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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1963)
TUESPAY, JANUARY 29. 1963 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOhU. OHEGON Large Pack-Out Potential For Pears Knocked by Storm By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor Growers and shippers tills pasl week have been survey ing last season's pear produc tion and the market situation in making plans for the com ing season. The total near crop would have been about average com pared to the 1955-50 average if it had not been for the fall wind and rain storms, grow ers and County Horticultural Agent Clifford B. Cordy said. It wound up below average. Farm & Garden Gardening Tips By JOHN W. MCLOUGHLIN County Extension Agent Foliage Plants Foliage plants play an im portant role in the decor of the modern home. Their 441 Cattle Sold At Midway Yard; Market Active A total of 441 cattle were sold at the Midway Auction yard Friday, Jan. 25, accord ing to Owner-Manager Bill Bray. He reported the market ac tive for all classes. Slaughter cows were 50 cents higher. Good to choice steer calves weighing 250 to 375 pounds sold from $30 to $31.50, from 380 to 475 pounds brought $28 to $30.50. Medium to good calves, all weights, sold for $24 to $28. Good heifer calves, weigh ing 300 to 400 pounds, sold for $25 to $2.50 and those weighing 400 to 500 pounds brought $23.50 to $25.30. Yearling steers weighing 550 to 650 pounds brought $25 to $27 and 675 to 900 pound steers sold for $22 to $24.50 Medium quality yearl ing steers, all weights, sold for $22 to $24. Good yearling heifers went out at $21.50 to $24. Medium quality yearling heifers sold for $19 to $21. Holstein steer calves sold for $22.50 to $23.80. Yearling Holstein steers sold for $21.50 to $22.75. Holstein feeder heif ers went for $18.50 to $20.25. Good cow and calf pairs sold from $225 to $242.50 per pair. Other pairs sold from $180 to $215 per pair. Several pens of springer cows sold from $180 to $102. 50 per head. Slaughter bulls sold for $18.50 to $20.70. Good fat cows sold for $15.50 to $17.80. Most ulilily cows sold for $15 to $16. Cutters brought $12 to $14.75 and canners $8 to $12. A few steers sold from $23 lo $25.40. FARM Woodlot Facts By RICHARD D. OLSON Slate Farm Forester The months of February and March seem lo be good months for meetings. This week's article is concerned with coining meetings that should be of interest to pri vate woodland owners. Last week the newly organ ized Jackson County Farm Forestry Committee held their second planned meeting. Five farmers were present at this meeting and represented a good crews section of the county. A forestry tour In Northern Jackson county will be held on Saturday, Feb. 16. The meeting place will be the State Forestry headquarters, and will leave at 9:30 a.m. If you wish to attend but for some reason can't make it by 0:30 a.m. please write your farm forester or county agent and ask for an agenda and map of the day's lour. This will enable you lo catch up with the group at a later lime. The second lour will be in the southern part of Jackson county on Saturday, the 9th of March. The meeting place will be the county extension office and departure time will be 0:30 a.m. To Viow Induitry Both meetings will consist of visiting two small private woodlands and one small for pst industry. Main subjects of discussion will be stand im provement, tree planting and Christmas tree growing. Many other subjects, however, will no doubt come under discus .Mon. In Corvallis on Feb. 27 and 28 and March 1, there will be a management conference for small woodland owners. Al though designed for those small owners who are engaged in woodland oiwralions. it is open on a limited basis lo any one interested In small wood land management. Qualified discussion leaders will outline program topics. Adequate lime will he provided for group discussion and audi ence participation. Advanced registration Is re quested by Feb. 1, 1963. A fee of $3.00 per person will be charged at the conference. green leaves are often sil houetted against a plain back ground lo introduce a cool ness, freshness and restfulncss to the home. Foliage plants are used also to accentuate green tones in a room or are arranged attractively with tones of brown, orange and off-white. Texture is also added to the room by foliage plants. In this group of plants we find leaves with a velvet texture; others with a satiny texture; a few may be thick and leath ery; some are lacy and feath ery. Use your imagination and Ingenuity In choosing and ar ranging these plants. By so doing, you will introduce in teresting designs, colors and textures. Avoid using too many plants and too many contrasts as this will produce a cluttered and confused ef fect. Maintaining Foliage Plants Usually the location selected for foliage plants is not ideal for plant growth. The growth produced by plants In such locations is abnormal and un attractive. Consequently, a slow rate of growth is desir