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EDEN VALLEY ORCHARD A section of 1900 s is still owned by the same family,
the Eden Valley Orchard between Med- The orchard also includes part of the first
ford and Phoenix is shown as it extends valley orchard planted by J. H. Stewart,
over to an adjacent orchard on the hill. The former Missouri nurseryman in 1885.
part planted by Col. Gordon Voorhis in the
Orchard Superintendent
rtnn All H
r. " w m
By JOE COWLEY
Mail Tribune Farm Editor
It takes a lot nf know-how
It takes a lot of know-how
to be an efficient orchard
foreman or field superinten
dent and even more to grow
up with the orchard business
when horse power switched
from the four-legged kind to
the mechanized.
Lee Hedgpeth, field super
intendent at Eden Valley Or
chard, is considered general
ly as one of the best and most
experienced in the business.
And he has been in the busi
ness since he was 15 years
old.
"I will be 65 next month.
I don't feel that old, either.
Wouldn't feel right if I
weren't out doing my share
of the work," Lee grinned.
"Been in the business contin
ously except for a mechanical
course in Portland and short
HIV
LEE HEDGPETH
Veteran Orchard
Superintendent
NIAGARA'S
fm
' wrjMWgaf'WTT'wa
i hitches in mechanic's shops. ' Lee now v
But all of my training and ex- orchard mechi
nerienre has nrerjared me for ... ...
perience has prepared me for
orchard work."
Unusual Orchard
The Eden Valley orchard
is unusual since it includes
part of the first valley orch
ard planted by J. H. Stewart,
former Missouri nurseryman
in 1885. It's also unusual be
cause the acreage planted by
Col. Gordon Voorhies in the
early 1900s is still owned by
the same family. This at a
time when orchards have been
changing hands with increas
ed tempo.
Chances are that it wi'.l
stay in the family since Lee
is grooming Dan Voorhies. the
colonel's grandson and neph
ew to Mrs. Henry Pringle,
formerly Marian Voorhies
Riegel, to take over the orch
ard operation.
In the 1920's when Lee
first started, working in the
orchard it consisted of 16QJ
acres. Formerly it covered a
section, 640 acres or one
square mile. Leaning out of his
yellow pick-up truck, Lee
pointed to one of the longest
straight pieces of orchard
land in the valley 42 rows of
pear trees stretching for a
half-mile. This 65 acres, like
the rest of the 160 current
acreage includes Cornice, D'
Anjous, Bartletts and Bosc.
Develops Equipment
When Lee came onto the
place all pulling and hauling
was done by six teams of
mules and horses. There was
one tractor. It was the con
tinual puttering with that one
tractor, and perhaps the Mod
el T Ford which took him to
Diamond Lake for fishing
which developed a mechani
cal aptitude and skill in Lee.
He has been at it ever since. 1
TOP RATED PEAR
ADG
Unexcelled Fruit Finish
Higher Percentage of Top Grade Fruit
Superior Pear Scab Control
Fruit Has Excellent Keeping Qualities
Compatible With Other Pesticides -
Beneficial to Foliage
Use On All Varieties
Low Per Acre Cost
ot 773-3573 Hi South Grape Street Medford, Oregon
Putting Idttt to Work
NIAGARA CHEMICAL DIVISION
ANAHEIM FRESNO RICHMOND YAKIMA
J) Hom OIIim: MIDDLE PORT, NEW YORK
MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE.
lix.
Lee now works with the
orchard mechanic In adapting
machinery and parts of mach
inery to orchard work. Trac
tors have cabs on them to pro
tect the operators from orch
ard spray dope. A farm trail
er has a special arrangement
of wheels to make it ride
more evenly over orchard
ground. Many other pieces of
equipment were developed by
Lee and later by his top-rated
farm mechanic.
In the early days after hand
spray rigs, the larger or
chards used an underground
pipe system for applying
spray chemicals. The chemi
cals were mixed in a central
plant then piped through the
orchard. Hoses were attached
to the pipes to spray the trees.
Lee, who had the maintenance
and operation job on this sys
tem, still feels it was an effi
cient system.
