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Zurich Herald, 1921-08-11, Page 6• address communIcattons to nevodtan ROOT ROT OF SUGAR BEETS The eager beet is a remarkable plant in the wide range of soil con- ditions to which it adapts itself, Given its best chance, let us say on a sandy or clay loam, and with proper rotation, plant diseases are of second- ary importance with this crop. In this regard it is like corn, which, while attacked by a few parasitie fungi for the most part gives the farmer -who uses good seed and plants the corn in a proper rotation, no con- cern from the some of parasitic at- tack. The condition, "Black Root" or "loot Rot" in• beets is not a simple one. It is a eondition brought about by a number of parasitic fungi And perhaps by some bacteria, and it varies in its manifestations because of the variation in soil temperature, soil moisture, soil nutrients, etc. What is Meant by Parasite? The parasitic fungi which attack the sugar beet are thread-like forms, too small to be readily seen With the unaided eye. Occasionally with some forms they can be made out as a thin cobwebby growth covering the affect- ed relents. Everyone is familiar with Cho web-like masses found on leaf me a in the weeds. Here we are see- ing fungus threads clumped! together in quantity sufficient to make them evident. The concept I wish to bring to the reader is that the soil, defying observation with the microscope, is shot through and through with fungi —molds—most of them harmless to crops, some of them pernicious. These meld forms live in the soil—in every soil—carry on their life processes and complete their life cycles. They pro, duce their seeds ("spores"), which , are minute bodies capable of being ; blown about er Washed' from place to place. I These fungi or molds are anywhere but not every -where. Some when once introduced' can persist in the soil; others are introduced yearly with the seed. For the most part they are beneficial, assisting the soil 'bacteria in the great leveling and transform- ing processes.- There are some, how- ' ever, which not only attack the dead -stuffs of the soil, but also attack the 'living plants. These are the parasites which cause loss to the farmer. To the farmer they are the weeds, which instead of robbing the soil of moisture and nutrients, use the plants as the soil and steal their living frora the very plants the farmers wish to con- A. . The Caudeaf "Dranping-Off." When the sugar beet seedis plant - led the first -danger which it confronts ns "damping -off.' The name vrell fits the disease, referring as it does tin ,the water relation which induces it. 1 to The actual cause of the damping -off li es a parasitic fungus of some sort t I (there aranieveral whieb produce 'it) h but the pre -disposing factoe is the 0 soil raoisture. One of the common causes a m damping -off is the fungus Phoma thetae. This fungus is carried to the in field on the seed and if the beet is ti cliecked at all in its growth, if the P tissues do net harden rapidly, the root h rots and the beet topples over. is Common, also, in producing damp- f ing-aff is the fungus Rhizoctonia, well th known to farmers because of its bad s effects on potatoes, and what is said t here about beets can almost be applied to any crop, except the cereals, since the Rhizoctonia fungus attacks so 0 many of them and with almost the m same train of symttoms. Wet Season Favors Trouble. - rn The wet conditions induce a BUCC11- knee in the young seedling and bring l about conditions in the soil which ti break down the normal resistance of L the beet so that these parasites get vi A t. ?a Adelalde Sa West, neronte plants because of the fooa material so readily available; the beets mor suec,cioed.esfullY Pass •this great dange pi Next Comes Root Rots. After the beets peas the "deenpinge' off" stage, other troublesconfron item. These are in the aature o "black root" at the tip, earl crown re These troubles are, for the most par "hangovers" from the seedling stag They represent attacks temporaeil recovered front -a whieh start ,agtei when the beet is put under slaw ovi in g conditions. The black root caused by Phoma betae may be present in unnoticeable form, ready to start when the beet root has a set -back. The scars of Rhizoctonia attack are common on beets, apparently healed over, but these scars reatricting the growth lo- cally bring about the "cracked- beet" conditionin which the top is cleft and the rotting of the crown follows. The factors essential for this latter con- dition seem to be the .primary attack on the !beet causing the scar, and then a sudden surge of growth such es takes place when a dry spell is broken and abundant water ,supplies are available. The cracking is merely a mechanical breaking of the bonds which hold the tissues from expan- sion. Other fungi suoh as the eommon damping -off fungus (Pythium de bar- yanum) attack the beet and this form either kills the beet outright or at- tacks the tap soot and leads to death later on, or at least to spangly beets of small size and low quality. But, through it all, the water rela- tion is paramount in deciding whether the fungus or the beet gets the mastery. One other factor needs to be no- ticed. Those farmers 'who follow beets with 'beets have the most trouble. The second year they usual- ly find the root rots and the leaf spots present in intensified form. To follow beets with beets is taking a risk which makes the operation pure speculation. Fields may become foul with disease germs, just as they be- come foul with weed seeds. Since Rhizectonia is so important as a fungus causing damage to so many crops, a little may be said about the place of beets in the rotation'. In short, nee.ry not the preceding crops influence the sucteeding ones if the various crops are -subject to the same disease. Years ago it was demon- strated that when beets followed po- tatoes, or vice -versa, ecableinessefole lowed. We are just beammng to realize that this relation holds for beets and the Rhazactonia or Black Scurf fungus. Now practically all the reps, except the cereals, .are subject Rhizoctonia attack. It is an estab- shect practice in certain beet regions o follow cern with beets. There must e a reason for this, and the effect f a orop like corn in starving out Plizactonia and thus leading to a ore safe soil for beet,planting must e considered as one factor in lead - g farmers to this particular rota - on. It would certainly seem to be referable to following sod -with eets or following some legume. This a matter °pea to study by the armer himself and consideration of e fields in his neighborhood over a erias of years will let him determine he wise course to follow. A Brief Summary. , We may now summarize the points f this article. The -sugar beet seed ay carry disease, but no method of reatrnemt is practical. The disease ay tome from a soil source. The tilization of poorly drained soil, the ack- of prompt and frequent tcultiva- ons may favor the fungus enemies. a& of food materials to start a gorous growth may favor the para- sites, as does else over -crowding of 1- [. THE C111DREY$ HOUR ateee-2 The other evening 1/was attracted hy a gre'at disturbance. Thee seem- ed to be some sort a bird convention taking place. They were robins, spar- ron,vs, blackbird's, blue jays end 'cat- s birds all assembled in a big cherry tree and all making a terrible noise. I thought at owe that they must have met for some common purpose, for we never see all those birds to- gether -without their being engaged in battle. And sure enough, high up in a the tree I saw an owl, All the other t. birds 'had come together to give ;bat - to tle to a C0111M011 enemy. At any *thee a. time these various birds woald have Y been fighting each other, but on this evening robins perohed on the Same e limb with blue jays. Catbirds and the upper hand. The blackening is a secondary effect, a reaction of the the plants mall as comes from late killed host cells to the air, doubtless. Anything which: kills the root will lead to the secondary blackening. When sugar beet seed is planted and farmers use plenty of seed to in- sure a stand, they atre ctowding the plants and inducing competition which leads to raeak growth, rather than sturdy growth. The im.portance o prompt spacing and thinning is, of Course, manifest. If the seed is planted at the right time, the beete establish themselves sad make a sturdy grated,. If ex- tremely wet condition comes on, them 1alamping-off" le eerions. The effect of heavy rains and eaaese of moisture is to form a crust on the soil. This must be broken up as soon ss the rows can be followed) if damp- ing -off is to The avoided. Just what inflame* stirring the soil has on the dainPing-off tongue is not known, but the aeration and the balancing of the moisture relation seem to plan an important vole in the saving of the stand. 1 Here may be raentianed the bene - Adel effects of fertilizer in bringing haput a good steed of healthy beets. ie the earanion practite among gxoWers to put fertilizer le the tow /with the seeds, The writer has seen nember of fields where the effect of ;this fertilizet was plain, not alene the 'size of the plants, but in the vigor frOed0111, fi0111 danapingeoff. The tater is not a cure, but stimulat- ipig eet it cleat the formation Of stardy spacmg and thinning. The first thing a farmer must do is to drain, and with valuable beet land open ditches are not economical so he must tile drain, This is imperative with soil ,whiele has a dry subsoil and the accompanying hardpan. He should plow deeply. Cultivation must be started early to break up the chats. A rotation wisely chosen, hi Inc with the best practice in his distriot should be used. A sugar beet is sub- ject