able. This can be achieved by keeping the plant roots rela tively dry. Double potting is a method of planting that makes it easy to keep the soil relative ly dry. Double potting con sists of placing one porous clay pot inside a decorative container. The area between the two pots is packed with peat moss. The peat moss pre vents rapid fluctuations in soil moisture and soil temperature. The outer container must be large enough i.o allow at least a one-half inch space be tween the clay pot and the container. The pot must be shorter than the container. The rim of the pot should be about one-inch lower than the rim of the container after the planting is completed. This allows room to cover the Inner pot with peat moss and also prevents the peat moss from washing out when the plant is watered. The outer container need not have a hole in the bot tom. Place a one-half inch layer of gravel or pebbles in the bottom of the contain er. This will prevent the plant from sitting in water, should the plant be overwatercd. Place the pot on the gravel in the container and with a long slender stick pack the peat moss between the pot and container. Keep the peat moss at least one-half inch from the rim of the contain er. Peal moss is easier to han dle if it is thoroughly mois tened a day or two before it is used. To water double potted plants, push Ihc peat moss away from the soil and wa ter the inner pot. The peat moss should be moistened oc casionally. Do not allow It to dry out. The next article will deal with planting large planters and small table planters, and dish gardens. Ornamental Course Slated Feb. 5-7 Corvallis - A streamlined program and a new special interest session will greet horticulturists who come to Oregon Slate university's 7th annual Oregon Ornamental Short course, Feb. 5-7. Special interest groups will meet on different days this year, announced A. N. Rob erts, OSU horticulturist In charge of the short course. This will enable participants lo take part in more than one group. For registration please write (. harles Ross, Extension Farm Forestry specialist. Forestry Building, OSU, Corvallis, Or egon. Josephine County wood land owners, Interested in Christmas tree growing, may wish to attend Douglas Coun ty's Farm Forestry Commit tee's Christmas Tree meeting on Friday night tile 1st of February at 7:30 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. The meeting will be held at the courthouse audi torium. Christina tree trow ine and marketing will be discussed and a time for questions and answers will follow. Otherwise, the Medford pear district would have had the largest crop per unit of tree production on record. "Of course, the Important thing is how the storms it fected individual orchards. Some suffered considerable loss and others not so much," Cordy said. He explained the 1935 59 period is used as average pro duction years because since then the valley has lost a large number of trees due to decline and the crippling ef fects of decline. The local traffic association reported 80,000 boxes of Co mice were packed during the past season. The overall harv est was just about average. Wind loss was estimated at 10 lo 15 per cent. Since so many Cornice got out in gift packs it is almost impossible to estimate the size of this crop In the usual pack ed boxes, Cordy said. Valley orchards harvested about 30,000 tons of Bart'etls which Is about the same as the five-year average. This was larger than any of the last three years, however. Crop production then, In J959, 1960 and 1961 was approxi mately 25,000 tons a year Cordy pointed out again that the last five years were not normal years due to pear tree decline. The valley would have had one of the largest Bosc crops on record this year except for the wind storm. Actual pack out was 466,800 and the five- year average is 496,836. Or chards should have produced 700,000 boxes, according to early season estimates, but storm loss was close to 300,000 boxes. Price-wise, the pear indus try continues to suffer. It ship ped out 71 carloads of Bart letts under the federal school lunch program. It plans to ship out 161 carloads of win ter pear varieties. This pro gram merely gives the pear growers and shippers some thing instead of nothing. Re ceipts from this program are considerably under storage and production costs, pear men point out. Instead of private sales (sales made directly to chain stores or wholesalers), this year a largo proportion of Medford district pears have had to go to the New York and other eastern auctions. The USDA report as of the week ending Jan. 4 showed the price to Jate on all vari eties average $4.47 compared to $5.32 the previous year. D'Anjous averaged $4.74 com pared to $5.56 and Bosc $4.02 compared to $5.03 the previ ous year. Auction prices have a di rect bearing on private sales and consequently private pear sales have forced shippers and growers to take a dollar or more a box less than the previous season. This dollar a box loss Is clmost all grow ers' money, it was pointed out. Ironically, a greater per centage of pears was packed this year than last year. There was a larger crop and a smal ler cannery lake, growers not ed. One big reason being the innovation in peeler machin ery. Last week, one shipper no ticed the first real interest in Ihc pear business from the producer standpoint. A num ber of long distance phone calls were received iiere from east ern buyers. T!