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HOME AND FARM MAGAZINE SECTION
Oregon Agricultural College is the Friend of the Farmer
Page of News Notes and Interesting Articles Written by College Experts.
TREATMENT FOR SMUT.
OREGON farmers annually lose
muny thousands of dollars from
smut in their grain crops. Thiis
Bmut, according to Professor H. D
Scudder of the Agricultural Collego
greatly lowers the market value of
wheat and also rapidly increases In
amount from a very Bmall begin
ning. Thus it becomes of the great
est importance that the funner in
sure his crop against the ravages of
Brant by some effective treatment.
Fortunaloly these treatments are
simple and relatively inexpensive.
For the stinking or covered smut
the seed wheat la fanned and a day
or ho prior to Beedlng time is given
either the formaldehyde or copper
sulphate ( "Milestone") treatment.
The first Is decidedly the better. One
of the simplest methods of treatment
Is dipping the Backed wheat by
means of a home-made derrick Into
a trough containing formaldehyde.
The proper mixture contains one
pound or pint of formalin to every
forty gallons of water. The sack of
wheat should remain Immersed in
the solution until thoroughly wet to
the center, which genorally require?
from five to ten minutos. It should
then bo taken out and the excess
Bolutlon permitted to drain off. The
grain should be allowed to dry out
fairly well before it is sown.
A method rather more effective le
to pour tho seed Into the solution
tirrlng it and skimming off any
smut ballB that may appear, then
taking it from the solution and par
tially drying It before seeding.
The drill Itself, of course, should
be dlslnfectod with the same solu
tion and tho treated grain should
bo put back only Into sacks that
huvo been disinfected or new and
nnused. Where tho seed Is not sown
Immediately after treatment, It Is
boiler to dry It out by shoveling It
over and spreading It thinly, on a
clrnn tapnullQ or floor, since the
Tltallly of tho seed is considerably
affected by lack of care In drying It
out thoroughly after dipping. It la
of the greatest Importance that
farmers get formalin of guaranteed
ctrengih nnd purity. The commer
cial form of 40 per cent formalde
hyde is the kind to be used la the
ratio of ouo pint to forty gallons of
water.
HORTICULTURAL EX11II11T
AT AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE
AFHUIT, vegetable and flower
show will be hold by the Hor
ticultural division of tho Agri
cultural College on Novombor 7. Tho
following list of exhibits bus been
prepared for tho occasion:
A collection of apples from vari
ous purls of the United States!
Competitive three plate exhibits
by studunts, apples to bo grown In
any section of the country;
A collection of 75 jars of nuts by
The Oregon Nursery Co.;
Collection of tub-tropical fruits by
gradual oa ot the college In Califor
nia; Collection of sub-tropical fruits
from Southern Florida;
A by-product exhibit Including
tanned frulU, vegetables and fruit
Juices;
A chrysanthemum show;
A demonstration of tho proper
methods of pruning roses;
A demonstration of the potting
and rn-pottlng of bouse plants;
A collection of plants suitable for
student rooms nnd for homes;
A collection of flowers from flor
as; A collection of vegetablo garden
Oregon AKrirultiiral College, orvullis, Oregon,
ing seeds from various parts of the
country.
A collection of vegetable by-products;
A collection of vegetable types
from various truck farms of the
state;
A collection of greenhouse vege
tables; A collection of vegetable packages
and methods of packing;
A collection of implements used
in vegetable gardening;
A demonstration showing best
types of plants and methods of
transplanting the same;
A contest among the women of the
college on floral table decorations;
A contest by the women of the
college on the best cooked apples.
All horticulturists are Invited to
attend this educational exhibit.
CHEMICALS USUALLY BAD
AS ('H)EK PRESERVATIVES
THE use. of chemicals In preserv
ing sweet cider, as quite fre
quently recommended in Borne
parts of the state, Bhould not be
undertaken by those unacquainted
with the action and effect of chemi
cals. The three chemicals that are
most frequently recommended are
salicylic acid, calcium vulflte and
benzoate of soda, and there are
many reasons to believe that they
exert a bad Influence on the health
of those who use them in preserved
food products. Tbolr use in food
products offered on the market la
either prohibited by law or greatly
restricted. Our dairy and food com
missioner has brought a number of
prosecutions based on the use of
sulfite,, whoso use is prohibited In
Oregon. Benzonte of soda may not
be used in excess of one tenth of
one per cent, and in less strength
would not control fermentation.
"There are three principal ways of
checking fermentation," says Pro
fessor Tarter, chemist of the Oregon
Agricultural College. Low temper
ature mere holds the ferment bac
teria In check, the cider gradually
becomes sour. A very high tempera
ture will kill the bacteria, and If tbe
product 1b then bottled and sealed it
will keep sweet Indefinitely. Unfor
tunately this temperature Injures the
quality and flavor of the cider. Chem
icals Btrong enough to destroy the
fermeutative organisms are very apt
to Injure the health of those who
uso the products preserved by iHem.
Digestion itself Is largely a matter of
I'ermenlntlon that Is brought about
by the action of the so-culled soluble
ferments, The action Is stopped or
largely Inhibited by these chemicals,
so that their use Involves a risk too
great to be taken by the layman."
INCREASING TUN PROFIT
ON GRAIN FED TO IHX1S
BV TUTTING protein Into grain fed
to hogs the feeder nearly dou
bles on every cent Invested eco
nomically In protein material. Skim
milk or butted milk in tbe propor
tion of one and a half pounds of
milk to one pound of grain will pro
duce a much more efficient use ot
tho grain, parts of which are not
utilized when grain Is fed alone.
