The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-08-15


fishers are E. H.
Shepard and E. A. Franz. The paper
is filled with good matter and is well
gotten up. The illustrations are good.
In fact, the paper is to contain beauti-
full half-tones We wish our neighbour
abundant success and hope to have the
paper on our exchange list.
Friend A. T. Richardson, of North
Yakima, Wash, under date of July %,
has this to say about the English
sparrow: "This pest has obtained
foothold in North Yakima and if half
of what some people claim for him is
true, we will have another codling
moth on our hands against which
spraying will not avail. l know this
sparrow only as city nuisance and
have yet to see his performance in a
fruit orchard If it is as bad as rep
resented, the fruit growers should
know what is up and perhaps they can
head him off," l am not very we'll &C
quainted with the English sparrow.
Like friend Richardson, l know it only
as "city nuisance" In fact, l think
it city dude, but, like the non-feather-
ed dude it is not only useless in the
country but nuisance also. The worst
objection to this bird is that it drives
away the useful birds. 1t is hard
bird to eradicate and it is doubtful II
we can get entirely free of 1t, once 1t
has got foothOld. l do not think it
will ever be comparable to the cod
ling moth in it's destruction of fruit.
Let us hear from others who know OF
the ravages of this bird in the orch
ard. How can we head it off if it be-
comes a menace to our fruits?
Mrs. Arthur Gum, of Langley,
Wash, writes under date of July "a as
follows: Enclosed please find sam
pie of a parasite which we find in our
grass and clover. The neighbors call
it 'dodder'. Can you tell us what to do
to get rid of it," l was away from
home when Mrs. Gums letter reach
ed The Ranch Office and by the time
got possession of it the Enclosed sam
pie was pretty we'll dried up. But l
think there is no doubt but it is dOd-
der We have some of this parasite
in our alfalfa fields in Yakima county,
but it has never proved to be SER
ious pest. 1t is thought to have been
introduced in the alfalfa seed coming
from certain sections of our country,
particularly from Colorado. If no seed
is allowed to ripen it will soon dlsap-
pear. We cut our alfalfa when in
bloom and before the seed has ripen-
ed and thus the dodder is not repro
duced. If we were to grow alfalfa
seed for market we would have to be
careful to have no dOdder in 1t.
do not think that the people having
this parasite in their grass will have
much trouble with it If they cut 1t
early, before the seed is mature.
am in receipt of a letter from a
prominent man in New York City,
which gives a deserved rap to the
tendency to overdo things in writing
about our country. I quote him in
part as follows: 1--WE get good many
conflicting reports from that region
and it is hard to tell just what is right
1t would look to me that some of you
good people at Spokane and other
places have started out on campaign
of education, determined to boom your
country III every PoSSioie way
is all right, but, of course, when they
talk about fruit and fruit crops, we
naturally understand that they are
putting their best foot forward and
the constant practice of doing this
makes a great difference between the
best foot and the poorest foot. Some
times our people in the east go out
there, expecting to keep step with the
best foot and find themselves soundly
kicked by the worst foot, so | would
like to know for the benefit of our