-c freeze in Flor ida and Texas irobably spark ed the interest since the cit rus crop In those places has been severely hurt. Last week, one rif.'s observations showed a good New York pear auction. FROM THE GROUND UP lr BART BARTUTT Some development work Is being done In an effort to use a growth control chemical agent to limit the grasses along roadways to a height of about four Inches. Following the growth con trol chemical an application of a fire retardant material Is made to reduce possibility of dangerous gra?s fires. This work Is significant and per haps even more so since It Is not in Oregon project. Oregon has more miles of highway roadside to protect from fire hazards than do certain other western stales. Agricultural Rtiearch Agricultural research is car ried on by both private and lax-supported sources. The same Is true, of course, re garding all kinds of research. The outstanding thought be hind this jewel of intellectual endeavor is that In some quar ters n may be thought that government via tax expendi ture has a corner on all of Chit Chat By JOE COWLEY Mail Tribune Farm Editor Snow flakes drifting to the ground hardly remind people of pear blossoms, but pear growers yesterday were already preparing for another season as they met for the annual pear program sponsored by the Jackson County Extension service. Reports of what to expect were not encouraging. In fact, Dr. Virgil Freed, OSU agriculture chemist, opened with the question: "Things being so bad why don't you go into another business?" First solid note of the pear growers' blues was sounded by Dr. Gerald Korzan, OSU agricultural economist. Percentage-wise the number of non-bearing or young Bartleti pear trees In California has increased 100 per cent from 1954 to 1959 from 434,000 to 986,000. Both Oregon and Wash ington non-bearing trees have increased 50 per cent. In Oregon's Hood River valley the non-bearing Bartlett trees have increased two to three times that of Jackson county 60 per cent compared to Jackson county's 25 per cent. These young trees will be in production in the next few years. Jackson county remains an important producer of winter pear varieties but its percentage of new trees is not nearly that of Hood River. All local pear producers can do is what they are doing produce as many pears as economically possible. Only alter native would be a federal marketing order to limit pro duction to help obtain higher prices, Dr. Korzan said. With the tremendous production expected from the large number of present non-bearing trees the pear prices may decline, the OSU economist said. In 1962 Oregon Bartlett production set a new record 70,000 tons or $4 million worth. However in 1961 with a production of 20,000 tons less, production was worth $4.4 million. Pears and other agricultural products are not like auto production. Auto production hit a record volume last year, but prices remained the same as in 1959, another record year. Later, a local pear man commented that anyone who continues to plant Bartletts here is "crazy." Local pear pro duction should trend toward more Seckles or Cornice for gift or specialty packs. This has to be an area of specialty packs due to the wonderful pear quality possible, high labor and land costs, he said. Per person consumption of pears in the U. S. is 4.6 pounds per person, or 2.6 pounds fresh pack and 2 pounds canned, according to 1960 figures. Peach consumption for 1960 was 15.9 pounds (canned and fresh) per person. New peelers which place more of the pear In the can also tend to reduce the price to growers since canners can get more cases of canned pears per ton. Such new peelers on a rental basis cost more than the old ones and resulting peeled pears don't grade as well, the economist said. Rachael Carson, author of "Silent Spring," a book calling agricultural chemicals a deadly menace has struck a blue note which has resounded over the land, tvery fruit and spray session we have attended recently has mentioned this book. When did the spray and chemical dust residue problem really start? About 30 years ago, according to Dr. Freed. Then lead arsenate was used extensively on Pacific North west fruit shipped into Britain and other European coun tries. The British jumped onto the residue problem in part to knock out northwest apples which were competing with British Apples. Also in England about that time were out breaks of arsenate poisoning in foods and beer and a lead problem from some fumes. There arc no known cases of illness from residues from foods when such chemical residues were within the estab lished tolerance level, Dr. Freed