Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1905-09-08
PESTS DESTROYING
FARM CROPS
South ern Oregon Getting All the
Pests OF World and Farmers
Must Fight Them.

r. Carter who has farm on Evans
creek above Winner, was in Grants
Pass Wednesday. Mr.. Garter in ad-
dition to other crops grows onions and
beans These crops have heretofore
proven quite profitable but pest has
made such inroads on his onions that
he will have to cease their cultivation
unless the pest can be eradicated.
From patch that two years ago
Mr.. Carter harvested 1900 pounds of
fine onions this year he only got "a
sacks and most of them so badly in
jured by the pest as to be almost uu-
salable. Mr.. Carter brought to the
Courier office several onions that are
affected with the pest. The onions
are quite large and of fine shape and
would sell at good price did they
not have decayed spot on the bot
tom Of each. The pest, which is
evidently fungus, attacked the
onions just as they are completing
their growth and causes a decay that
first destroys the roots and then
spreads up into the b'dy of the onion
producing dry rot that in a month
or so destroys the onion As to the
cause of the pest, or how it was in
troduced into his field MI. Carter has
no knowledge. He first noticed the
pest two years ago, but it did little
damage to his onion crop. Last year
it destroyed fully half the crop and
this year he lost practically the
whole of his onions.
This experience of Mr.. Carter's is
another proof that farmers institutes
should be held at least once each year
in every farming district in Oregon.
Had there been farmers institutes in
this section and had Mr.. Carter at
tended and have heard Prof. Cordley
the entomologIst at the State Ag-
ricultural College and who has the
reputation of being one of the best
posted men in the United States on
the various pests that destroy the
farmers crops, give the addresses that
he does on how to identify and how to
combat the pests it is quite probable
that instead of being driven out of
onion growing with a financial loss
Mr.. Carter would be continuing
growing what has been one of his
most profitable crops. Rogue River
Valley through its isolation, has been
very free from the multitude of pests
that are now so plentiful in all the
older farming districts of the country
but that favored condition is thing
of the past, for through the importa.
tion of seed fruits and the straw aud
other stuff used in packing goods all
the insect fungus and weed pests Cf
the United States, Europe and Asia
are now to be found in Southern
Oregon. These pests are certain to
render farming Improbable to the
asy-going progressive man but
they will prove 70 be no serious
handicap to the farmer who is pro-
gressive and who attends farmers IN
stitutes and keeps posted on all the
methods of identifying and combat.
ting them,
The onions from Mr Carter field
will be taken to the farmers institute
in this city, Saturday, for the use of
Prof. Cordley in explaining the nature
of the pest aud to how eradicate it.
Prof Cordley requests that those at
tending the institutes at Grants Pass,
Eagle Point, Jacksonville, Provolt
and Kerby, bring with them speci-
mems Of all the pests that are known
to exist in their section, also to bring
specimens Of diseased fruit, vegeta-
bles and trees Many persons are not
able to identify even the common
pests in their orchard and field and
with specimens Prof. Cordley will
be aLle to give them instructions that
will enable them to recognize their
enemies, aud to know how to drive
them fr ON their farms.