl E.
Mundt (R-S. D.). - - ..;
' In one of the few prepared
statements he has issued since
arriving on vacation at ' this
desert resort Feb: 8, Eisenhower-
described Mundt's re
port as inaccurate, saying he
has so far made no judgment
of the new administration. .-
IN ASHLAND
9-6281
IP