Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1913-12-15
PEARS, VETCHES, SOILS
o. H. BarnhilI Visits the Talent Ex-
pertinent Station and Secures
Some Interesting InfOrma-
tion Concerning These
Matters.

from fall till spring, alternating lik,
frog or bear. 1t would be a goot
deal more profitable to get out anC
look around the valley, observin.
what others are doing and findinl
out what they have learned durins
the past season.
The experiment station at Talen
is a good place to visit on such {
trip. 1t is located between Inspector
Smiths Lone Oak nursery and the
poor farm, which isn't such a pool
farm as its name indicates. The
north-bound visitor who can get by
Smiths place without being treated
for blight or sold a bill of trees will
find cordial welcome at the expert
ment station. This is an entirely
safe place to visit, because the gen.
ial director, F. c. Reimer, doesn't
experiment on human beings, but
upon such helpless things as vetches
and pear trees. He has over 400
varieties of the latter growing on
the station grounds. He is familiar
with each of them, just as a poultry
man is with Plymouth Rock hens and
Poland China eggs.
One would thing that 400 kinds
of pears would about exhaust the
list, but 200 more have been ordered,
and when the assortment is complete
it will comprise something like 500
different varieties, making the Tai
ent station the worlds greatest pear
experiment grounds. :,
why plant so many kinds of
pears?" the farmers ask Are we
expected TO go and do likewise?''
Not at all. The Talent station is not
a model farm, although it is aimed
to do all the work in a model way,
but an institution established and
maintained for purely experimental
purposes. Commercial orchardists
are advised to confine their opera
tions to from two to five varieties.
The purpose of planting the noble
400 is to find, if possible, better va
rieties than those now grown in this
locality. Each of the leading sorts
has some serious fault For instance,
the Bartlett blights badly, the Com
ice is shy bearer, the Clairgeau is
poor quality and the Winter Nelis is
very slow to come into bearing. 1t
is hoped to find variety which is
more blight resistant than any now
grown in this country and which
shall have all the other characters
tics of first-class variety. Most of
the trees now being experimental
with were imported from Europe,
where there has not been enough
blight to determine the resistant
qualities of the various varieties
grown there.
1t is a well-known horticultural
fact that the same variety Of fruit
will grow quite different in different
localities. Many of these imported
sorts are expected to develop traits
and characteristics unknown to their
European growers An example OF
what may be expected along this line
is furnished by the President Druard
pear, French variety which is prov
ing quite valuable in western Wash
ington, although not considered OF
any particular value in the old coun-
try.
Professor Reimer has conducted a
small side line of soil experiments,
with astonishing results. When it
was suggested that the soils of the
valley might be profitably treated
with commercial fertilizers the peo-
pie received the statement with skep-
ticsm and ridicule, which in some
cases amounted to open hostility.
The idea of our soils, which had been
bcomed and boosted as the richest in
the world, needing anything in the
fertilizing line was plainly repugnant
to the people. Professor Reimer,
however knew that some of the soils
needed something and he determined
to find out what it was. Acid phos-
phate, properly called superphos-
phate, was applied to number of
orchard and alfalfa plots at the rate
of 800 pounds per acre, the material
costing $25 per ton. Trees did not
appear to be benefited, probably be-
cause the roots thereof are lone
enough to draw supplies from the
subsoil, rendering theme more or less
Independent of surface soil condi.
tions. Some of the alfalfa plots
were not affected, because they did
MT happen to need any phosphate
but other plots showed astonishing
results, the yield being increased 80
so, 100, and in one instance 500 pei
cent. One of the former skeptics has
bought enough phosphate to feed five