Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (July 17, 1942)
PACB FOURTEEN Russian Dandelion StucJied as Source Of Rubber f or U.S. . By C. A. HENDERSON Klamath County Agent. -: Small plants of Kok-Saghyz, the . Russian dandelion that pro duces rubber, are beginning to how good growth at the Klam ath experimental area west of the airport.- .Klamath county received two small packets- of this seed,- each pre-conditioned by different . methods, and both were planted In the experimental, area. Appar ently the second shipment of ver nalized seed has resulted in a much better stand than the first shipment indicated. - t - ...In. the July issue of Agrlcul- ture in the Americas, published by. the United States Department of Agriculture, Office of For eign Agricultural Relations, Very interesting article appears describing Kok-saghyz, the new Russian rubber dandelion. - .The article was written by E. -W. Brandes and is rather . lengthy. but the more Important sections ol this article with many details of prorogation deleted, is as fol '' "A . tough little recruit from the plant world has just arrived hv the Americas and signed up for war service. Its name is Kok- saghyz, and last year, it was frown for rubber on about, two acres to' the- soviet union. - This year, as the United Nations- con' solidate their resources, it -is- be ing planted on North and South American soil for the first time. "The newcomer a domesti cated relative of the, familiar American dandelion reached western shores by a magic-car pet journey that was in the best traditions of its native home in Central Asia. Early this summer, the first shipment of kok-saghyz eed was whisked by air. from Kuibyshev, the temporary -capital of the soviet union, to Wash ington1, D. C. After a pause for certain rites of the seedsman's art and- for repacking, the seeds continued by plane to 60 pre pared test fields in the United States, Canada, and Alaska. All this happened within a period of three weeks. .- . The success of the American tests - will deter mine where larger .plantings will bi made next spring. -: , : -.' "The ' common -dandelion of ' the .Unlted States is. naturalized from Europe but there, are na tive American kinds also. .Like its American cousins, .kok-saghyz .coWtatns rubber . in -. lactiferous tubeis'of the root and other parts, but nature : gave it more rubber to" begin with and Russian sci tntifti hay. Increased the .per centage by breeding and. selec tion, although the best -strains exist even now ' in - limited mounts. Doubtless the imported weed pest of the lawns,-or-the native American-i-kinds, could have been Improved by breeding just-as- was-kok-sagHyz-ri--the soviet' union, : but theiUnited States-had more promlsing.wild plants such as guayule and gold- ehrbd for beginning points in breeding and had- not the same economic , incentive for. rubber self-sufficiency.' . ..,..; . 'The currently-Important root has been a mystery, even to-the weed exterminators who seldom succeed in bringing up .more than a tenth part of it The long taproot contains most -of the rub ber-bearing latex, - which- also may be seen-- oozing from ..cut flower stems -or leaf .midribs. -It has a disagreeable, acrid taste well known to children., -i .. . 'The Allied - Nations'- - war needs have created , interest in the dandelion as a' source of rub ber in spite of its relatively low ylelds. In contrast with the cul tivated Para rubber tree,-which may yield 800 to 1000 pounds or more of rubber per acre per year, or cultivated : guayule, yielding 350 pounds, the dande lion by any standard of compar ison In normal times is .decidedly second rate. The great merit of the dandelion lies in the . fact that' it can be harvested . and roots processed the same year that.it is planted, a characteris tic that it shares with goldenrod. in the present emergency, with a mounting need for natural rub; ber, 'a bird In the hand is worth two in the. bush,' and the main existing supplies of natural rub ber,, the product of cultivated Para" trees of the Orient or of wild Para and Castllla trees in DANCE MERRILL every Saturday m Night -10 P. M.'TU 8 A.M. BALDY'S BAND aaaaJLaaaaBMBataaiaaaaaai tropical America are decidedly "in the bush." The production of wild rubber. In tropical America can be vastly increased, but lags In the formulation of interna tional agreements and the mod ernization of working