Home Kural Telephone Company.
(Continued from second page.)
thete different lines in accumulating
would come in, and I asked him which
is the bert system He eaid oar con
ditions here are directly opposite to
thoee at Newberg and that this system
under one management is much the
best, and have the directors build the
line aown mere.
L. Morse It eeemg to me it is un
necessary lor us to lool our timo awnv
discussing this report. It will be neces
sary for us to organi.o before anything
can bo done. It seems to me that the
best and only thing we can do is to have
tne committee tile articles of meorpora
tion.
N. C. Evans Any three members
can file their articles, but thev cannot
organize until they have issued half of
vucir tiuun. ill lewuiirg 11 COSIS OUC. i
month in the city and the rural tele
phones cost 25c. a month to maintain
lines and telephones. As the lines get
older will not the expense of repair in
crease? J. II. Shoemaker They had enough
in the proposition and I think thev
managed their system about as well as
ait matcner.
L. H. Morse Let tis go on and
me our articles or Incorporation
and get a iiead to tins move
ment bo that if any one has a Dro-
position to offer they will have someone
to go to. We are on the right track. It
is a Dig juniplrom Uto50 centsanionth
G. E. Williams I am not speaking
now in the interest of the telephone
company, uui l want to say a lew words
from the business man's stand point.
If you reject Mr. Thatcher's proposition
i realize mat it win douoie tne expense
of the telephone service of the mer
chants of Hood River, for we will be
obliged to retain our present phones in
order to reach patrons of that line and
we would want one of yours to do busi
ness with you. 1 cannot get it through
my head why you cannot accept Mr.
Thatcher's proposition. It is practically
the same as the Kewberu proposition.
You will have tho expense of building
into town and the expense of a central
if you do not take his proposition, while
if you accept his offer you will save the
expense ot the extra central office. If
you have the two systems it will always
be a source of annoyance for they will
not accept any courtesies from each
other. I don't think that you under
stand what an advantage it will be to
have your telephones kept in order.
None of you, perhaps understand keep
ing them in order. If you were using
your own phones and anything went
wrong with them, the expense of the re
pair would come out of your pocket,
while if you accept Mr. Thatcher's pro
positon and anything goes wrong with
your phone, bring it into the office and
we will give you a new one in the place
of it free of cost. It is not a difficult
thing to do to take care of the lines,
but to take care of and repair the
delicate mechanism of the phones re
quires the necessary tools and mach
inery and skilled workmen to use them,
this, you know, is expensive. And this
expense you will avoid by accepting Mr.
Thatcher' proposition.
Adjourned to meet in the A. O. U. V
hall, (Saturday March 7, at 2 p. m.
THE INSTITUTE.
An Interesting Cathering of
Fruit Growers In Hood River.
The farmers' institute held under the
auspices of the Oregon Agricultural
college and the citizens of Hood Kiver
met In an interesting session Monday,
March 2, in A. O. U. W. hall. The
meeting w aa called to order at 1 :30 by
lion. K. L. timith, chairman. There
were present from Gorvallis, A. II.
Cordley, state entomologist, and of the
faculty of the college, Dr. James Withy
combe, and Professors A. L. Kuisely
and J. F.Kent. Of our citizens there
were in attendance about 100, principally
prominent fruit growers of the valley
with some representatives from White
Sulnion and Mossier. Mayor Coon gave
an address of welcome to our visitors
to w hich' Dr. Jas. Withycombe replied
aa follows:
I desire in belmlf of my colleagues to
express our appreciation of the very
coiilial welcome which has been ac
corded us. It is profoundly gratifying
to meet so many who are doubly inter
ested iu horticultural pursuits. A well
conducted day's Inteif hauglngof ideas
is equally beneficial to the experiment
station worker and his actual fellow
worker. The Agricultural College has
done much to stimulate the horticultu
tul and agricultural interests of our
state. It has also done much for the
young men of our state to equip them
for more active services in life. The
Agricultural College otters liberal edu
cation for the young farmer among all
scion t i lie li nes relati ng to h is occupat ion.
Hut the great niasscaniiot avail them
selves of the college, henee the Insti
tute takes the place of the college,
and thus practically brings the college
to your door. Kurming is a science; it
is a master science; it is the science of
Hcienecs, the art of aits. Yet this
wonderful art nnd science is not yet
developed to list utmost limit. The
hope of our state rests upon a pros
perous population; the hope of our
nation rests upon the intelligent, pro
gressive, honest tillers of the soil. The
state of Oregon owes a great debt of
gratitude to Hood Kiver for demons
trating to the world that unity
means the fulfilment of a definite
puriK.e. You market to the best
advantage because you have Impressed
upon your minds the advantages tohe
derived from unity of methods iu plant
ing, growing, nnd marketing. Hood
Ki ver is known far and near for what
it lias accomplished. We come to you
not merely as instructors, but simply
to mingle with you and exchange
thoughts that are mutually helpful.