It didn't dig ruts through
the orchard as the spray rigs
do now.
The Eden Valley orchard
fed its people more directly
in the early days. Milk, eggs
and butter came directly from
the orchard s cows and chick'
ens. It still has four cows
which provided milk for both
full-time and seasonal help.
All of the stock is raised right
on the orchard property. There
are still a lew horses, too.
Lee still supervises their care.
An orchard, like anything
else, either goes forward or
backward, but never stands
still. When Colonel Voorhies
acquired the original orchard
tract it had "gone over the
hill," according to many peo
ple. Under Lee's supervision
it continues to make a profit.
FUNGICIDE
EM
MEDFORD. OREGON
FARM
Woodlot Facts
By DICK OLSON
Oregon State Farm Forester
Fire can destroy or damage
your woodlands in a few
hours and eliminate values
that have taken years to de
velop. A little advance plan
ning or work may prevent
such a fire or limit the dam
age to a very small area.
Fuel and air are always
present in a woodland area.
If enough heat is supplied
to ignite the fuel, a fire can
be started. Fire prevention
is usually aimed at elimina
tion of the source of heat.
However, this is not always
the method. Sometimes the
more flammable fuels can bo
removed or kept away from
the source of heat. In this
way, a fire is prevented by
removal of the fuel. Heat in
sufficient quantity to ignite
fuel is sometimes caused by
lightning, but is much more
frequently the result of man's
carelessness with equipment,
fires or smoking.
General Approaches
Two general approaches to
prevention of forest fires are
used. One of these is educa
tion of people to make them
more fire conscious and the
other approach is the closure
of hazardous areas to entry
and use during periods of
high fire danger. The KEEP
OREGON GREEN program is
one of the more effective ed
ucational methods, also the
county conservation day tour
for the school children reach
es a number of homes. Closure
of hazardous areas during the
fire season-and shut down of
all woods operations during
periods of extreme fire danger-prevents
fires from start
ing where control might be
difficult.
Following is a list of ways
which can reduce the chance
of fire, or better control fire
in your woodland:
(1.) Do all debris burning
during the winter months and
not during fire season. When
burning must be done during
the fire season gel a permit
from the local fire protection
agency, so they will know
where the burning is being
done and they can check con
ditions to be sure such burn
ing will be safe.
(2.) Elimination of logging
debris by burning is usually
a good practice. By burning
this material in the fall or
winter, the area can be fire
proofed so there is little burn
able material remaining in
which a fire can start when
conditions are more hazard
ous. Slash burning requires
advance preparation to keep
the fire from spreading to
adjacent lands. In some cases
it might be better not to burn
at all. In partial-cut areas,
excess accumulations should
be piled in larger openings
for burning.
Check Machinery
(3.) Be careful of power
driven machinery of all types.
Be sure the equipment is in
good working order with all
the safety devices available in
use. Keep a fire extinguisher
and shovel with a power saw
in use.
(4.) Construction of fire
roads, firelines and water
holes are good ways to limit
the spread of fires. These may
not prevent a fire but they
will confine it and make the
suppression much easier.
(5.) Posting a . woodland
area with "no trespassing"
signs may prevent some fires
by keeping people out of your
woodlands. However, this is
difficult to enforce and may
antagonize sorrfe people caus
ing them to set fires in the
area.
(6.) Lightning fires are us
ually started in snags or rot
ten trees. Falling or harvest
ing the snags and defective
trees will prevent most light
ning strikes from starting
fires. If a fire is started, it
will be on the ground where
control is easier.
Fire laws and regulations
have been enacted to prevent
forest fires by restricting use
or making certain acts il
legal. These laws were de
signed to protect your wood
land and all other forests in
the state. Every woodland
owner and user should com
ply with ' the requirements.
The cooperation of all own
ers, users and fire protection
agencies is necessary to PRE
VENT FOREST FIRES.
-FOREST LAND WORTH
HAVING IS WORTH PRO
TECTING. Business Said Off
To Beffer Start
Than Last Year
Washington - il'PH - The
Whitp House's chief economic
expert said Monday that busi
ness is off to a better start
this year than it was In 1062.
