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-
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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