The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1915-10-08
news. FROM
THE FARMS
Interviews With Farmers and Stock
men. Interesting paragraphs
Showing Activities Of the PrOduc-
ers of Wealth in This Locality.

w. c. Sollenberger, who lives three
miles east of town, calls his farm
Englewood. The house is large and
attractive looking and is on the rural
houte and telephone line. He has
large sheds for his machinery and
vehicles, among which is big fine
car. He pumps water by wind power
and conducts it in pipes to the house,
barn and other buildings. The farm
consists of 100 acres, and he thinks
the crops this year are about as good
as usual excepting that the beet will
probably average one or two tons less
than in 1914. He has "a acres of
beets estimated to yield 1S tons per
acre, and he considers that all there
is above ten tons on well kept acre
is profit 1t costs him about $40
an acre to handle the crop, and last
year the INCOME from beets was 500.
He has 40 acres of hay from which he
cut three crops this year excepting
where he pastured it for period.
Eighteen acres of wheat averaged
521a bushels, IL acres of oats at 80
bushels and 20 acres of potatoes that
look good and are practically free
from disease. Mr. Sollenberger has
travelled about the county consider
able during the summer in his car
to make observations of crop condi-
tions, and says that the potato crop
is below normal on account of the
diseases that are creeping in. The
potato field that shows good
healthy looking vine and then yel-
low one and little one that looks
like it was ready to quit, is the rule
rather than the exception. The di-
sease known as fusarium wilt attacks
the root system and cuts down the
yield, and after the potatoes are har-
vested it develops dark rings or black
rot in the potato that finally de-
stroys it. The cure for it is to get
clean seed and then plant them on
ground that has been in other crops,
not potatoes, and keep changing To-
cation each year. The other disease
most prevalent is call rhizoctonia,
and attacks the skin of the potato,
showing in dark speacks that look
like particles of dirt sticking to the
skin, but are really a growth that
keeps eating deeper and deeper.
Treating the seeding before plant
ing, by immersing them for an hour
and a half or two hours in solution
of one pint of formaldyhide to 30
gallons of water kills it. Each sack
of potatoes soaked in the solution
takes out some of the formaldyhide,
and one has to keep adding to 1t to
keep up the desired strength. Then
at intervals it is necessary to dump
the liquid and prepare a new solu-
ton. He dipped all of his seed last
spring, and he made new solution
about 60 sacks. He thinks the great
est menace to farming here Is allow
ing diseases and poor seed to cause
the crop to run down into the un-
profitable stage. He advises farm
ers to combat the potato diseases rig
idly or quit trying to raise them. The
only crops that failed at Englewood
this year were currants and goose
berries. He raises about 100 hogs
each year, and keeps only enough
horses and cows to do the work and
supply dairy products for the family.
Mr. Sollenberger is president Of the
Corbett Slough Ditch company, and
also the Blackfoot Fruit & Potato