to the diseases which come from the delnis of a preceding erop. During the aumraer, the farmer's ideal ahould be to •secure a steady, even growth. The only way he can secure this, given well dealned land, I s by frequent cultivation, long con- tinued. In general, authorities state, cultivation stops too soon. With the present crop, the giving a the sugar beets the best of care, along with the conservation of the sail moisture and the establishment of proper aeration, are the ptaoticed Meaaures by which the farmer may &big through a planting whieh even how looke to be in bad shape, laut with another year, the beet grower must realize that the sugar beet can't do everything and OEM 114A win against too heavy odda. Make the grefund fit fer the beet and the opening pentane° on this article will hold true. Then auger beet growing for the farmer who' practiees Modern t ultuee will be ea Ode as core grow - become contaminated -by the limited range or quarters, . • A movdd eable coop proviewith comfortaide iaosts for sleeping in ie the only house 11eeeseat7 for a ficalt of chickens turned out to grow. Two things, however, meat be supplied,— waterer :Intl some grain. For the form- er, a large sized -clrinaing fountain should be replenished daily, The grain feeding may be given by the hopper system. For some years the feeding at a dry. mash in hoppers has been very popular, especially on large farms where labor has to be con- sidered. The hopper system has orie disadvantage in the waste oa some feed. This may be reduced to a minimum by careful construction of the hopper, or by closina it entirely exeept at certain regular periods. The chief ade-antages of the hopper eye - tem are the saving of time and the lessened danger of overfeeding by use of dry mashes. A mixture that has blackbirds sat side by side and the proved satisfactory at the Central outlaw sparrows were mingling with Experimental Farm, Ottawa, consists the crowd like life-long friends. of equal parts of bran, middlings, First one bird and then another cornmeal and one-half part of fine -would make a dash at the owl, the beef scraps. Chickens let run in an common enemy. Then sonie bird orchard, root field or a field of grow - would dash away in faR cry and in a ing corn and given access to this few minutes be back with several mash with a liberal supply of water others of his kind. Blue jays, robins, will make gains at an astonishing blackbirds and catbirds all went for rate. * re-enforcernents, and then two brown A suitable feedehopper consists of thrashers and a flicker suddenly .ap- a box with a hinged top, with the bot - geared like a police reserve in answer, tom se arranged as to allow the feed to a riot call. I to aall slowly as consumed into a The allied bird fortes heaarae too trough. The trough should not pro - much for Mr. Owl, and at last he was ject wider than the side walls of the put to flight with a .majority of the hopper and should be slatted at the bird pack after him in full cry. But front so that the birds may insert the following day he again Put halals their heals without getting into the arppearance and was seen perched -on trough itself. The opening ficnn the a stake in the garden. No aooner had hopper into the trough may be ad - he lit on that stake than the battle- jueted by a thin board which may be cry of ibiniland sounded through- raised or lowered, closing or opening out the neighborhood. Once more the rallying battle -cry of allied ed brought a surprising result. From every direction came robins, jays, blackbird's, sparrows, thrushes and catbirds. . In the winking of an eye almost twenty or more birds had assembled for the battle—and the assault began. Mr. Owl, as we all know, can not see well in the daythne, and he was nearly powerless before the lightning -like dashes of his enemies. The birds would dash at him from all sides, pecking his head and picking at his eyes as they dashed past. He soon gave up his perch on the stake and flew to a dead peach tree, but the as- sault continued. He was drivenfrom the dead tree into a walnut tree and there the assault became so fierce that he wie aneocked to the ground and finally gonaway from his enemies by taking refuge in a brush pile near where he tell. . All during the day the -allied bird army kept sentries in the trees about thet brush pile and those bird sentries- the space as desired. The roof should extend well over the sides of the box to keep out ram from the feed. The box may ,be divided in, the middle and a trough constructed at each side if it is desired to use two kinds of feed in the hopper. * Care of Live Stock. In exemplification of what can be accomplished by the proper care and management of live stock it is per- haps impossiale to find a better illus- tration than that quoted by the Do- minion Minister of Agriculture, Hon. S. F. Tolraie, before the Select