"The start of 1963 is as
good as 1062 was bad," Wal
ter W. Heller, chairman of the
Council of Economic Ad
visers, told a conference of
the Magazine Publishers As
sociation. Heller said the
economy's performance seems
to be bearing out administra
tion forecasts for approxi
mately a 3 per cent increase
in economic growth during
1063.
Termile Problem
Hits Home Owner
By DON BERRY
County Extension Agent
Home-owners should be on
on the look-out for termites
this time of year.
These appear as ant-like
insects which come out of the
woodwork and swarm to the
windows. While it isn't easy
to remain calm when you
suspect termites are attacking
your house, that is exactly
what should be done. It takes
considerable time for a ter
mite colony to actually dam
age your house structurally.
If termites are suspected a
few days spent investigating
the best course to follow
would pay off. Alarmed home
owners are easily subjected
to high-picisurc sales talks
where termites are concerned,
and these may end up in ex
tensive and expensive control
jobs before the facts are clear.
There have been some re
ports of unethical practices in
termite control in some parts
of Oregon. Oregon State uni
versity and the U.S. Forest
Service entomologist, station
ed in Portland, as well as
Oregon Forest Products lab
oratory have been investigat
ing the best methods of con
trolling the termite problem.
Tbey suggest that the first
step for the home-owner is to
make sure they are actually
plagued with termites. This
can be done by sending, or
bringing the suspected ter
mite to your county agent's
office for identification.
Where termites are a prob
lem some situations can be
controlled by the home-owner
at little cost. Where ex
tensive house repairs are nec
essary, deal only with reli
able local pest control firms.
QUIET TIRES
Akron, Ohio-IUPll-A soft
spoken" truck tire that cuts
the annoying whine of heavy
vehicles on highways has been
developed by the Goodyear
Tire and Rubber company.
The muled sound of the tire
is accomplished by varying
the length of tread elements
at various points around the
tire.
NOW SEE
SNUG-As no armchair
with a flair as fitting
SHIFTY-Two crisp
speed or 4 -speed, both
hteire 3s& sesp3s
Spyder ttjuipmtni' U aniUibU on iwiA Corvair Moma CmetriMt
See '.Jour entirely different km
9TH & BARTLETT
Wheat Substitute
For Oats, Rye
Okayed For 1964
John H. Wclbes, chairman
of the Oregon wheat referen
dum committee, announced
Wednesday that on the recom
mendation of the committee,
the secretary of agriculture
and Congressman Robert Po
age (D-Texas), chairman of
the feed-grain sub-committee
of the house agricultural com
mittee, agreed that wheat
could be substituted for oats
and rye history in the 1064
program, according to word
received by Bert G. Wilcox,
Jackson county extension
agent.
Poage announced that the
sub committee acted on
amendments to the bill under
consideration that would au
thorize permanent voluntary
feed grain programs commenc
ing in 1964.
The amendment, of impor
tance to Oregon growers, pro
vides that the producer with
oats and rye acreage history
on the farm may apply for
and have this acreage added
to his farm feed grain base.
This will make him eligible to
take the overall 20 per cent
reduction in the feed grain
program and to seed wheat,
price - supported at $1.30 per
bushel, in lieu of feed grains
(including oats and rye) on
the farm in 1964.
As reported by Welbcs,
Congressman Poage believes
the amendment to be careful
ly drawn and docs not provide
for the substitution of corn,
barley or grain sorghums in
lieu of oats and rye because
such a provision might allow
too much expansion of the
higher-yielding feed grain in
the cornbclt and south west
sections of the United States.
Poage also asserted that the
amendment will make the
1964 wheat program especial
ly adaptable to producers in
the Pacific Northwest who are
growing wheat, rye and oats
in their farming pattern.
Welbes stated this amend-
WHAT'S NEW AT YOUR
ever was. Sporting too TURBO-SUPERCHARGED Or
as its twin bucket scats. Wow!
shift to pick from-3- SAYS
floor - mounted.
