The Dalles daily chronicle. [volume] (The Dalles, Or.) 1890-1948, 1891-10-10
ELowgRlNe VEGETATION.
The Farmer and Fruit Grower should
Look into This Question.

Tne FARMER and Fruit Grower Should
Look into This Question.
There are many small points of con-
siderable value in the culture of crops.
plants and fruits which are overlooked.
1t has been determined by experiments
that Towering is quite an exhaustive
process, especially the maturing of pol
len. An analysis of the pollen of nearly
all plants proves it to be rich in food
properties, such as animal life receives
nutrition from. Myriads of insects find
the bulk of their food in the pollen of
flowers. The honey bee is only one out
of the many. Wild bees, such as wasps,
hornets and many others, find their
principle food in it. So also do numer-
ons species of ground beetles and many
other insects. It's food elements are
more nearly like those of flesh than com
mon vegetable matter
Nearly all plants mature an immense
amount of pollen and this requires a
great amount of plant food or nutrition
to formulate it. Strawberries are an
example. Common Indian corn is an
other. 1t has its pistils on the stalks
where the ear forms. Its stamin is in
the tassels at the head of the stalks
where the pollen grains are formed. The
whole mass requires large amount of
plant food to mature them Careful ex-
periments have proven that if in a large
field half the stalks have the tassels-the
pollen bearing organs-cut out as soon
as they can be seen the yield of corn will
be 10 to 90 per cent. greater than if the
pollen was allowed to mature. These
facts apply to many other plants. I'm
fortunately (perhaps) with most plants
the pollen and pistils are both in the
same flower and we cannot interfere.
In numerous other plants and trees the
male and female organs are strictly con-
fined to different individuals, the male
bearing pollen only, the female seeds
only. The vigor of the female plant is
left wholly to the production of fruit,
and such usually mature vast amount
without loss of vitality They seem to
fail, however, if not supplied plentifully
with pollen. The hop vine is such an
example. Many hop yards are weak in
vitality solely for lack of sufficient male
vines in the vicinity. Such yard fall an
easy prey to insects and diseases. MANY
varieties of the grape vine have this
same characteristic in q more limited
form. No one knows this better than
the experimentor who has grown vast
numbers of vines from seed to fruiting
age. About 10 per cent of lot of seed
llngs will be strictly staninate or male
giving no fruit, only pollen. The others.
like all plants with polygamous flowers, |
will some of them have both sets of or
gans fully developed and mature both
pollen and fruit. These usually fail
from too great strain on their vitality. /
while others strongly pistillate and grow
ing near males and in reach of plenty of |
pollen, will fruit grandly. Such vine
planted by itself with no male vine near
soon loses its vigor and becomes quite |
worthless.
Common fruit trees such as the apple. |
cherry, plum, ETC., having the male and |
female organs in the same flower at
times bloom enormously. This so ex-
hausts them that they fail to hold the
young fruit. In instances it all falls, |
which proves that the production of pol !
len exhaust vitality. In the potato we
find the same facts bst the crop is af-
fected in different way, as has been I
proven by many observers. With the !
potato the crop we are after is the tuber,
q WIN VI SIOllIlQ SI6ll.
The fruit proper and flowers are pro- /
duced above the ground as in other
plants. Some varieties, in peculiar eli
mates (and such are generally fine for
tuber production) flower abundantly and /
mature great crops of potato balls, +"
filed with numerous good seed Now,
if all these flower buds are nipped off as I
soon as they are visible as rule the pro-
duct will be increase 80 to 100 per cent.
Such varieties have to mature the pollen I
and seeds and also the tuber.
The writer was in potato patch rel
Gently in a grand potato country. There /
was one stalk carrying seven punches of /
potato balls with from seven to fifteen
large fine balls in each bunch. This
sounds big but they were there. The !
owner was asked if he had tested nip
ping off the flower buds He said he
had and that it increased the yield 75 /
per cent. of that particular variety. Ee .
had neglected to to remove them this !
season. Hnkering with these little 1
things sometimes pays.
How to Cure RattIesnaIxe Bite.
Out of many experimental with, the !
following receipt has proved the greater
success: Iodide of potassium grains T