BETTER FRUIT 



Page 7j 



is grade. Every iile shuuld be laid on 

 grade. In fact where a plot of ground 

 is to be drained it will pay to have the 

 services of a competent civil engineer to 

 lay off the mains and laterals and estab- 

 lish the proper grade. There should be 

 no guess work as to grade. Every tile 

 must be laid on grade or else the pur- 

 pose of cutting ditches for tile, which is 

 expensive, would be lost. A single tile 

 out of grade would soon fill up and your 

 purpose to drain your land would be 

 defeated. 



The expense of under drainage is a 

 factor that perhaps deters many from 

 undertaking it. However, when the 

 benefits derived from under drainage are 

 once understood the time will come 

 when many thousand acres in Oregon 

 will be under drained. In fact the ques- 

 tion of irrigation will be one of the 

 factors that will force under drainage, 

 as it is one of the problems of irrigation 

 to get the water to the land and then 

 to run it off, and shallow soils, with a 

 clay sub-soil, cannot be successfully 

 irrigated without under drainage. To 

 emphasize the fact that with general 

 irrigation, which in time will come in 

 Southern Oregon when the benefits are 

 better understood, under drainage will 

 be necessary on many of our soils where 

 the water table is forced near the sur- 

 face by reason of an impervious clay or 

 cement hardpan sub-soil, I quote Mr. 

 Carl S. Schofield, agriculturist in charge 

 of the Western Agricultural Extension 

 Bureau of Plant Industry, which will be 

 found under the caption, "The Problems 

 of an Irrigation Farmer," in the Year 

 Book of the Department of Agriculture, 

 1909: 



"One of the most striking features in 

 the history of irrigation in the Old 

 World is the ruin of irrigation enter- 

 prises caused by the rise of underground 

 water and of alkali. Both in theory and 

 in practice these phenomena are closely 

 associated. Arid lands almost univer- 

 sally contain large C|uantities of soluble 

 salts, because these salts — the products 

 of rock disintegration and soil forma- 

 tion — are not leached out by rain. The 

 more common salts thus formed are 

 sodium chloride, sodium sulphate and 

 sodium carbonate, and though only the 

 last is really an alkaline salt the popular 

 term 'alkali' is applied to whatever salts 

 occur in the soil water in sufficient 

 quantities to check or prevent plant 

 growth. 



"Excessive irrigatio/U, in time, fills the 

 soil with water, in which these salts are 

 dissolved, and the evaporation of the 

 water from the ground brings the salts 

 up and leaves them at or near the sur- 

 face in constantly increasing quantities. 

 Unless natural drainage courses are pres- 

 ent, or artificial ones are created, the 

 inevitable result of excessive irrigation 

 is that the land becomes too wet or too 

 alkaline for the growth of crop plants. 

 This problem of underground waters 

 should be constantly in mind, not only 

 in the selection of an irrigated farm, but 

 also in its management. It does not 

 suffice that a farmer himself uses irriga- 

 tion water judiciously, for the reckless 

 use of water on adjacent higher land 



may ruin a farm completely. It is true 

 that either underground waters or alkali 

 alone may cause trouble in some cases, 

 but they occur most frequently together, 

 and both yield to the same remedy, 

 which is adequate drainage." 



Irrigated lands where the sub-soil is 

 not porous, with a reckless use of water, 

 soon become swamps. This condition 

 of land becoming swamps is to be found 

 in every irrigation district. From Sec- 

 retary Wilson's report in the Year Book 

 for 1909 it is estimated that about 

 700,000 acres of land in the West have 

 become swamps. This land is under 

 water, and the only possibility of reclaim- 

 ing and making it productive is by under 

 draining by using tile. Any and all con- 

 templated systems of irrigation should 



ORCHARD CULTIVATOR 



THIS is the day of the specialist. The proposi- 

 tion that confronts the orchardist of today is 

 that of placing crop production on a sure and per- 

 manent basis. He must adopt the most scientific 

 methods. Intensive cultivation is one of the essen- 

 tials of successful orchard work and holds the key 

 which unlocks the treasure vaults of the soil. 



Several years ago, when I went into the peach- 

 growing business in Texas, I realized the need of 

 a light-running cultivator which would work my 

 orchard level and completely mulch and stir the 

 entire surface without disturoing the branches and 

 fruit with the team. I wanted a tool that would 

 reach under the low branches and relieve me of 

 the laborious work with the hoe. I tried many of 

 the best tools made for orchard work, but finding 

 none that met my requirements fully, I set to 

 work on constructions of my own and have built 

 some ten different types of machines within the 

 last four years. 