The experiment station wants to know
your troubles; we are here to assist you,
and hope our coming here will lie of
some lienefit to you. We hope that
vou will avail yourselves of this oppor
tunity; that you w ill not be backward
iu asking questions. We want to dis
cuss all papers thoroughly.
PLANT POOD FOR THK OKl'HARIt.
Tiof. A L. Kuisely I wish to discuss
in n general way soinethingnbout plant
fond lor the orchard. I w ill endeavor
to go into it In a general way and give
you something about the elements of
jilant food. We have among tbeele
mentof plant food, which are about 70,
only twelve or fourteen which are
well known to horticulturists. Of these
ll'or 14, we pay attention only to three
or tour. We give no thought to the
carbon, the oxygen, the sulphur, etc.,
.etc., hut we must lie on the alert for
ivrtttiu elements w hich after years of
use gradually become deficient. There
are about lliree of these which the
fertilizer man Is interested In, that if,
the nitrogen, potash, and phosphoric
acid, sometimes lime, but not very
ofleii. We will suppose we have a ton
.f a pics. A ton of apples conlains 2 6
pounds of nitroyen, about .2 pounds
of phosphoric acid, and 4 pounds p;t
ash. There are only the or sis iounds
of actual plant foml in a ton of apples;
Hie rest is mostly water. The water,
tugnr and starch, the cell structure,
contains mostly hydiogtn, oxygen, and
farboo.
Iu a ton ft strawberries we have
about 3 founds of nitrogen, 2.3 pounds
phosphoric acid and pounds potash;
most of the rest is water, i U
In a ton of cherries trfere are (!
pounds nitrogen, 1.2 pounds of phos
phoric acid, pouuds potash, r
A crop of any one of these varieties of
iruu aoeg not carry on very much plant
ioou. iow, wnen we must apply
plant food, we apply nitrogen, phos
phoric acid, nnd potash. One of the
main sources of nitrogen at the present
time is the commercial product called
nitrate of soda, imported mostly from
South America. This contains about
16 per cent of nitrogen, and retails
somewhere between tS0uiid70perton in
the west. Another source of nitrogeu
is sulphate of ammonia. This is a by
product from the manufacture of coal
gas. In the Southern states cotton seed
meal is used, that which is left after
pressing out the oil. Dried blood con
tains 10 or 12 per cent of nitrogen and
fish blood 7 or g percent. Then, around
slaughter houses they have tank
age, which is a source of nitrogen,
containing about iu or 12 per cttut.
The main commercial fertiliser which
is used as a source of nitrogen is nitrate
or soda, in the united Slates some
thing over 100,000 tons are used annu
ally; it retails In the East at from
$40.00 to 150.00 per ton, in the West
troiu ffiO.OO to 170.00 per ton.
Another element which becomes
deficient in the soil Is phosphoric acid.
We can get that from a number of
sources; for instance, one source is
ground bone, 20 to 30 per cent; also,
from the Southern slates, the source of
a great Industry, called rock phos
phates. These rock are mined, and
contain from 10 to 30 per cent of phos
phoric acid. All of tills Is not avail
able; they treat it in sulphuric acid and
make dissolved rock. This rock con
tains about 16 per cent phosphoric acid.
That is the main source of phosphoric
acid. In the West we get it as Thomas
blag. Borne also comes from Uerniany,
containing IT) to 20 per cent. Of this
there is 7 or H per cent available; the
rest will gi'..iluully beconie available in
time. Wood :;shos contain a certain
amount, about 1 to 3 per cent
Potash is another thing which can
be applied to soil at times when it be
comes deficient. Most of the potash
now conies from Germany. The mines
are located at a place called Stussfurt
audit is mined there in large quan
tities. It is in form called muriate of
potash. Practically all of the muriate
of potash in the whole world comes
from that place iu Germany. Most of
the sulphate of potash comes from the
same region. Both muriate and sul
phate contain about 50 to 55 per cent
of actual potash.
Kulnit is mined Iu Germuny. It con
tains more or less potassium sulphate
and common salt; it contains 10 to 5
percent actual potash. Wood ashes
contain 4 to 8 per cent of potash, some
timesa little more. Some havesaid that
ashes from fir wood is not good. We
have made several analyses and find
that fir wood ashes contain a large
amountof potash,-10 to 12 per cent.
Fir wood ashes is lighter and will.not
weigh more than hair as much as the
same bulk of ashes from scrub oak, but
a pouna or nr wood ashes contains as
much as a pound of ashes from scrub
oak or ash wood.