''ft ''''
FROM
THE
GROUND
UP
By BART BARTLETT
The ideas and suggestions
presented in this space are
intended as food for thought
and at best as suggestions as
to what might be accom
plished by doing some plant
or animal growing operation
in each individual case in a
certain manner.
As everyone knows, advice
is easily acquired, but is a rel
atively non-profitable item in
the marketplace. The by-products
of free advice may be so
expensive that the farmer or
rancher can do no more than
pay the advisor and so receive
no compensation for his ef
forts in the production of the
marketed commodity. In this
instance the tax paid advisor
as well as the commercial ad
visor are included.
Lawns should be mowed so
that the grass is left relatively
long until about mid-April.
This permits the grass root
systems to recover from a
long winter and will result in
a lawn that is much easier to
maintain for the remainder of
this growing season. An appli
cations of wood ashes at about
one pound per 50 square feet
can be made at this time.
Wood ashes can now be ap-
ment to the feed grain bill
would make the combined
wheat and feed grain pro
grams much more similar to
the original bushel manage
ment plan so long advocated
by the Oregon Wheat Grow
ers league.
Welbes quoted Poage as say
ing that Wednesday's subcom
mittee session concluded the
consideration of amendments
on the bill, and it is expected
final subcommittee action will
be taken March 27 which will
open the door to consideration
by the full house agricultural
committee.
C0RVAIR M0NZA SPYDER
. r-
A smooth 150 hp-worth of punch.
"WHEN"-Takea guesswork
accuracy Into every shift.
and Club Coupt (lAovn above). 'Optional at txtra tod.
COURTESY CHEVROLET
MEDFORD
TUESDAY, MARCH
plied to such plants as roses,
lilacs, and flowering quince.
Do not apply wood ashes to
evergreen plants such as laur
els, firs, pines, cypress or
azaleas.
This is a very good time to
make some improvement to
pastures. Weedy pastures
should be sprayed for control
of certain brush plants. The
same sprays can be utilized to
control sour dock and thistles.
Many pastures in this area are
only 50 per cent efficient due
to heavy infestations of such
weeds as sour dock and thistle.
Where pastures have not been
fertilized this year, it will be
well to make an application
now or in the near future.
Consult your spray chemical
dealer for materials and ad
vice.
Fertilize strawberry plants
now or as soon as possible.
If your willow tree has been
shedding lots of dead branches
and it is a tree that you wish
to keep in good health it
should be sprayed very soon.
A copper spray will control
the fungus disease that causes!
small limbs to die.
For best results the graftinc
of all fruit trees should be I
done within the next two
weeks. I
In Oregon we have two ma-!
NOTICE
TO FARMERS!
You are invited to a discussion, with movies, of
new varieties of alfalfa, sudans, sorghums and
pasture grasses . . . courtesy Northrup King &
Co., at . . .
FAIRGROUNDS CAFETERIA
WED. NITE, MAR. 27, 7:30 P.M.
FREE! Coffee and Donuts
Dealer . '
Albers Feed & Farm Supply
CHEVROLET
translated, SHARP-A full range of special gauges for an
expert view of engine
CHEVROLET
out, put
A 11
jor universities that are de
voted to education. The tax
payer is under constant pres
sure to provide funds for the
operation and improvement of
the state institutions. We won
der whether or not in many
instances there is not a dupli
cation of facilities at each in
stitution. Perhaps a student
cxhange program could be ac
complished so that within ths
reasonable distance that is in
volved between Eugene and
Corvallis, students of both col
leges could make use of facili
ties at both institutions. We
suspect the colleges them
selves will be the larger op.
ponents of this idea.
It pays Oregon's lawyers to
serve in the Oregon legisla
ture. How else can the bills be
written so the ever increasing
lawyers in practice will have
to be paid to tell a taxpayer
what the law means and later
to defend him in Court?
f.ischaiiics Tools
For RENT at
A to Z Rental
1213 N. Riverside 779-1474
DEALER'S
performance.
PHONE 772-61 13
26. 1963