Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1909-07-16
FARM TRAINS A SUCCESS
First Tour of Western Washing
ton Made by State College
A Winner

the department Of horticulture.
have returned from Western
Washington where they spent
some time with the first farm de-
monstration trains run in that
part of the state. Professor
Thatcher gives the following re-
port of the trip:
THE State College farm de-
monstration train which toured
western Washington on the lines
of the Northern Pacific, the Great
Northern, and Bellingham Bay &
British Columbia railways from
June Dist to July Bird stopped
at fifty towns and cities of the
western region, reaching 1870
people on the Northern Pacific,
I5.015 on the Great Northern, and
l ,065 on the B. B. & B. C.
Western Washington problems
which are Of closest interest to the
inhabitants of the farming com
munities are those relating to
dairying and horticulture. The
subjects that were discussed in
connection with dairying, includ-
ed the construction of sanitary
dairy barns, the care of milk, prop
err and improper methods Of but
ter and cheese-making, germ life
in the milk, dairy feeding, and a
great diversity of other problems
of equal interest
1.-The range of the horticultural
discussions was very broad, and in
many cases the lecturers were
obliged to spend most of their
time answering questions. One
class OF inquiries that never failed
to come up related to top-working
and grating in old orchards. this
being one Of the extremely import
ant factors of western Washing
ton horticulture. In some cases
Professor Thornber advised the
people to top-work, graft and
otherwise rejuvinate their old or
chards, putting in more desirable
varieties OF fruit. In other cases.
where the orchards were very old,
and badly infested with pests and
disease, he advised them to destroy
their old fruit plantations, and set
out new, up-to-date orchards.
AT every stop farmers boarded
the train with specimens of or
chard, berry, and flower diseases,
and insect pests, asking that the
specimens be identified and advice
given as to their treatment. In
Ireciting their experience in COM
batting different pests, the orchard
lists told of many improper prac-
tees. One man brought aboard
bush badly infested with tent cat
erpillars. He said he had been adj
vised to gather the tents and de-
stroy them, but that this had fail
ed. Questioning elected the fact
that he had been gathering the
tents in the day time when the
caterpillars are out feeding on the
green foliage. The only discom-
fort that had been imposed upon
the caterpillars had been COMPEL
ing them to reconstruct their
dwelling places, or tents. ;"
Elsewhere more serious errors
were discovered. Scores of or
chardists and berry growers were
found using kerosene emulsion, a
spray that kills by coming in con-
tact with the insect, when arse
nate of lead was needed, the lat
ter being poison which kills by
being eaten. In discussing mis-
takes Of this kind it developed
that the orchardists had failed to
discover in studying the habits of
the pests they sought to kill, how
they took their food whether eat
ing it, or sucking it, or sucking it
from beneath the outer bark.
Professor Thornber and Law
renee pointed out that insects that
chew their food usually have a
tough, resistant outer covering, or
"epidermis" which cannot be
withered up by the action of the
contact sprays, such as kerosene
emulsion or whale oil and quassia,
and must be poisoned; that in
sects, such as the aphides, that
take their food by inserting a
small, proboscis-like process be-
meath the skin of the plant and
sucking out the sap, cannot be de-
stroped by poison put on the bark,
but must be withered up by con-
tact sprays, such as kerosene, or
whale oil and quassia.
Mistakes of this kind, though
easily avoided, were nevertheless
found to be responsible for the loss
of time, energy, and thousands of