If we have an orchard which seems
to be unthrifty, and the foliage is rath
er yellow and the trees stunted and do
not make much wood growth, the
probability is .that the soil lacks nitro
gen. If you have an abundance of ni
trogen iu the soil you get a large wood
growth, t lie leaves large, and the ten
dency is for the fruit not to be of good
quality. If you stimulate the tree too
much with nitrogeneous fertilizer, you
eel a big wood growth at the expense
of the qualify of the fruit, and the color
is not so good, in applying fertilizers
to an apple orchard, we might advise
putting on say from 50 to 100 pounds of
mirateor soda per acre; from l to i
pounds of nitrate of soda per tree. Of
phosphoric acid, put on 200 to 400
pounds, 3 to 6 pounds per tree. Potash,
100 to 200 pounds, each tree 2 to 4
pounds. In using this plan, however,
do not put the fertilizer at the base of
the tree; the feeding rootlets are away
from the tree a distance of 10 or 12 feet
from the base. " .
Phosphoric acid and potash com
pounds may be applied any time in the
spring or late in the winter; super-plios-
phute can he put on at any time. . Ap
ply nitrogen, or nitrate of soda, just
about the time the growing season
starts; if applied in the fall, being very
soluble, It will leach out of the soil.
Phosphoric and potash fertilizers do
not leach out of the soil unless (he soil
is almost pure sand, then almost any
kind of fertilizer will tend to leach out
of it. Sometimes it is better to apply
the nilrogen in some other form. ior
instance, if you can get it, to a small
extent stable manure will furnish ni
trogen in small quantities and
also furnish organic matter and hu
mus for the sou. In a reuiou where we
can grow any of the clovers, or vetch,
they will take the atmospheric nitro
gen and fix it in the soil so that the
tree can gel l lie nitrogen, and thai is
the cheapest way to get nitrogen into
the soil. In the orchards 1 would ad
vise using some cover crop, possibly a
lit t te full rye or vetch, possibly a little
clover, and turn under the next spring.
This will ndd a little nitrogen to the
soil; that Is the cheapest way.
As a general thing, I would advise a
farmer to put on his fertilizer broad
cast and not apply it around each indi
vidual tree, tor tins reason : i he ten
dency is to put it loo near the tree,
and to put too much there. If it is
put on broadcast there is not enough
around one tree to cause injury. A
larue tree would not sutler so much in
jury from this cause as a small tree.
When fertilizer is sown uroaocast inert
is no danger to small trees; ia a general
wav. it is advisable to put fertilizer on
broadcast. Potash and phosphoric acid
can tie applied broadcast any time. For
apples, apply nitrate of soda 50 to 100
pounds per acre; phosphates, 200 to 4u0
pounds muriate, 100 lo 200 pounds.
On making an application of fertilizer
vou may or may not get good results.
The older the orchard 4he longer it
takes to attect the trees. On a youngi
orchard there will be results the first
season; on ait orchard 25 years old you
may not see any elfect the first year,
and" may not the second year; probably
the third year you will begin to see the
eflect. If the soil is not very rich in
plant food, possibly it would tie well to
put on some fertilizer each year. Wood
ashes contain all the elements of plant
food in Just about the right propor
tions, with the exception ol iuirKen.
Thev contain no nitmecii. 1 he min
eral elements, potash, phosphoric acid,
lime, are all in wood allies, wood
ashes is one of the very best things wej
call put on the ground, apple orchard
or slrawlerrie8.
I would rather have you asK ques
tions, and then we can go right at the
points we want to learn nbout. The
probability is that right here in this re
gion you have gotten some points we
do not know anything about. I would
pruUauly learn as much as you iroiu
piestioiis wuien you may ass.
J. H. Hioenuiker The conditions
with us are different from those at Cor
vallis. We have not the moisture In
our soils that you have where making
these experiments with terusmers. . i.
you not unit mat we mck moK-iurea-
well as fertilizer.
Prof. Knisely I presume part of the
time the moisture is one of the condi
tions. We will get more about on the
texture of soils. Trees must have
enough moisture; if they do not have
enough, they do not make a normal
growth. : If they have too much moist
ure they do not attain their natural
growth. Water itself is a plant food.
J. H. Shoemaker Do you not think
it would be advisable to irrigate our
tiees, our old orchards.
Prof. Kuisely If they luck moisture
It certainly would help them. There
are regions I know where a man will
have an orchard, nnd through the sum
mer season it dries up and sutlers from
drouth very much, and at the same
time another man whoseorcbard does
not sufl'er from drouth at all. Both
have the same amount of rain fall. The
orchards I am thinking of are in New
lork, and some are cultivated thor
oughly, aud others have no cultivation.
Good cultivation in some cases will run
.thorn through the season all right.
, fc. L. Smith Orchards bearing a
heavy load of fruit would undoubtedly
be benellted.
