Heppner gazette. [volume] (Heppner, Morrow County, Or.) 1892-1912, 1911-08-10
HOGS AND HORSES
NEED OF FARMERS
DR.. Witty combe Says Di.
versified Farming best
For Columbia Basin
Oregonian, August Z.

8 better farming methods, smaller anI
p better cultivated farms and the produc
tion of wheat. field peas, hogs, draf
horses and poultry will make the Colum
bia River Basin one of the most pros
porous sections Of tie state" said Dr.
James Withycombe, director of the Agri.
cultural Experiment Station at Corvallis,
at the Imperial last night.
DR.. Withycombe has Just returned
from Moro, Sherman county, where he
passed several DAYS inspecting the work
Of the branch experiment station of 225
acres at that point. He is very enthusi-
astic over the agricultural possibilities
OF the county, provided the farmers ap-
ply improved methods to the cultivation
of their crops. Sherman county, he de-
clared, will produce this year about
100000 bushels Of grain, OF go per cent
of normal crop.
"This year Winter wheat Turkish
red), grown under field conditions, yield
ed % 26 bushels an acre, although the
season was one of the dryest in the his.
tory of the country" said DR.. Witty
combe, discussing the results of the ex-
pertinent station demonstrations at
Moro.
ITO show the difference in farming
methods, the wheat cropin another field
directly across the road from the expe-
riment station field was SO poor that it
will not be harvested. The failure of
this crop was due to the poor system of
farming employed and failure to con-
serve the moisture. The wheat in the
experiment station farm at Moro was the
only wheat l saw in Sherman county
that was long enough to bind
"The Moro station has $50 experiment
tai plats used for variety tests, in which
are included 70 varieties OF wheat, corn,
sorghum, kaffir corn, and emmer. The
station has field of black emmer that
promises to yield 50 bushels an acre.
This crop makes splendid feed forswine.
cattle and horses. There are also I5O
acres in connection with the station
where crops are grown under strictly
farming conditions.
'The most gratifying experiments OF
the year we're with the field pea. While
not yet threshed, a conservative esti-
mate fixes the yield of this crop at be-
tween Is and 20 bushels an acre. TAX
ing the minimum estimate, this means
a little more than 200 pounds of pork an
acre, worth at the present market price,
$14. This is acquired without the ex.
penses of harvesting, as the hogs attend
to gathering the crop and will leave the
land in better condition for wheat pro-
duction than bare summer fallow.
"There are splendid opportunities for
farming in the Columbia River basin
along different lines from those hereto
fore followed. The farmers OF that sec
ton should no longer depend wholly on
wheat. While wheat should and always
will be the dominant crop, yet hogs,
draft horses and poultry should be I'M
portant factors in the agriculture Of the
section. sm quite sure IL the farmers
Of sherman county will take up the line
Of farming have suggested, their reve-
nues will be double what they are now
receiving from their land.
"For instance, the horses on the farm
should be brood mares. Each mare
could raise a frst-class colt each year
and still assist in the farm work virtual !
ly as well as a gelding. This would give
the farmer young horses to sell all the ]
time and provide an important revenue
for the farm. By growing field peas IN
rotation with wheat, Sherman county
can be made one Of the greatest hog
in the West, Itisalso an ideal
country for poultry. The poultry on {
each farm should be made to supply the
revenue for both the house