Stand- ing Committee of the House of Com- mons on Agriculture Mr. Tolanie's allusion was to the fact that a Hol- stein cow with & record of 32,000 lbs.' of milk in a year had been sold for $15,000. She was a ten -year-old with a little heifer calf by her side, the value d which leased- on the selling price of the previous year's 'calf was $1,000. This coir was originally sold es a coif for $150 or just one- hun- kept up a constant chatterall eley,oicho'elrhinpaeI•uofpx,4-wihsLgt tad made her care and atten- lbite "The owl must have ma escape after nightfall for I haven't w(Yrt6:. Te Mr. linie pointed out that had that cow /Teetered. scrub treat- -seen him since, nor have heard the lnent, had she been perraitted to rallying cry ed allied birddom recent- vvinter on the sunny side of a straw dye It was certainly an interesting Ade - stack arid had she been turned into bers of the bird family who Will fight monstration of how the various mem- a sheep pasture in the summer, she among themselves, will rally to a common cause (Mien their „home is in- vaded by a common enemy. Labor Saving in Poultry. Feeding. After chickens have featherecl out, much of the labor and attention nec- essary at an earlier a.ge may be over- come by the use of the hopper sys- tem of feeding. It is surprising how rapidly chickens grow if given their liberty in a cornfield or an orchard. Chickens, like other birds, will eon - swine many insects and will eat tender green things, provided these do not would still have been a $100 animal. As it was she had:;givert over 30,000 lbs. of milk annually for five succes- sive years. Exactly similar results cannot be promised in every or in any case, but it is sure and certain that proper mating in the first in- stance and care in feeding and gen- eral treatment afterwards will usu- ally bring satisfactory results. Seep all water troughs filled. Eggs that are gathered often, kept clean and 'cool, and are candled and graded, bring better prices on the market than the "just eggs" kind. The Welfare of the Home The Twilight Story Hour—By Nella Gardner White. There is, to my mind, nothing more potent for discipline or for creating confidence between a mother and hex. child than a "twilight story aeur." A daily story tune may sound like romance but it is very practical and aocomplishes more good thari.e: thou- sand scolding's. There is a storaaome. where for every phase of character growth, and any librarian will help a mother to find these stories, If theta Is no library available, there can be no better investment for the char- aeteramilding of your child than the purchase of a few good story books. The child lives in a world of fietion. Do not deprive lain of year compan- ionship in that legitimate, fascinating realm. There come in every day, small vexations, irritations because a ehild does not comprehend grown-up stan- dards or is mischievous or wilful. Never let your boy or girl go to bed with the day's tangle unsoothed, I have heard mothers say, "I'm too tired when night comes!" or "I'm go- ing out to -night, ---I can't be bother- ed." The one who "can't be bothered" perhaps does not realize that a man er a woman with breadth of, vieion and an imagination to accomplish great things may be in the making darieg that few minutes of eereeer evening. The 'mother who is tired,"—and there are so meta of thene—perhape does not know what a bleased restful/less it is to have the childtet on he lap or about the fire With her, quiet aftet the clava ex- titertieta, listeting with wide eyes to the twilight story. It is he eoething to the mother as to the ebildrea, and there is an intimacy growing out of that time which never teases to be a ,blessing in after years. You may say you have not the time to loam stories;—would reading them do as well? For a store of reasons it would not. If you are really desirous of the best for your 'children and are- ooking for some way to make a beautiful harmony out of your Eves together, you. will find the time. It does not take more than a few min- utes to read a Story, and you tan go, over it in your -mind while you are Washing the dishes, or preparing the 'vegetables for dinner. Perhaps the longest time required) is in choosing the right story to tell at the right time. As you study these stories, you will find that your own character le eat - pending too. There is a lesson for grownups in all the old fairy tales and in many of the new ones-. The story hour will keep your imagina- tion from ,becoming dulled, it will quicken your sense of humor'it will Make you young with your Children and better able to enter into every nook and meanly of their child life. Do not thitik that this method of diseiplining ie too indirect, that the moral d the story will be lost in the interest of the story itself. It has beeh proved repeatedly that this ie not true, even when it may seem so at