J. II. Shoemaker The conditions are
such in some localities that we can
raise clover without irrigation. Where
we can not raise clover without Irriga
tion, If it Is possible to Irrigate, do you
think it would lie profitable;
Prot. Kuisely l would try it on a
few trees and experiment.
J. H. Shoemaker Would that lake
the place of fertilizer?
Prof. Knisely If the soil is deficient
in potash or plant food, it would not
take the place of fertilizer. But if the
plant food is there, the water conditions
should be made right to take up the
plant food.
J.- II. Shpem'aker. Would you recom
mend ueinK land plaster on orchards? .
Professor Knisely It might be help
ful in a small way. Land plaster is pot
a plant food, has no nitrogen, no potash,
no phosphoric acid. It has the power
of releasing plant, food already iu the
soil. 8evtTna pounds of land plas
ter will liberie tpe potash already in
the soil, and (fins the tree will feed up
on the potash which the land plaster
has liberated. . If the tree is lacking
potash and you apply the land plaster.
it will liberate the potash and in that
way benefit the tree. At present we are
carrying on some experiments. On one
row we applied land plaster, but as yet
have had no marked result at all. Land
plaster is especially beneficial to clover.
A. I. Mason Iu some parts of the
valley we are troubled with a brown
spot which is most quickly found in a
lialdwin apple. e have heard ot var
ious plans to prevent this. Some have
recommended the use of lime.
Prof. Cordley In regard to the brown
rot or the .Baldwin apple spot, as it is
sometimes called, this matter was brought
up in our experiment suiuou, aim sev
eral other experiment stations, and no
cause for it has been discovered, nor
any remedy. Thero have been " several
theories, but no satisfactory demonstra
tion as yet. At Corvallia we sprayed
two out of three trees with Uordeaux
mixture, and the two that were sprayed
were almost entirely free, while the
other tree was badly injured. The Ver
mont station tried the same experiment
with negative results. ,No definite in
formation on the subject is obtainable.
Joe Wilson Mv next neighbor had
quite a number of Baldwin trees planted
in lsbo winch bore loo boxes of apples
last year which were entirely free from
snntff. ' Vv hea the trees were voune the
apples were spotted. He has been using
muriate ot potash.
G. K. Castner How may we know
when we need potash and phosphoric
acid. .
Prof. Knislev I presume in much the
same way as some physicians do. They
have a sick patient and they start to
doctoring him and try certain remedies
a week or two, and then say they have
to chance medicines, lliere is a good
deal of guess work about it. It is easier
on small trees than on large trees. If
you had a strawberry patch and thought
it was not doing its very best, I would
buy about 100 lbs. gf nitrate ot soda, 100
lbs. of muriate of if taslt-atid 200 lbs. of
superphosphate, gOr on one row I
would put on a lime application of ni
trate ol soda broadcast between the rows;
on the other row muriate of potash ; on
the third row . superphosphate, and
would watch those rows that year and
see how they seemed to do, and which
did the best. If that soil lacks nitrogen,
there ought to be a more vigorous
grow th where the nitrogen was applied.
In that way you get a pretty good idea.
On another row put a mixture combin
ing all three plant-foods, and watch re
sults and see which does the most good.
That iB the beat way to find out what
the soil lacks. If that soil is sampled
and a sample sent to the station we can
analyze the soil and find a certain
amount of nitrogen, potash and phos
phoric acid., Now what we want to
know is, whether that plant food is
available for the plant or not. The
chemist does not know. Up to the present
time there is no method of getting the
available; we can get the total, but it is
a hard matter to tell whether it is avail
able plant food or not.
Question (tnknown) 1 have read
that nitrate of soda being a stimulant,
that dried blood is preferable to furnish
the element of nitrogen.
Prof. Kinsley V hen plants take up
their nitrogen they take it up in the
form of nitrates. If we apply nitrate Of
soda this season, as we put it on the soil
every bit of it is available immediately.
The probability is that if it is a wet time
the plant can feed on it at that time.
If we apply nitrogen in form of dried
blood there is not much of it in the form
of nitrate. There is a process going on
n the soil called nitrification. The
effect will be that the fertilizer will last
a longer time than in the form of nitrate
of soda.
Question ould dried blood have a
tendency to leach.
Prof. Knielcy Nitrogen in tho sou
does not leach very much until it be
comes nitrate.
E. L. Smith In plowing under a crop
of luguminous plant food, how long
would it take for the nitrate to leach out.
Prof. Knislev Nitrogen when plowed
under will decay very rapidly. It de
pends on the condition of the soil ; if
loose and well watered the process will
go on very rapidly. If tho soil is very
heavy and damp, it might take a long
time for it to go to pieces and change
into nitrates.
F. P. Friday 1 have an orchard one
year old, and now have a crop of pota
toes on it. Will it take anything from
the soil which ought to go into the trees?