Grain does not contain all the feed
elements In tho right proportion to
suit the pig's needs.
Whore milk is not available, tank
ugo makes tho cheapest protein Blip
ply in Oregon, Ten pounds of tank
age at $D0 IV ton added to 90 pounc'r
of grain at present prices Increase!
the cost of 100 pounds of feed ten
cents, but It Increases the pork yield
2.05 pounds, which nt 7 cents per
pound amounts to $13.05 nor bun-
the Solo Aim of Which r to Aid Agriculturists.
dred. The cost of this increase yield
was but $10.
"In terms of returns per hundred
pounds of gain on the hog, the feed
er secures 87.5 cents more by fced-
jing tankage with grain than by feed
ing straight grain," says Professor
Samson, who conducted the feeding
tests. "In terms of the price that
the pigs return for 100 pounds of
grain the tankage causes them to
return 23.3 centu more, which is
$4.66 more per ton. If pigs wero
paying only market prices for grain
fed alone, this $4.66 may justly be
counted as the feeder's profit. This
profit is further Increased in the
fertilising value of the manure.
FOUND HEREFORD HERD.
FOUNDATION Btock for an Agricul
tural" College her dot pure-bred
Herefords has been purchased by
the Animal Husbandry department.
It had been the intention of Profes
sor Potter, head of the department,
to go east to get this stock, since
only the best types were desired, but
he found precisely what he was
looking for in the herd of George I
Chandler, of Buker City, from whom I
the following fine animals were se-j
cured: One cow and calf, fouri
yearling heifers, all breeding stork
of the projected Hereford herd tu
match the splendid herd of college
Shorthorns. At the same timo four
head of Hereford steer calves and
four head of yearlings were pur
chased for use as class and show
animals. In addition to these ani
mals 100 head of two-year old
Shorthorn steers were purchased for
experimental feeding at the Union
branch station, with which field
peas and barley hay will be tried
out and the value of grain with al
falfa hay ascertained.
MILKING CONTESTS AT FAIRS.
W'flLKING contests at various
4i county fairs In Oregon are
unique and valuable features
reported by some of the Agricultural
College specialists that judged the
fairs. These contests are conducted
by weighing and testing tho milk
of each cow entered, usually for a
period of two to five days. The
prines are awarded, as previously
announced, either on the wholo
amount of milk produced by each
cow during the contest, on the total
butterfat content ot each cow or
upon a combination of both points. 1
These contests Invariably arouse a ,
great deal of Interest among tho
visitors of the fairs, and undoubted
ly result in a great deal of good.
Not only do farmers learn the ex-1
act value of each cow as a milk pro- J
ducer, but they learn in a general
way the type of animal most profit-,
able In the dairy herd and the meth
ods of toBtlng that can be applied '
to their own herd. !
A MAN TO BE
First Considers Quality, Then
Hnys at Lowest Prices.
SEE ME FOR
WATER SYSTEMS
of All Kinds.
LIGHTING PLANTS
Electric and Carbido.
PLUMBING SUPPLIES AT
WHOLESALE.
R. A. TWISS
Fourth and Jefferson Streets
Portland, Oregon.
THE COUNTRY STORE.
fl"HE In fluence of the country
I store and Its owner In Na
tional development has been
a factor of tremendous Importance,"
writes. Dr. Hector Macpherson of the
Oregon Agricultural College. "As
the frontier planted settlements In
Its westward adbance the country
Btore became everywhere the first
nuclous of social nnd economic prog
ress. It was the clearing house of
ideals, and the medium through
which news from outside the new
settlement reached tbe inhabitants.
It became their first postoffice, and
it was to a large extent the forum
from which public opinion anil
neighborhood policy were crystal
ized. It bridged the gap betweoa
the pioneer community and the big
world outside. The storekeeper
brought In whatever goods the
neighborhood wanted and was ever
on tbe alert for markets for tho
community products. As the grow
ing population began to practice
division ot labor the store was
medium through which the Burplua
products were exchanged. Families
having more potatoes, butter, egga,
and other produce than they couLi
use traded out their surplus with
the grocer who resold thorn to fam
ilies producing none for themselves.
Abraham Lincoln was probably only
one among hundreds who sharpened
their wits and won their spurs ovor
the counter of the country store."
MAKING VP MEAT SHORTAGE.
HOG cholera alone takes enough
meat from the visible supply to
make up the present deficiency,
is the surprising concIuBlon of Dr.
Virgil Knowles, Federal and O. A.
C. specialist now working' on the
hog cholera problem in Oregon.
"The farmer bringing his drove ot
hogs right up to the marketing
stage, putting his entire grain crop
Into them with the expectation thut
they will bring In a badly needod
money supply and then seeing them
die on his hands, has lost more than
his hogs he has lost confidence in
the swine Industry. It takes more
pluck and prefllBtency than the aver
age man possesses to turn around
after such an experience and take
up the task of raising nnothor drov
ot hogs. He will probnbly lack
even the capital for producing a new
herd, and it not he will not be very
enthusiastic about doing so. Ilut
most of the losses fro mhog cholera
aro preventable, and there Is no
more promising way xt making up
the meat shortage than by banishing
the disease from the state and the
county. We hope with the aid ot
farmers and newspaper men to ban
ish It from Oregon nnd to keep It
out."
SUCCESSFUL