August, 1920 



BETTER FRUIT 



Page 5 



M 



.SECTION OF UmV£RSITV PflRM DIPPER 

 Dipping machine. 



of furnace on line of outer shed and one on 

 end line of shed. Fans to be fitted with 

 1%-inch drain. 



2. Rinsing Vat. Same size and construction 

 as dipping vat, but placed on cement piers. 

 Fitted with 1%-inch drain. Vat placed on path 

 of dipping basket and adjacent to dipping vat. 



3. Water supply to fill vats and wash floors. 



4. Dipping machine of merry-go-round type. 

 Appearance of this machine best seen from 

 sketch. 



Alternative Dipping Arrangement. — One com- 

 mercially built hand-power prune dipper 

 equipped with rinsing vat and oil or distillate 

 burner in addition to dipping tank. This 

 equipment has proved thoroughly satisfactory, 

 but the distillate burner is essential. 



Sulphur House. — Of concrete, brick or wood, 

 and placed beside transfer track connecting to 

 air lock and tunnel at fan end of tunnel. 

 Placed 8 feet from outer line of shed. Size, 

 8% feet long by 7% feet high by 7 feet wide 

 inside. End towards transfer track formed by 

 two folding doors, each 3^2 feet wide by 7M< 

 feet high. Small sulphur pit 8 inches square 

 by 6 inches deep in floor between tracks near 

 door. Tracks 24 inches apart, extending to 



rear end of sulphur house and transfer track. 

 Adjustable vent 6 inches square in roof. Sul- 

 phur house may be omitted; not absolutely 

 essential. 



Cesspools and Drains. — If evaporator is not 

 connected to sewer system a cesspool at least 

 8 feet by 6 feet by 8 feet deep will be needed 

 to care for waste water, or waste waters may 

 be run on land, but may in time impregnate 

 the soil with injurious amounts of alkali. 



Stemmer. — One ordinary raisin stemmer and 

 3-h.p. motor. Not absolutely essential, but 

 desirable for dried wine grapes. 



Receiving Platform. — At side of shed hold- 

 ing dipping outfit. Length 16 feet, width 12 

 feet, height 2 feet. Made of 2x12 rough pine 

 and — x — frame on concrete piers. 



Trays. — Five hundred trays, slat-bottom 

 type, 3x3 feet in size. Sides — Each side made 

 up of one piece 36x2x1 >/,-inch and one piece 

 33x1x1 1,2-inch. Ends — Each end made up of 

 one piece 36x1x1 i^-inch. Bottoms — Made up 

 of V4xiA-inch strips 36 inches long, placed % 

 inch apart, 40 strips to each tray. One brace 

 12x1x33 inches extending under middle of tray. 



Approximate List of Materials. — 1. Lumber 



for construction of shed and tunnel: 6x6-inch 

 rough redwood, 18-foot lengths, 162 linear feet; 

 2x6-inch S-2-E Oregon pine, 950 linear feet; 

 lx6-inch pine sheathing, 3500 linear feet; 2x4- 

 inch S-2-E Oregon pine, 400 linear feet; 1x4- 

 inch T. & G. flooring, 8000 linear feet; 2x8-inch 

 rough pine, 82 linear feet; 4x6-inch rough pine, 

 88 linear feet; 4x4-inch rough pine, 64 linear 

 feel; 4x4-inch S-4-S Oregon pine for dipper, 

 10 linear feet; 3x4-inch S-4-S Oregon pine for 

 dipper, 20 linear feet; 2xl2-inch rough pine, 

 300 linear feet; 19,000 redwood shingles. Total 

 cost in 1919, ¥679.99. 



2. Shook for trays: 1000 pieces 36x2x1 Vj- 

 inch sugar pine S-2-E; 1000 pieces 33xlxli|- 

 inch sugar pine S-2-S; 1000 pieces 36x1x1 %- 

 inch sugar pine S-2-S: 20,000 pieces i/ 2 xi/i-inch 

 sugar pine S-l-S; 500 pieces 33xi/,xl inch. 

 Cost in 1919, $90. 



3. Motor or engine, 7% h.p. 



4. Boiler shell with tubes removed, one head 

 removed, and one end fitted to receive 12-inch 

 stack. Size 10 or 12 feet by 36 or 40 inches. 



5. Burners. Two medium size air blast oil 

 or distillate burners, or three large ditto, grav- 

 ity type. 



6. Fan. One multivane top vertical dis- 

 charge exhaust fan with blade wheel 36 inches 

 in diameter through axle (e.g., No. 6 Sirocco or 

 No. 9 Sturtevant). 