Prof. Knisley We might say in a
general way that potatoes are a potash
feeder. It you grow a crop or potatoes,
the tops remain on the ground and they
contain a good deal of plant food, espe
cially uitrogen ; that part remains on
the soil. The potato itself takes away
w ith it quite a lot of plant food. If
growing potatoes iu the orchard, you
are taking some plant fix! out of that
orchard. In a ton of potatoes there are
4.2 It of nitrogen, l,l4 lbs. phosphoric
acid, 10 lbs. potash.
F. P. Friday If the potatoes do not
take away the plant food, might it not
leach out of the soil anyhow?
Prof. Knislev If you had no crop
there at all, and kept the ground culti
vated, you keep it stirred up and the
liioislure does ni't go out. When the
process of nitrification foes on, that
which is changed into nitrates will
mostly leach out. It might as well go
into some crop as to leach out ia this
way. I would rather have something
there than nothing, but not to run it to
extremes ; a little would not hurt at all.
J. H. Shoemaker Would it be any
benefit to the orchard to allow sorrel to
grow up and plow it under.
. Prof. Knisley What ia it, red sorrel?
J. H. Shoemaker Yes. &f
Prof. Knisley It would not hurt it
any, might do it some good. The ma
jority of soil would be benefitted by
plowing underacrop of weeds. It would
get more organic matter in the ground.
A. ti. jewett wouta you aavise sow
ing the sorrel?
Prof. Knislev Hardlv.
E. L, Smith The most important
question is, how can we restore humus
to the soil in our orchards. This must
undoubtedly be done by some crop, what
we don't know, and it is necessary for
us to find out what crop we can mature
so that it can be plowed under not later
than May. I wouia line to nave vt.
Withycombe tell us what crop we can
plant here to restore humus to our
orchards?
Dr. Withycombe Mr. stated that
experiments in this line for the past four
years had not been entirely satisfactory,
lie said that in the wheat growing sec
tions of the state this Question was caus
ing much serious concern, and unless
solved in the near future the wheat sec
tion would become a barren wilderness.
In Hood Kiver there is not so much
cause for alarm. He thought that by
plowing in a crop of clover or vetch oc
casionally the humus could be restored
in a great measure-.
A. H. Jewett I sowed some clover in
September last. This is about eight
inches high. Is that a eood growth f
Dr. Withycombe That ia as good as
you want. Did anybody here ever try
vetch?
Mr. Gesslins Several parties in Bel
mont growing clover without success,
that is, crimson clover.
Dr. Withvcombe Crimson clover will
erow better if sowed in July. .1 would
recommend a luguminous crop for ob
taining nitrogen from the atmosphere.
If you cannot get luguminous crops, get
some other crop. Get rye, get winter it
rye will grow here. 1
Uuknewn man I sowed about six
acres of vetch, sowed five acres with oats
and one acre by itself. The five - acres
.1 . i 1 l . I .
are now auout one incn nign, aim look
ing well. The acre sowed alone did not
come up, and there is no stand. There
are two kinds of vetch, which is the best?
Dr. Withvcombe The common retch
A. I. Mason Expressed himself as
having great difficulty in plowing around
his trees near enough to plow under any
crop. It was recommended that ' when
the trees get too large to plow near them,
to omit planting a surface crop, ana
loosen the soil around the trees by sur
face cultivating.
G. K. Castner In localities where we
cannot irrigate, where we are above
water, if we plow a surface crop under
in May, we do not have very much
land for use after that time, could we
preserve the moisture in the soil? Would
it not do us harm in drying out the soil?
Dr. Withvcombe if you have a very
large growth, and the soil is open and
loose, the chances are that there would
be extensive sou evaporation. Plow
earlier. If you can grow clover or vetch
vou don't want anything better.
A. H. Jewett My crop of clover is
six inches high, is that sufficient?
Dr. Withycombe Yes, sir, you do
not want anything better than that. -
A. H. Jewett This is grown without
irrigation on dry soil. We : also ' at
White Salmon are growing two crops of
c over without irrigation.
H.T. Williams Do fertilizers have
any effect upon the color of fruit,' and
what? The speaker cited instances
where the use of potash had increased
the color of the fruit.
Prof. Knisely I do not believe I can
answer that. So far as I know there is
no experimental work that is at all ab
solute on that, sometimes the appli
cation of fertilizer seems to affect the
color, and on certain plants the foliage
is affected by the application of iron. I
do not think the application of fertilizers
is at all certain to affect the color of the
fruit. One set of experiments might
get a more highly colored fruit and
another would not when tried. The
use of potash would tend to make a
firmer fruit; the sunshine would do
more than anything else to color it.
G. J. Uessling It has been our ex
perience in Hood River that the use of
potash on strawberries makes a brighter
color and a firmer fruit.