conditions on- a large scale In remote areas are bound to slow realization of potential production. Since new plantations of Para' trees require a minimum of 5 to 7 years of development before tapping and cultivated guayule may not be harvested economically in less than 4 years, prompt relief can not be expected directly from those sources, although they are now healthy- infants in the New World..,.. . "Motivated . by curiosity as much as by serious expectations of its economic usefulness in the Americas, plant introducers of the United- States Department of Agriculture coveted the kok-sag hyz as early as 193Z, the year after it became known as a potential-economic plant in the soviet union. Efforts made then and later to obtain- seeds, were not successful, quite probably because of the inherent relue-. tance of all plant breeders to turn loose new creations until certain of their final usefulness. Early this year, however, the good offices of the Department of -- State and 'of - Ambassador Maxim . Litvinoff were instru mental in clearing the Way for a first shipment, which arrived in Washington on May 8. The so licitude of the Department of State .for. the shipment may be judged by a recent file of two- way cablegrams that represent instructions, ' and then - almost daily inquiries on the -progress and advices on the varied for tunes of two unprepossessing gunny sacks of seed as they tra veled by - air half round the world. The unstinted efforts of Loy Henderson,: now assistant chief of the Division of Euro pean, affair and formerly first secretary, of the American em bassy in Moscow, greatly assist ed' in-: making ; this importation possible. "Like guayule seed, the kok saghyz, seed, is minute and re quires, ipreconditioning - before planting o Insure prompt, syn chronized germination of all seeds and uniform, development of-the-plants Since one of the chief -causes of low yields is poor germination of- seeds and conse quent gappy stands, close atten tion is given to seed treatment. The - preconditioning 'may con-sist-of soaking in water for 3 or 4 hours about 4 days before the planting date, spreading in a 1-Jnch-thick layer at ordinary room temperature of about 70 degrees Fahrenheit and stirring every few hours' to aerate . the seed. When the first seeds ger minate,, usually, in 2 . days, . the whole Tot' IsYemoved to a cooler room and.spread thinly for par tial . drying .to prevent further pregermination. - After : another 2-days,-or-4-days after soaking, the seeds are ready for planting ; "Under -war conditions . the problem- -of -constructing indus trial" plants'foT' processing :kok- saehyz-roots promptly raises the bugbears y of priority-ratings for materials : and availability : of skilled labor. The flow sheet for production of crude rubber from kok-saghyz is somewhat similar to that employed in" the fabrica tion of. sugar from 'sugar beets, however, and adaptation of some of the equipment to the- dual purpose appears to be. worth investigating..- The idea of such adaptation was actually . ad vanced In, the soviet union Just before the outbreak -of- hostili ties with Germany. "In the United States, the pre sumptive suitable localities for emergency kok-saghys produc tion exactly coincide with the present sugar-beet areas. Power plants, steam, housing, and fa cilities for transporting the roots as well as certain factory equip ment are available at 67 sugar- beet factories conveniently sit uated in the "belt." The harvest ing times for the two crops over- FUEL OIL RESTRICTION Fill Your Oil Storage TODAY! with ' ' BEACON TRIPLE FILTER BURNING OIL Protect Your Future Oil Supply CALL 8878 BALSIGER'S , Beacon Oil Distributors T'-X luv4?i lap somewhat, but the kok-saghyz roots require a period for drying and could be processed in the factories after the close of thre sugar-beet campaign. If the fall harvest should prove imprac ticable because of heavy demand for labor, the two-year planta tion - with harvest during June and July, or other devices, might fit into a scheme of plantation strategy that would tend to level out and stabilize, labor require ments. Under present conditions. the idea of extending the use of beet factories, without interfer ence in their regular work, seems worth serious considera tion and the interest of sugar beet company officials has been enlisted in a preliminary study of possibilities. ' 'The United States