emphasized. Chemicals are recommended and tolerances established backed by the best scientific information and two year animal feeding tests plus considerable laboratory research hours, he said. Growers can expect a tightening of laws pertaining to chemical residues since recent scientific developments make it possible to run residue tests in two hours instead of the former two or three days. This tightening of regulations means more burden and expense for the experiment stations and chemical companies, Dr. Freed said. "We must do considerable work to develop a biological 'O'. for a floor on residues. We can consume most chemicals over a lifetime with no harmful effects. And our knowledge on this is pretty good," the OSU chemist said. A study of metabolism can help with the proper use of chemicals in orchards so spray chemicals will disappear at harvest time but will protect crops through the season, Dr. Freed said. "Both the public and any possible chemical applicator must be educated on the proper control of agricultural chem icals,'' the chemist said. "The public may return orchardists the right to use chemicals when they become frightened enough to take them away. Meanwhile the farmer has lost his crop and the consumer has had to pay much bigger food costs." Dr. Pete Wcstisard, new local experiment station en tomologist, said oils arc being recommended for mite con trol In California and not in combination with chemicals. Westigard, who comes from California, charted the effec tiveness of a number of oils. One of the most effective was Canadian dormant oil which reduced the mite population from 46.2 per leaf to 10.4. A number of new chemical materials for mile control, not yet released for full commercial application are Bayer 36205, OW.9. Morocide, Penlac and Animcrt. The new en tomologist also noted that British Columbia growers are getting effective natural control of pear psylla through predator and parasitic Insects. California studies for the last two or three years indicate such natural control will play a big role, but this is not firmly established as yet, he said. L. D. McNclly, Santa Clara county, Calif, farm advisor, said researchers there have so far stimulted tremendous tree regrowth through a combination of severe pruning and in jections of the chemical hormone Dexon into t lie soil near trees suffering from water mould or a form of pear tree decline. However, tests have not continued yet through a fruiting cycle. Injections of water into the soil have also been somewhat effective, he said. the nation's brain? of a crea tive nature. Research, unless it is of a wealth-creating nature is of mile cci'iiviu ii- irtim m way of life, II may be valu able as a defense measure, but even so it would be de batable as to whether or not it might be bettrr done by private funds. The fiction on tax monies is great and re duces funds abom 40 per cent of their effectiveness when expended. The chiefs must be satisfied before the Indians can expect any pay. SPECIAL J Und NEW IDEA MANURE SPREADERS Eiulltnt Condition Und Farm Equip, of All Typet NASH FORD TRACTOR I IMPLEMENT CO. 3005 Ctinr Lk. Hy. Weed Expert Says Winter and early spring months arc a particularly good time for the home owner, farmer and business man to look into their next summer's weed problems. Uncontrolled areas are quite conspicuous by the residue left from last year's growth. Appearance of many areas could be greatly improved by burning now with follow-up controls during the spring and early summer months, Some of these areas such as fence lines, lanes, irrigation ditches and fire breaks around buildings from the farmer's point of view could be treat ed for weed control now. In so doing nearby crops don't present the problem as with summer control measures. Sterilants give a longer, more economical control. Home owners and business places have areas, such as parking, storage, property borders and buildings, where weed control measures could improve the appearance, help safeguard against fire and make much more convenient the storage of equipment, parts, and lumber in storage areas. Three Forms Available These non-selective weed control chemicals are available, generally in three forms for the user's conven ience, weltable powders that can be applied in water, pow ders that can be applied dry and wet in, or in granular form that can be spread by hand or mechanical spread er. Under ideal conditions each will give satisfactory control. These conditions vary a great deal and is responsible for the varied mixtures and formula, tions of these chemicals. Soil type plays an important part. Available moisture is impor tant as is the type of weeds to be controlled, and location of the area to be treated in re lation to desirable plants, slope of the ground where chemicals could be washed into areas where treatment would be harmful. Applica tion rates will vary accord ing to the above conditions and the chemical types being used. Two-Day Course Set On Irrigation Irrigation can either make or lose