H. T. Williams I have myself noticed
that the use of potash increases the
firmness of the (rait skin. The speaker
here mentioned an experiment he made
in the East with tomatoes, where by the
use of potash the skin of the tomato
was made firmer and brighter colored,
the skin did not crack nor rot, where
without the use of potash, great difficulty
was experienced in shipping the fruit
A crop grown under an application of
potash shipped well, and did not show
any indications of rot.
STRAWBKR&Y FK8T8.
Professor A. B. Cordley, state entom
ologist, then delivered the following ad
dress on strawberry pests:
I have chosen the subiect of straw
berry pests, not because I wish to talk
very much on the subject, nor because
you have very much interest in it, as I
understand you have very lew pests
here. For seven or eight years my at
tention has been called to some six . or
seven pests within the borders of the
state which work on strawberries. I can
go hastily into the subject I know that
in a place like Hood Kiver ; where you
have gained such a reputation for apples
and strawberries, you must have a fund
of information regarding the fruit you
have to deal with. '
The worst strawberry pest in the stale
ia the strawberry root borer. I do not
know whether -von hava had anv aerionn
trouble with it here but some grow
ers in the state , have. I know of
several strawberry plantations that have
been completely wiped out ot existence
by the root borer. It is produced Jw
the same kind of a moth as the peach
borer, a black moth about an inch tong.
You will find them fluttering about the
plants, and they lay their eggs in June
and July. From the egg deposited there
hatches a grub, and it is this grub that
bores into the roots of the plants. The
grub passes its whole life in the root,
it is certain aeatn to uie piarji.
Anotlter peat is sometimes confounded
with this, but ia not at all like it, the
strawberry pronged miner. This is a
pest that is produced by a little colored
moth not more than one-quarter of an
inch long, slate colored, and found in im
mense numbers about the plants, about
the same time aa the other moth spoken
of. The miners produced by this moth
are usually found in great numbers in
the crowns of the strawberries, and do
not usually go down deep into the
roots. The pittle worms are about a
quarter of an inch long, and are pink in
color. They may kill the plant and they
may not, but they are certain to reduce
its vigor very much. I have known
plants to be badly infested and survive.
In the Willamette there is also a
mall blue beetle that feeds upon
the foliage of the plants. This is
not serious, and could undoubtedly be
controlled by spraying with arsenites.
This is the only strawberry pest that
can be controlled by spraying. Two
years ago I received two strawberry
plants that were diseased in some wav
I found it was due to a bacterial trouble,
Last year I made a visit to that planta
tion and found Quite a serious condition
there. The owner had perhaps eight or
ten acres of strawberries in one of his
patches, and about one-third of his
plants had been killed. I . presume
mere is no doubt thai we have in the
state a bacterial disease of the straw
berry, unlike anything elBe.
There are two or three pests that I
presume you are familiar with in a
small way. The strawberry leaf curl
which may do damage, but usually
does not. The strawberry leaf blight
In the Willamette valley nearly always
does aa damage, but not seriously
The two last mentioned in the straw
berry sections of the East have been
controlled by mowing the vines and
burning them when the crop is off.
The two borers I spoke of, and which I
consider the worst pests in the state,
cannot be cured. Tnere Is no remedy
for them, because they are inside the
plant. The only thing to do is to
destroy the plant as soon as you see it
is infested, or dying, it would be well
to do it before the first of May. The
only object In destroying the plants is
to destroy the insects with them, to
Keep them from spreading.
This concluded the professor's speech
The question of grubs found in manures
and their eflect on plants was brought
up. The professor said that these
grubs are harmless to plants, and man
ures can be safely used. There is an
other grub closely resembling the man
ure grub which does work in plants in
some localities, and this has led to the
suppositious harmfulness of the com
mon white grub.
Mr. Williams described the use of
castor oil pomace in connection with
one of bis peach orchards in the East,
and said In effect that wherever this
pomace was used no borers infected the
trees, while on other rows of trees ad
Joining they were numerous. He asked
whether or not some powdered form of
this castor bean might not be used for
borers in strawberry plants. The an
swer was that no experiments have
oeeu made along this line.
' A. C. State n Please give ingre
dients of spray for strawberry pests,
Prof. Cordley I would use Bor
deaux mixture first. Apply just as the
new leaves are started. The plants
should be kept covered with this up to
the time the blossoms begin coming
out. Do not spray while In blossom;
it might keep away the insect pollen
izera. At the evening session, Monday, II
T. Williams of Hood Kiver read an in
terestlng paper upon the following sub
ject: DECORATION OF COUNTRY HOMES.
