Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1906-02-16
REPORT OF DIRECTOR.
Extract From the Sixteenth AM
nuaI Report of OAC.

The sixteenth animal report of
the Oregon Agricultural College
and Experiment Station has just
come from the college presses. 1t
is a very comprehensive report.
From it we reprint an excerpt of
the report, of DR.. James Witty
combe, director of the Expert
ment Station as follows:
GENERAL AGRICULTURE.
The endeavors of the agricul-
tura1 department were largely de-
voted to rotation systems of crop
ping, soiling, dairy cows and al
falfa investigations. For several
seasons the station has secured
gratifying results from two gen.
eral systems of crop rotation; a
four year rotation with corn,
wheat and two years of clover,
and an alternating system with
vetch and spring grain.
For the past three seasons the
Station has conducted investiga-
ticns to the feasibility of soiling
dairy cows with the result that in
1909 two acres of alfalfa and one
acre of crimson clover yielded
o5,744 pounds of green forage,
or sufficient to feed 10 COWS tor
I27 days. In 1904 two acres of
alfalfa and two acres of vetch and
winter rye yielded 1865 pounds
of green feed or sufficient to
maintain 10 dairy cows 1o6 days.
In addition the two acres of vetch
yielded second crop of fifteen
bushels of seed. This year two
acres of alfalfa, one acre of vetch
and rye and four-ffths of an acre
of vetch and winter oats yielded
Io7, $40 pounds of green forage,
or sufficient to maintain 10 cows
for 143 days. The two acres of
alfalfa will yield one and proba-
bly, two more light cuttings this
season. An acre of this land
would scarcely furnish sufficient
pasturage for one COW for four
months. Thus it will be seen
that soiling is economy of land.
INVESTIGATIONS OF FORAGE
| PLANTS.
| Considerable attention has
been given to alfalfa and from re-
suits obtained thus far it is evil
dent that this forage plant can be
successfully grown on large areas
o. land in the Western portion OF
the State. Experiments are un-
der way with the use of lime at
the rate Of one ton per acre; also
with treated seed by means of
cultures of bacteria secured from
the National Department of Agri-
culture as against the use of i'm
pregnated soil.
The Station has supplied dur
ing the past year 4, 400 pounds OF
inoculated soil to FL farmers and
has sent out 3 packages of treat
ed seed for cooperative work.
For several years an effort has
, been made to hnd good pasture
f grass, one that would afford some
growth during the dry season.
It is found by experiment that
the grasses known as Oregon
evergreen and Festuca arund-
inacea are both we'll adapted ts
the heavy clay soils of this sec
> ton and promise to be excellent
pasture grasses.
Work in the selection of vetch
with a high protein content is
continued, also with the testing
of new varieties of forage plants.
ANIMAL HUsBANDRY.
In addition to soiling expert.
. !, ments with dairy cows and young
stock, two digestion experiment:
> were conducted with four ami
mails with vetch hay and corr
= silage. The results of this worl
were published in Bulletin IS.
!, !, Two feeding experiments wer'
1 conducted with swine. Tel
; shoates of the same age and breee
were divided into two lots. Lo
= I was fed ground wheat and con
: sumed in 76 days 2.457 pounds
. gained SIS pounds. Grain cou
sumed for one pound gain in liz
> weight, ATT pounds. Lot W.
n fed ground barley and consume
! in Is days 2,527 pounds, gainet