first. Be consistent at the etoty-telling if you undertake it, Do not de it one night end neglect it the next. Make it a leert of evoty clay and it Avill soon ao ti e the sweateet, Most testful ee nie both to yourself and e sear Growling, Grading, and Selling 'Ern Right Makes My Apple Business Pay BY GEORGE T; GRANT Whtin anyone -asks inc what is th keynote -el -suoceseful orcharding, say it is, priecipally, efficient market ing. There are many other factor of almost equal importance, but the knack of keeping your product on th iarkestmeicsests,he thing that will build your ri By that I don't mean that you can put an inferior fruit on the market and by tricky selling make,a negleet- ed orchard' pay, What I want to con- vey is that, unless you have the right kind of a sales campaign'you won't make a fair profit even though you grow superior fruit. Once you learn to grow quality fruit—or any other farm product, for that matter—sell it on a quality basis. It's worth more, and you can get the price if you only use good salesman- ship. Standardize your product eo that it will earn 11. reputation on that point in the market centres where it can ,comenand recognition. To grow the right kind of fruit and to get the right market, there are two things an orchardist absolutely must have. They are training and capital. An orchard involves quite an in- vestment, and it takes time to get results, so it's easy to see Where capital is needed. When the trees do get to bearing, it's great; but you had better have something else to fall back on while waiting for the fruit 'crop to materialize. Oreharding is getting to be a more seien Mc business every- day, just like all other branohes of farming, but it requires greater teelnucal knewledge and 'closer attention than grain or livestock farming. You can't just plant your trees, let them grow up, and then harvest your crop. It takes continual watching, or eome- thing may go wrong that will either set you back or ruin your entire orchard. Then, when you do get your trees to bearing good fruit, half of your problem remains to be solved-._ mthaartof getting your fruit on the market. And, in ,conclusion, let me repeat: Make aquality product, standardize it, andwilen sell it on a quality basis. Quality always commands a premium and nowhere is this truer than in orchaeding. Grade carefully, even though you have but a few barrels of apples to sell. It will pay. After a few years of careful grading and standardizing you will become known, and you will have no trouble finding buyers who are willing to make your trouble well worth your while. Adnertising counat itiat as 11111.Ch in the farming game as in any other beithineebuy ss.Ie6;-kunpowwhat°tbet 'fkrd erof a to l product he has to sell. In every her - rel of nay apples 1 pet leaflets telling about my product This is an inea- penseve and effective way to get pub- licity. The man who opens a barrel of apples from ray orchard is first impressed by the quality and uni- formity of the fruit. He finds the leaflet and reads it, and it helps him remember me and my apples. Per- haps he orders from me direct the next time, for he knows any apples and probably doesn't know any other grower's. Try this out for 'yourself and watch it bring results. Picking, packing, and grading re- quire a lot ef extra labor, but -timel- ier I have little trouble getting it. Pickers will work at reasonable wages but good graders are scarce and dernand higher pay. It is ex- pensive, but it pays in the end, and is absolutely necessary when you are working for a quality product. It is only by eraploying the most skillful graders, and by exercising the great- est care in packing, that I am able to guarantee my apples and thus top the market with thern. Five years running without a single complaint ehows that we have been suocessful in this. Now and then a tvormey apple will get by, but slips like this are re- duced to a minimum. The apples I grow are highly color- ed and of good flavor, comparing, I think, very favorably with the best M the land. Every barrel I ship bears my brand, auri in addition has a slip on the inside with my trade mark, _name, and address. I also dis- tribute a little booklet whioh gives a ,brief history of the ap' ple an tells why more Ahould be eaten. It includes several practical recipes for cooking apples, and in a prominent place I e give the following ten reasons why I apples' should he bought by every- ; fb°1d(S: advantages as a staple diet are mener, e It is easily prepared. Its keeping qualities are wonderful It is a food, tonic, 'condiment, and cosmetic all in one. It is an excellent substitute for higher priced foods. No part of it is wasted. It is a friend to health and a foe to diseaee. It food properties are as great as those of meat. The phosphorus in it renews the nerve forces. And, best of all, the Grant orchaad produces the