In these days of thoughts of practical
utility and strife for financial gain from
our farms, it seems to me there is much
to be derived, aside from great financial
gain, in the proper decoration and orna
mentation of our country homes. A
handsome row of shade trees in front of
a farm will cause that farm to sell for
enough more to pay for those trees than
it would without ; and think of the large
dividends ot comfort and pleasure vear
after year while you live there enjoying
the work of your hands. People do not
like to part with beautiful trees ; and
many a tree has enhanced the value of
land far more than the tree itself has
cost even with years of care. A citizen
of Geneva, N. V., who has a valuable
tree that was marred aud disfigured by
the acts of men putting up telegraph
wires, promptly sued and recovered the
sum of IlSo for the value of that one
tree to his place. What more beautiful
object in nature than a beautiful tree?
A story is told of some little children
born in New York who had never seen
the country, and when they were given
a summer outing in one of the children's
free excursions, they were lost in amaze
ment and delight at the sight of the
green grass and the beautiful trees. One
little child was so blessed with the sight
she went up to one of the trees, threw
her little arms around it and hugged
and Kissed it in dengni ot ecstasy, it
seemed a being from heaven to her
adoring heart. We live surrounded bv
such blessings; why not use them to
our best advantage, enjoyment and hap
piness? Why should we not give to our
children such coveted pleasures as this.
and let them grow up surrounded by
objects of beautv on everv side, whieh
will cause them ever to think of home
as the dearest place on earth to them?
No child ever forgets the first objects of
beauty it beholds; and the ornamenta
tion of your country homes brings you
three-fold value in the pleasure to your
self, contentment and enjoyment of your
family, and suthcient financial gain in
value of your property to cover all
. t i : . . , ii; i
mo sums you speuu in ineir einoeiuaii
nient. I doubt not if all the streets and ave
nues of the valley, lovely as they are,
were lined with ornamental shade trees,
the value of property would be increased
in worth and estimation fully 2o pr
cent in the thoughts ot visitors, vt hen
once you begin to entertain thoughts of
decoration, choose something of real ele
gance, creating satisfaction.
tot street trees, 1 would choose the
Norway maple. Always massive and
noble iu its proportions, it uevei fails in
giving good value for your esteem. If
you can afford it, there is something
still better, a royal tree, called Schwer
dler's purple leaved maple, a variety
which Das all the beauty of form of the
Norway, but its young shoots and
leaves are ot a purplish or crimson
color, which changes to purpled green
as the lower leaves olden. This is a
royal tree in magnificence.
It I was to choose one tree alone for
the front yard, with something of ele
gance and surpassing beauty, it would
be the Colorado spruce. In all the
realm of evergreen life I do not know
of anything that surpasses this beau
teous gem or creation, finished, coni-
filete iu all its stages of growth, its
eaves of glowing, silvery blue, more
and more glorious as the years goby.
it surpasses description in its natural
attractiveness. I do not believe there
are adjectives enough in a worthy dic
tionary to do it justice. One or more
trees or this Kind netween your house
and the road will attract universal ad
miration.
If your grounds are ample enough,
and you desire to plant something ol
unusual vaiue aim etnaing ueauty,
plant along the sides of your lawn lead
ing from the front, one side, a row of
the new double lilacs, such as Rotho
mageusis rubia, Emile Lemnine, Pres
Grevy aud others are very tall, have
immense spikes ot nowers, perhaps is
inches in length, of greatest size, aud
double flowers of many shades of color.
They are grand beyond description.
At the base of these, a few feet away, I
would plant a row of your native or se
lected, finest Rhododendron from the
nurseries. This country is the home of
the Rhododendron, and it should be
a success everywhere. It only needs
partial shade and a mulched soil to re
tain moisture. The glory of this
double row of bloom from these shrubs
will well repsy you for your time and
attention. For the opposite side of I he
lawn I would repeal the row of tall
double lilacs, aud at their base I
would plant samples of either the Kal
mia latifolia, the mountain laurel, a
beautiful native evergreen shrub, with
silvery foliage and dense clusters of
pink or nearly white flowers; or still
better, I would choose the Azalia, the
Ghent varieties. This is a species
growing three and four feet high and
yellow, orange and red flowers, and
possesses a delightful perfume.
The paper read by Mr. Williams is
too lengthy to attempt to reproduce u
herein full, and we regret to be com
pelled to omit his description of the
different shrubs and plants, and enu
with his closing remarks:
Nearly all of these examples of floral
wealth I have named to you are peren
nial inhabitants of the ground. They
do not need renewing from year to
year; once placed in their home, they
are there for all time and need but
slight attention and care. When the
bloom is in our orchards aud we feed
the sense of floral glory, and all the
elation that comes to every sense, can
we not perpetuate these delights by a
little more atteution to the flowers that
surround the house. They do not cost
us much, but they are wonderful to
cheer.