a farmer money. Thursday and Friday, Feb. 7 and 8, local farmers and orchardists wMl learn or re learn what water does in the soil, what it can and can't do and how it should be best applied. Conducting the course will be Lee R. Hansen, agricultur al sales director, Pacific Pow er and Light company, Port land; Andrew H. Schmidt, ag ricultural sales engineer, Pa cific Power and Light com pany, Medford; Marvin N. Shearer, OSU extension Irri gation specialist, and Bert G. Wilcox, Jackson county agent. Starting at 10 a.m., Thurs day, Wilcox will explain the storage and release of water by soil. He will illust" . how water is stored - forces in volved, effect of soil physical characteristics, kinds of water-excess, available, non available, wilting point, field capacity and how water is re leased - comparison of typical moisture release curves and why they are important. Following that he will ex plain how and why moisture moves in the soil; terms of free water, tension, pressure, etc.; why water moves, im portance of movement, and will show a film, "Soil Mois ture Movement." Starting the afternoon ses sion Shearer will explain crop response lo soil moisture availability, how this varies with different types of crops, factors affecting rate of use, so called "critical periods" what they are and how man agement can affect moisture use such as mulch, cultivation and clipping. Hanren will explain irriga tion scheduling. This will in clude under the basis for scheduing: crop, root, soil depth, storage capability of soil, release characteristics of soil, experimental results. He will also tell how the farmer can determine "when" and "how much" to apply. This will cover the need for meas urement, gypsum block., ten sionmeters, dendrometers, and soil sampling. Shearer will start the Fri day session at 10 a.m. with a talk on surface irrigation. This will cover distribution problems and their correc tion, how principles of water measurement can be applied, the adapted method of irriga tion. Schmidt will follow with a talk on sprinkler irrigation covering types of sprinklers, nozzle size, spacing, pressure relationships, effect of wind and methods of overcoming deficiencies. He will follow with a lec ture on pumps and pumping including pump selection, mo tors and power plants, instal lation, operation an, mainte nance; and automatic con trols. Shearer will wind up the two day short-course with a talk on water control as ap plied to surface irrigation. He will summarize what has been covered, generalize to all areas, talk on irrigation structures and end with a movie, "Gift From the Clouds." Farm Buildings Meeting Feature Farm buildings, construe, tion and use will be in tha spotlight at a meeting scheduled for Friday, Feb. 1 in the Court House audi! torium in Grants Pass ac. cording lo Earle Joiiy, county extension agent. Th' lime is 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. This meeting has been arranged by M. G. Huber. OSU extension agricultural engineer, to cover both Jose, phine and Jackson counties Included in the program besides Huber will be H. P, Ewali, Dairy Specialist, and John Landers, livestock specialist, discussing the use of buildings. A. A. Zander, West Coast Lumbermen's as sociation, Paul Christensen, Portland Cement associa. tion, will discuss materials and construction. U. S. Said Vulnerable To Submarine Missiles Mobile, Ala. - lUPJt - A top military defense officer said Monday the United States is vulnerable to ballistic missiles fired from submarines. "We can neither intercept nor destroy such missiles at ; this time," said Maj. Gen. Thomas J. Gent Jr., com mander of North American Air Defense for the southern United States. STOCKMEN FEED PELLETS Your coano or unpalatable roughage will make a base for a modern balanced ration that you can feed with little labor and no wastage. The increased meat or milk pro duccd will give you maxi mum returns on a small cash investment. MORTON MILLING CO. 500 Ross Lane, Medford II I INSTANT 1 IRRIQAT! (Just Add Water :::: Av:lab: redi rain PORTABLE SPRINKLER IRRIGATION EQUIPMENT Commercial Farm Lawn Garden Nash Ford Tractor Implement FREE Estimates Gladly Given 3005 Crater Lake Hiway - 772-6425 (Giramig (Cn Still the Best Place for Farmers and Ranchers To Trade Only at the Grange Co-op do you have available the full time services of a col lege trained Nutritionist. This is a personalized service to meet the needs of local ranchers for prompt and expert help with nutritional problems. This is a free service for all ranchers in this area. Just another of the many ad vintages of doing your trading with the Grange Co-op. For fast, friendly service, locally owned, locally controlled. A local market for your grain, and devoted to serving your needs. REMEMBER . . . You don't have to be a MEMBER to trade here and SAVE. i- i 8- - . A co-op Jii r Ili i I !x. CENTRAL POINT fir Ml I FV -iTi it! .rp Supply AssocMutiia Highway 99 CENTRAL POINT Phone 664-1261 or 773-4022 421 A Street ASHLAND Phone 482-2143 o