apple "with the taste," One of rny pet beliefs is keeping trees in good shape—open-headed and low, so that they can be easily stray- ed and pruned.. It is easier to gather the fruit, too. I have cut some dis- eased or mieshapen trees back so that everybody, including experts, pre - dieted that they would surely die. True'I have lost a few trees in this but way, ut usually I am able to save them and make -them over into good - shaped trees. I superintend this pruning Very closely, and the partic- ular jobs I always do myself. The boys are learning, also, and Willie, the oldest, wields a saw and a priming knife with good effect on the been , branches. Every wound is protected I with tree paint. This is yery im- portant, as otherwise disease or rot may start, and possibly ruin the tree. It doesn't pay to take 'chances with a valuable tree that requires years„ to grow into bearing size. , I start spraying with a power sprayer as soon as the bads, begin to show pink in the spring, using a mix- ture of lime -sulphur and arsenate of lead to get any insects that might have escaped the first dose. The third treatment is sixteen to eighteen days after the blossoms fall, and consists ,ef lime -sulphur aa()Xle. The fourth and last spraying is timed according to the latex broods of the codling moth, and eonsists of arsenate of lead only. We determine the Proper time by capturing a few mothsfound under the tree bands and cortning them under burlap seeks on the tree. When the. seemed crop of moths pupates, we spray within eleven days, d. anusually clean up that nuisance ingood shape. Only by carefully watching the confined moths can the proper time for spraying be determined. Guelsing won't do. Then,' too, every five years ,we spray with liene-ealphur " in winter, while the trees are,dormant, ineerder to get the ' 'Te - ,By using engine power wherever hand. e'Blesgieciteselipmngy withoern-esPsrtaeyaedl, which 1 m.entioned before, I have an engine pump in my spray house which pumps water into my mixing tanks, This eaves much time and work, as the engine will work Sundays or nights without having to be watched, as an automatic device shuts the en- gine off when the tank is lull. In my feed house I have aziother engine which grinds feed, rune a grindstone, cuts woad, and does many other odd chores. I have a ligh t truck to haul my fruit to market, and while we haven't a tractor yet, we expect to get one within a few years. We have electric lights in our home. Also, we have an automatic pump which keeps our home pressure tank full all the time -without any other attention flan an occasional oiling, which make's it poseible to have hot and cold: rtuming water in batlatoom and kitchen. This all takes little trouble and the upkeep, is 'small. Let no opportunity pass to adver- tise. By this 1 don't meanfull-page ads in the big dailies and magazines. That kind of adereeasing doesn't pay 'unless your business is enornaous ancl you have a lot to sell. What you can do, though, is to have an attractive brand and put it on every barrel oe erate you ship. You can put a sign out by the roadside that will tell the passer-by what you have to sell. You oan use a farm letterhead,thatevvill be a real credit to your businees. You can, at a small expense, have some leaflets printed (which yen can dis- tribute to buyers and prospective ' buyers. And soon you will have a demand for your product greater than you can fill. The Keeping of Poultry. If resident in either town or coun- try and you wish to know how best to keep poultry. and 'Recut° the most !satisfactory results, consult a pam- phlet treating of the subject prepared by the Dominion Poultry Hushanda man, F. 0. Elford, and recently issued by the Department of Agriculture at Ottawa, The pamphlet can be had free on application to the Peblications Branch. It tells of how poultry can be made to pay, how the birds ehould be housed and fed, how they should be treated in winter and summer, how to commenee keeping in a small way, the equipmett that is desirable, how to choose a breed, how to hatch and rear, and how to gather, keep, or rimeket the ego. In short, MI the essentials bo success in Dietary keeping• for home consumption or selling are clearly and explicitly explained, In the terzn poultry are ineleded turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowls and pig- eons, the raising and care of which are fully discussed. Numerous illus- trations of types of birds, and of methods d housing and feeding con- tribute to make the pamphlet an in- valuable eompenclitne on poultry - keeping and marketing. - • Water is not the only need of live stock daring the hot weittliet; they) should have a supply d salt' before!, them. nverything We get hi lite ,conies through the gateway .of our thought and re- sembles its quality. If that is pinched, stingy, friem'4 what flows to us will he like it.