Blooms there a flower with beauty full adorn
ed, Or dainty shrub with tender drooping fronds,
Drilling white, In radiant glow heaven born;
Or lifts a tree with strong mujeatlc grace,
Bat tell us this one story, sweet to know
He made them 10, that we might love Him
for H in gifts.
(Continued next week.)
Land to Rent.
Apply at the Prather Investment Oo.'s of
fice, or to K. K. KKW1N.
TESTIMONIALS.
Hood River, Ogn.,
Jan. 25, 1IMW. David
son Fruit Co. Gentle
men: I bought a Po
mona Hpray Pump
from you three yearn
ago, and I want to
say that 1 tnink the
Pomona is all o. k.
Have sprayed several
orchards with it each
year besides my own,
and It has always
given good stUltfae
tlon. If I were buy
ing a dozen spray
Cumps today I would
uy Pomonas straight
through. They can't
be beat.
Yours truly,
W. 11. BEARS.
m i vt r.' i . t tv
POMONA.
Hood Rlver.Ogn.. Jan. 10, 1903. Davidson Fruit Co. Gentlomen: After using four other
makes of Hpray Pumps I bought a Pomona and found It a great success. I sprayed 90 acres
of orchard with It for two seasons and it was still as new aiid had cost nothing for repairs.
Last season, for my Increasing business, I bought a Hentlnel Jr., and find It equal to any de
mands that I can make on It, It Is powerful, durable, readily cleaned nnd easy to work,
even at 100 to 125 pounds pressure. I consider It uneq lulled. Yours truly,' WM. KliNNEDY'. .
. We are agents for spray pumps and other things that
the fruit growers need.
Davidson Fruit Co.,
The Spot Cash Grocery
Groceries,
Flour,
Feed,
Hay,
Grain,
Buckwheat Flour,
Vegetables,
Butter,
And all Country Produce
J. E.
SEXTON & WALTHER,
The Dalles, Oregon,
Agents for the Celebrated
Smith Grubbing Machines.
We also carry the beet Steel Wire Cable for Stump Pulling; Rope
Shorteners; Snatch Blocks; Grubbing Hooks and extra Rope Hooks.
Write for Prices.
GET
When in
In the
CLARKE'S!
Anyihjiig
Drugs, Patent Medicines, Paints and
Oils v
Get it at CLARKE'S
Opposite Post Office.
Williams Pharmacy,
Otten Building,
G. E. WILLIAMS, Prop'r.
Headquarters for
Pure Drugs, Toilet Articles,
PATENT MEDICINES,
Prescriptions my Specialty.
COLUMBIA NURSERY.
Established 1S92.
Offers a full line of
Oral NnKsrj SB, Ois ml Ti-p-i Ail
And other Fruit Trees, Plants, Shrubs and Vines.
You are Invited
To examine the stock and let us know what you want.
H. C. BATEIIAIH, Proprietor.
Telephone 604.
The Irishman" and tlie" Sun.
' An Irishman wbo bad just landed
iu New York from his home In Ire
land was strolling around the city,
taking In the sights. In the course of
his 'walk he came across Battery park,
and seeing a bench unoccupied near
the water front, sat down. It was just
about sunset when the Celt took his
seat In the park, and as he gazed across
the water at Governor's island, the big
guns at that place boomed, announcing
sunset. Now, this noise was new to
the Irishman, and he said to a police
man who was passing by:
"Phat'sthot noise fur?"
"Aw, it's the sun goin down," re
plied the officer.
"llegobs," remarked the Celt, "the
sun nivlr went down thot hard in Oire
laud. Philadelphia Bulletin.
Saved From I'erditiou.
Ballington Booth has boon telling
his friends about a woman who stood
up to testify to her conversion in the
days when he was with the Salvation
army. She said: "1 was very foolish
and vain. Worldly pleasures, and espe
cially the fashions, were my only
thought. I was fond of silks, satins.
jewelry, ribbons, and laces. But my
mends, i found tney were dragging
me down to perdition. So I gave them ;
all to my sister I "New York Times.
Liberty Home,Hood
River, Ogn., Jan. 6,
11103. IvidHon Fruit
Co.-1- Gentlemen: A
year ago 1 purchased
from you one of the
Oould l'ump Co.'s
Hentlnel Jr. Hpray
1'umps. I have used
It one season in my 20
acre orchard, and can
iruinuiny say mat 1
tin welt pleased with
the results obtained.
For simplicity In con
struction, durability
In wear, convenience
in cleaning and re
pairing, easy opera
tion and thorough
work, It receives my
liuany commenda
tion. Yours respect
fully, A. I. MASON.
DEALS IN
Salt Salmon,
Lard,
Bacon,
Hams,
Dry Herring,
Hominy,
Fruit,
gs,.
taken in exchange for goods.
HANNA.
IT AT
riced'of
line of
SPRAYING MATERIALS.