Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1895-03-23
SCIENCE IN FARMING.
Agricultural College Professors Talk
Scientific Farming at Garfield.
They Tell the Best Fruits to Raise
Dairying for Profit.

GARFIELD, March 18.-Professor Balm
er. professor of horticulture, and Profess
sor Spillman, professor OF agriculture, at
the Pullman agricultural college, lee
tured Saturday afternoon and evening
in the Christian church here.
Beginning at 80, Professor Balmer
spoke nearly two hours, devoting much
of his time to the apple, which he re-
CARDS not only as the best of fruits, but
the one to which the country is best
adapted. He gave history of the fruit
and stated that although a native of
Europe, America raised better fruit and
had introduced more good varieties than
the old countries. But the area suitable
to it's production is limited, while the
market is worldwide. Western New
York, part of each of the peninsulas of
Michigan, little of central Illinois, and
the Ozark mountains, embrace all the
good apple territory in the United States
outside of this northwest,
He illustrated the methods Of propa-
eating certain species, grating and bud
ding, and explaining minutely how to
plant, cultivate and prune. Do not
plant less than 80 feet apart, he says,
and &c is better. Never plant an or
chard without plowing both with the
common and subsoil plow. Never raise
anything else in the orchard, although
root crops do no particular harm while
the orchard is Young. Prune severely
for three years, compelling the tree to
grow in.the shape you want it. Then it
will almost care for itself.
He strongly advised farmers to grow
their own trees, because it is so nearly
impossible to get trees from nurserymen
which are grated on whole roots. While
tree grated on piece root, if it does
not blow over, will live from Is to 20
years, one on a whole root will live from
80 to so years.
His eager listeners piled him contin-
ually with questions, leaving no point
until it was thoroughly understood. In
ans Yer to request to name the best
apples to grow here for market, he gave
the following: Baldwin, Ben Davis,
Esopus Spitzenburg, FallaWater, John
athan, Mother, Yellow Newtown Pippin,
Northern Spy, King OF Tompkins Coun-
ty, Wagner, Winesap, Yellow Bellfower.
There is more demand for and more
profit from Ben Davis than anv 10 other
varieties, but grown by itself it is liable
not to fertilize its blossoms and be bar
ren.
For an orchard for home use he rec
commended the following: Alexander,
Mother, Esopus Spitzenburg, Maiden's
Blush, Keswick Goblin, Fameuse, JEFF
fries, Wealthy. Bailey's Sweet and Lord
Sut1ield. While these are all fine apples,
many of them will not bear shipment.
Pears, he thinks, will do well here, ae
will plums, but he fears the season is too
short for the prune.
Professor Spillman gave the results of
their experiments in feeding wheat to
hogs. With chopped wheat an increose
of II pounds was made for each bushel
fed until the animals weighed about 200
pounds each, after which the increase
was not 30 great. Whole wheat pro-
duced about two pounds less per bushel,
VIII lie that fed in the sheaf was almost
entirely wastod. He did not advise any
one to go into hog raising extensively,
but advised each farmer to raise a few.
His remedy for weeds, as we'll as every
other i'll to which soil is heir, is rotation
Of crops. That OF itself compels mixed
farming.
Dairying, however, the professor says,
is his hobby, and he believes it will be
the salvation Cor many a mortgage
cursed farmer. The lack of pasturage
was promptly urged against his PROPOSE
tion to which he replied that If this ever
became a frst-class dairy country we
would use no pastures, for with soiling
crops we could produce three or four
times as much milk from the same
ground as with pastures, but if one
pastures he is thoroughly satisfied that
bromus inermis will fill every require
ment. He advised no farmer to make
butter, but to have some COWS, get better
ones as they could, keep selling off the
poorer ones and sell the cream. The