7. Two tanks for dip*per, each 6x3 feet by 

 11/2 inches, heavy gauge black sheet metal. 



8. Two 22-inch prune dipping baskets. 



9. One set roller bearings for dipper (or 

 items 7, 8 and 9 to be replaced by one hand- 

 power prune dipper and rinser). 



10. Dry yard rails, 8 lbs. per yard, 400 feet. 



11. Black sheet iron heavy gauge 12-inch 

 pipe: Nine lengths 10 feet long; one length 1 

 foot long; two 3-way connections; four elbows; 

 six return bends; one T fitted with damper; 

 one 20-foot length for stack. 



12. About 500 plain bricks and about 500 

 firebricks for dipping outfit and furnace. 



13. About 130 sacks cement for furnace 

 room, floors and sulphur house. 



14. About 150 lbs fireclay for furnaces. 



15. Three loads crushed rock, four loads 

 sand, 17 loads creek gravel, IV2 barrels lime 

 (used at University Farm 1919). 



16. One recording thermometer, range about 

 50 degrees F. to 220 degrees F. 



17. Leather belt 20 feet long, 4 inches wide, 

 2-ply. 



18. Miscellaneous: Nails, water pipe, hose, 

 hinges, roller and trucks for sliding doors, 

 wiring, etc. 



A number of these evaporators are 

 being built in California by growers 

 who have been impressed with its per- 

 formance during the past year. It is 

 suitable for all varieties of fruit. 



Cover Crops, Tillage and Commercial Fertilizers 



By H. Thornber, Superintendent Horticultural Substation, Corvallis, Oregon 





YEARS ago it was discovered that 

 the moisture in the soil could 

 e conserved by keeping the sur- 

 face tilled and preventing the growth of 

 weeds. Later when orchards were plant- 

 ed in regions where the rainfall was not 

 always sutlicient to mature the crop the 

 practice of cultivating the soil to con- 

 serve the moisture was commenced. 

 The results were satisfactory for a few 

 years, but various difficulties were en- 

 countered later which threatened lo 

 destroy many profitable orchards un- 

 less the conditions were remedied. The 

 soil commenced to bake, the surface to 

 wash, and finally the trees began to 

 fail. The soil specialists were consulted 

 and they explained that the fault was 

 in the system which was removing the 

 supply of plant food and humus with- 

 out allowing anything to be returned. 

 To remedy this condition crops of 

 various kinds were sown and plowed 

 under. Soon the conditions of the soil 

 improved and the trees resumed their 

 normal growth and production. Later 

 this system of orchard tillage became 



known as the cover-crop method of 

 orchard cultivation, and is today recog- 

 nized as an ideal if not the ideal method 

 of orchard cultivation. 



Correctly speaking, a cover-crop is 

 some farm crop sown about mid-sum- 

 mer and either plowed under in the 

 late fall or allowed to remain until 

 spring when it may be plowed under 

 before or after it has made growth. 

 However, in the broad sense, a cover- 

 crop may be considered as any crop 

 grown in the orchard for the purpose 

 of plowing under as a green manure. 



Cover-crops may be divided into 

 several classes. For our purpose we 

 may consider them as leguminous and 

 non-leguminous according to their food 

 storing habits. To the first group be- 

 long the clovers, peas, vetches, etc., 

 which gather nitrogen from the air and 

 store it on their roots, while the second 

 group consists of those common grains 

 and even weeds which produce only 

 humus when plowed under. From each 

 of these groups single crops or combi- 

 nations may be selected which will be 



suitable to any district or local 

 conditions. 



At this point it might well to review 

 a few of the benefits derived from the 

 use of cover-rops. (1) Cover-crops di- 

 rectly improve the physical condition of 

 the soil and subsoil. (2) Organic matter 

 is like at patent medicine — it is good for 

 whatever ails the soil, but unlike a 

 patent medicine it cannot injure any 

 soil. (3) They help hold the snows 

 and ruins and prevent the leaves from 

 being blown out of the orchard. (4) 

 They serve as a protection to the tree 

 roots from frost. (.">) They use up the 

 soluble plant food in the fall and hence 

 prevent its loss through drainage, (lit 

 They render plant food available by 

 their growth and root action. (7) They 

 make cultivation and irrigation easier 

 and more effective. ( o' ) Leguminous 

 cover-crops actually add nitrogen to 

 the soil. (9) They cause early ripening 

 of the trees which in turn prevents 

 winter injury, (til) They prevent ero- 

 sion on steep orchard lands. 



Continued on page 20. 