My first triumph was in 1909, when I developed 

 a spring-tooth harrow tliat would cover eleven feet 

 of surface with one team. This Iiarrow worked 

 admirably and some of my friends thought it to be 

 an ideal orchard tool, but it lacked many features 

 I desired to have involved in an orchard machine. 

 In building this machine I discovered the principle 

 of making a light draft tool and continued my 

 experiments and improvements until April of 1910, 

 when I constructed what is known today as the 

 light draft harrow. This tool has developed more 

 ideal features than I had dreamed and has proven 

 to be a most valuable implement wherever it has 

 been tested. 



The harrow is divided into four independent sec- 

 tions, which enables it to conform readily to vmeven 

 surfaces, and each section is under easy control of 

 the driver by means of levers, which enable the 

 operator to lift any one or all of the sections to 

 free them of trash or to pass over obstructions, 

 such as large stones, stumps, etc. All surplus 

 weight is carried on the thirty-inch wlieels with 

 very little apparent draft, and the machine is 

 balanced so that no weight is thrown upon the 

 horses' necks, either with or without driver upon 

 the seat. This harrow enables me to cover from 

 twenty to thirty acres of orchard per day with one 

 team of medium weight, and all progressive fruit 

 men recognize the advantage of this rapid work. 



The light draft feature of this machine is a sur- 

 prise to all who have tested it, but it is no longer 

 an experiment, and many large orchardists who 

 were skeptical on this point have been fully con- 



lia\ e careful surveys made of the sub-soil 

 to determine if the same is porous and 

 will afford the necessary drainage before 

 water is conducted to the land for irri- 

 gation or else the promoters may stand 

 to lose large sums of money that an 

 unfavorable sub-soil would defeat were 

 it clay or hardpan. 



To put unfavorable land that requires 

 drainage in condition for irrigation the 

 outlay at the beginning is expensive, 

 but in the end the results in production 

 will make it a profitable investment. 



When land is once properly drained, 

 with necessary depth, it lasts forever, and 

 with ample water is always productive 

 and gains in richness with each genera- 

 tion for all time. 



j ^ ^ 



vinced after giving it a thorough test. Some of 

 these men wno were "doubters" one year ago are 

 now the strongest enthusiasts for the merits of this 

 new orchard tool, and declare it will be the means 

 of revolutionizing the orchard industries of the 

 country. C. E. Forkner. 



<$> <«> 



KILLING QUACK GRASS.— A method has been 

 discovered by Mr. P. B. Crane which makes it 

 possible to kill quack grass. We give the formula 

 for the solution used on page 14 of our February, 

 1911, "Farm Weeds." However, this is not all the 

 information necessary. We should like to give you 

 additional information, but cannot, as the Crane 

 system of quack grass eradication is published in 

 book form by tlie Webb Publishing Company, St. 

 Paul, Minnesota, and is copyrighted. This book 

 sells for one dollar and we suggest tliat you pur- 

 chase it immediately. By purchasing this book you 

 will have full right to use the Crane secret process 

 of killing quack grass. Quack grass can be killed 

 very quickly and with little expenditure. It is 

 necessary to apply the solution in the form of a 

 spray. Spraying machines are needed for this pur- 

 pose. We refer you to our "Farm Weeds" for 

 information pertaining to same. You can purchase 

 sulphuric acid from your druggest. If you can 

 purchase this in large quantities he should be able 

 to supply you at a reasonable cost. It will give us 

 pleasure to quote you a very low price on sulphate 

 of iron. We shall be pleased to give you any addi- 

 tional information you may want regarding the 

 killing of quack grass or any other weed pests in 

 your locality. Yours truly, American Steel & Wire 

 Co., Chemical and Color Department, Chicago. 

 <$> ^ ^ 



Editor Better Fruit: 



I enclose draft for one dollar for renewal of 

 subscription. I think very highly of your special- 

 izing each issue; it makes it convenient for refer- 

 ence. Professor O'Gara's article on Pear Blight 

 was worth to me at least much more than the sub- 

 scription price, and many other articles of like 

 value. Wishing you continued success, yours truly, 

 I. F. Plouston, San Juan, New Me.xico. 



. <S> ❖ 



Editor Better Fruit: 



If you can keep up the pace in the character of 

 your paper that you have been going during the 

 past year, your subscribers will certainly get full 

 value for their money. To one contemplating either 

 buying or planting an orchard anywhere your 

 paper is invaluable. Yours truly, S. T). Lieurance, 

 Denver, Colorado. 



