Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-10-17

1
easily be made into relative numbers
for special purposes II 1t is desired. and
| can be based on prices for any year or
period.
The government statisticians who have
| been engaged in the study of index
numbers express the hope that the
price-measuring devices now used,
principally by statisticians and students
will become better and better known to
| the vast body of citizens and voters.
| since they throw more light than any
other known device on the important
economic movements that are bound up
closely with legislation and daily life.
Already. 1t is shown, the various index
| numbers from different sources all In
dictate, at least approximately. the chief
| changes in prices, though they diner In
| some ways. The belief is expressed
that further study and refinement of
| method will make the prtce-measuring
scale more nearly exact.
A unique establishment that might
be called government bug hatchery"
but which is officially
Studying known as the eastern field
r-...t. station Of the branch Of
So's' forest insects Of the bu-
reau Of entomology. is maintained by
the Agricultural Department of the
federal government in the edge Of the
Virginia village Of Falls Church, a few
| miles from the National Capital. It has
been the means, since its establishment
| in 1912, Of the solution Of many prob
lens that have been vexing telephone
and telegraph companies, mine owners
and other large users Of timber at
tackled by insects, as well as foresters
| manufacturers of forest products, mu-
nicipal park authorities and individual
owners of wood lots.
In addition to administrative build
ings and laboratories, the field station
| has four outdoor insectaries equipped
with apparatus that is roughly the
counterpart for insect rearing OF the
better known incubators and brooders
OF the poultry plant. In these have
of the station approximately 10000
specimens Of moths, butterflies. saw
flies. ants, parasitic wasps, bees, vari-
GUS two-winged flies and beetles, which,
furious to trees and timber. or which
In some cases, strangely enough, are
beneficial.
In order to have at hand forest ma
terial for carrying on the experiments
trees has been established at the sta
ton. representing twenty-five species
OF contfers and eight species of hard
woods. Many Of the experiments car
lated to the effectiveness of various
preservatives in preventing attacks on
wood by boring insects, and results
have been secured that have been Inn
mediately reflected in money saving by
large users of woods. No less valuable
have been the new processes worked
out for protecting shade trees and
ornamental shrubs from their vora-
cious insect enemies.
In carrying out It's irrigation projects
the federal government is not merely
constructing works
irrigation that will make pos
Development. water the .e t tha th,y.t or
soil. and then leaving to their own de-
vices settlers who have been attracted
to the reclaimed areas. It has been
recognized, instead, that the completion
of the engineering activities is only
setting of the stage for crop produc-
ton; and on many of the projects, in
addition to the government agents who
have remained to operate and maintain
the works. there are others who have
assumed the much needed role of stage
director.
One of the federal activities after the
dams and canals have been completed
has been the establishment on six of
the projects of experimental farms
through which the peculiar problems
incident to the particular climatic soil,
up with a view to the working out of
the most practicable and most profit
able agricultural system for the local
ity. second step has been the assign
strators who seek to have the farmers
themselves adopt the improved methods
that have been worked out, and to turn
their activities into channels that have
been found to be most desirable.
This double machinery for bringing
scientific agricultural methods directly
to the man of the soil would have been
valuable, the Department of Agricul-
ture believes. with any group of farm
ers: but it was almost a necessity on
the irrigation projects, owing to the
fact that many of the settlers attracted
to them had been clerks, professional
men. mechanics and shopkeepers, who,
though DESTROYS of getting back to the
land, have had no experience at all
either with irrigation or other farming.
The agricultural experiment farms on
irrigation projects have been In exist
ence several years, but the work of es-
tablishing the stations has necessarily
required time, and the first comprehen-
sive reports of results are being made
public now. These stations are under
the supervision Of the office of western
irrigation agriculture, while the dem
onstration work is being carried on
by the office Of demonstrations on re-
clamation projects. established in July,
1914. On most of the projects on which
the work has been undertaken it has
been found that there Is an overproduc-
ton of alfalfa for sale, with a conse-
quent low market price, and many of
the efforts have therefore been center
ed on building up live stock Industries,
which make the utilization Of the al
falfa highly profitable and at the same
time add to soil fertility.
While this economic change Is being
brought about the experiment stations
are working to perfect the details of
irrigation methods in the various locali-
ties. An example of this work Is seen
on the Umatilla project, in Oregon Ex-
periments have been carried on that
have given valuable Information to both
the experienced and inexperienced trri-
gators on the project on such matters
as the most economical and most efYec-
tive methods of applying water; pro-
and the crops from attacks of rabbits
and grasshoppers; the comparative prof
it's from selling alfalfa and pasturing
1t to hogs, and the proper size and
treatment of fruit trees for planting.
It was found in the latter experiments
that much more sturdy and desirably
shaped trees resulted when the almost
universal plan of cutting the trees
back eighteen inches from the ground
on planting was disregarded, and the
stocks were shortened six inches above
the graft or the bud. Much more valu-