urgently need natural rubber, to be used as such and later to be mixed with synthetic rubber substi tutes as a means of extending their usefulness. The most im mediate major sources of natu ral rubber are the wild rubber trees of tropical America,- but there is no prospect that they will provide full relief. That is why the Russian dandelion, which yields rubber the same year it is planted, has been brought in as a pinch-hitter on a team that has only one big-name regular, the cultivated Para rubber tree." Klamath county received two small packets of this seed, each pre-conditioned by different methods, both of which have been planted in the Experiment al, area west of the airport and south of Klamath Falls. The small plants are now starting to make good growth and appar ently the second shipment of ver nalized, seed has resulted in a much. better stand than the first shipment indicated. "Pictures From Homo" ALBUM Fill it up and . send It .on to that man in the service. . 35e VAN'S CAMERA SHOP 727 Mala Phone 3618 Weekly Page 4-H Victory Gardeners Weekly Market Trends (Editor SoUt Th fellowlor mrkt In formation U upplletl from tnitrrul ob tained over the govfrnoit-Dt leatrd lra In the office of the extemioo oroooralit at Oretoo SUM eolleie. The material. In the form of a veeklr luminary of trendi In tha IWeatock market, li not Intended to replace apot dajr hy day market report!.) CATTLE MAKKET3 The North Portland cattle market regained some of last week's lost ground so far as fed steers were concerned on Mon day but the price on Rrnss fat stuff continued lower. With 2100 head available for local sale the good fed steers sold at $13.25 to 513.85, equal to the extreme top of last week. Grass fat steers brought mostly $11.25 to $12.25 which was slightly under last week's close. On the San Francisco market fed steers were quoted at $13.25 while the top for grass fat steers was $12. Chicago market again showed preference for high qual ity stuff when choice to prime heavy steers topped at $15.40. A good demand was reported Something UNIQUE in whiskey! I VSw j.' QUART Hivcrywhcre people are talking about Congress Hall . . . it's positively unique , . . It's definitely lighter, remarkably richer . the smoothest whiskey you ever tasted! It can't be duplicated! Try Congress Hall fof greater, more dependable satisfaction and valucl ftllNDID WHISKIY . 16. PROOF M,f. on, 0M(wnanm The might uihUkint in lhl$ product an four ytart or man nidi thirty per cent Uralga whuklet, wventy per cent tuutml tpiriu ditliUed from grain. Copyright 1941, Th Flelidimomi Distilling Corporation, Ptktkill, N. Y. of Farm News Mrs. R. S, LooiUy, leadtr of tha Fort Klamath "Victory Gar dtnart" club. It shown abort Instructing members In tha art thinning btt, a stag In growing which comet later thare than elwhtr In tha county bacauia of th -lder climate. Members are Margaret and Ken neth Kartell, Virginia Thomas. William, Robert and Kathryn Wampler, Leonard Lshoda, Jack Baker, Joyce Copeland and Wilfred Loosley. Betty Lou Walton, at left. Is busy "pud dling In" lettuce ah Is trans planting. She Is a member of the Henley "Slap the Jap" club which ! led by Mrs. C. H. Young, in the midwest for yearlings and calves to be put on grass but less demand was noted for feeders to go into feed lots. Beginning July 13 All fresh beef and veal sold at wholesale must be graded according to government grades, under a re cent order of the OPA. The same order standardizes the price for each type of wholesale cut. SHEEP AND LAMB MARKET8 Although 2000 head of sheep and lnmbs were received at North Portland Monday only 1750 were for local sale. Good to choice spring lnmbs moved at steady prices, mostly bringing $11.50 although a few were up to $11.75. This is 25 cents under the extreme top of last week. Choice lambs were scarce at San Francisco and prices went up to $13.75, although most stiles were slightly under that figure. Some what lower prices prevailed at Chicago although a few head of .... I I native spring lambs brought $14.25. Marketing of spring lambs In tha midwest hnve been Increas ing after slow start this year. Contracting of lambs In Inter mountain states has been of small volume. Tha lamb crop was generally retarded In that area and with good rang condi tions now prevailing, growers are npt Inclined to sell except at favorable prices. Some Wyoming and Montana business has been reported at $10.50, to $11.50, f.o.b, loading point, for fall delivery. Current contrasting In Idaho for dellv reported at $13. While Inspected slaughter of sheep and lambs so far this year has been about four per cent above that of a year ago, slaughterings In the last half are not expected Ip differ greatly from those of tha sttnie period in 184 1. HOO MAHKETS Hog prices continued last week's rise on Monday when 2100 head were offered locally. Good to choice drive-Ins sold mostly at $14.50 while slightly heavier weights topped at $14, . Highest price paid at San Francisco was $15,20 for two loads of t90 pound Oregon butchers. Prices stumped some what at Chicago with a top price of $14.65 reported. The recent - gains ' at North Portland place hog prices at a new high for recent years. They are even a few cents higher than the peak of last April. WOOL MARKETS More activity was shown on the Boston wool market last week as mills expecting govern ment blanket orders bought sup plies. Early season purchases are crowding warehouse space, thus holding up delivery of more wools tor the time being. Fine territory wools sold In moderate volume the last week at colling prices for graded lines and only a little under the celling for un graded stuff. Very little activity was reported in short fine wools whllo there was tome inquiry for halt blood territory wools, with few actual sales, Farmers May B Eligible for Premium Rale Cut COR VALLIS. July 17 The state AAA office disclosed Thursday that Oregon farmers who participate1 in the federal all-risk crop Insurance program since 1939 may be eligible for a 50 per cent premium rata reduction:-: - The: reduction' will be avail able' to- participants In the pro gram whOs paid-in premiums equal or exceed his: Insured pro duction for any crop year. Growers. not eligible this year will become) so', when accumulat ed premiums, minus Indemnities, exceed; the 'insured production for the year. FOR BUY UNITED STATES WAR BONDS AND STAMPS .vVi':v." '' FOR S Air AT1 Pint or Ninth St. . OF: SEED SPUDS TO START JULY 20 , Professor G. R. Hyslnp of 6ra gon slate college will be In the county Monday, July 20, to trt the first field Inspection for cer tified seed potatoes, alfalfa and cereal crops. Growers of these crops should not wait for the ar rival of the Inspector before rogulng out their fields of dis eased plants. Koiiulng consists of going through your fields syste matically and removing all dis eased plants In the case of pota toes, and weeds or other crop plants In the case of alfalfa and cereals. Systematic roguitif of pota toes consists of removing the en tire hill which shows luck of vigor or symptoms of disease. Many of the potato diseases are spread by plant Ilea or aphlds. Plants, seed pieces, mid new tub ers from diseased hills should be taken out, placed In a sack or box to avoid scattering any aph lds that may be preseni, and re moved from the field. The roguer should grasp the plants near the soil and avoid unneces Phone 4282 n tt INSPECTION vS.- TRULOVE'S liT ' Chicken Center SJFjf 9 East Main 1 rJ2C, Steak TREE I . i I ' rnone e 1 eSeaaaialf Saaatf' W HENS " 22lb Colored HENS .....Lb. 30c Colored FRYERS Lb. 35c RABBITS 35fb VICTORY ''Buy them to hattin Victory Boy them as often , nd as many as yow cnl MONTGOMERY MD July IT 194 sary shaking. Rogulng should b dona In the season and as often as necessary to control the dli eases, which may be from four to eight times during tha season. Even after the first field In spection rogulng should be con tinued, according to Instructions of tha Inspector In order to be eligible for tha second inspec tion. Any' growers who are plan nthg on entering crops for cer tification should gat their appli cations In to the county agnnj,'! office Immediately, . Stockmen May Purchase Stored Wheat During July CORVALLIS. July 17 n ' ") Oregon livestock growers will be able to purchase government stored wheat for feeding throughout July, tha state USDA war board said Thursday, About t million and a halt bushels of Oregon wheat hat been sold for poultry and live stock feed since February under this program, Prices during the period will continue to be based on 1041 loan values, . the board said. PACKS OWN PARACHUTE Every U. S. marine paratroop er packs his own parachute and equipment and takes great ears that nobody else touches It be fore a Jump Is made. 5 0 Phonsj 3181
