Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1916-02-11

THE COUNTY AGR1cU1TUR1sT

You who read the papers probably
noticed 4 few days ago that California
is buying Oregon potatoes. But the
buyers are particular, they will accept
only select potatoes, but for these
they are paying a good price.
| wonder what portion of the pOta-
toes in Marion county are worthy the
title 'select potatoes!" From the po-
tatoes | have seen myself twenty-five
per cent would be a fair estimate. That
means Marion county could sell only
twenty-five per cent of her output of
potatoes to California buyers. The 9TH
er seventy-five per cent would have to
be sold at a very low price or fed to
| the hogs, unless there IS a scarcity Of
potatoes throughout the country.
If one merchant puts up for sale l
better quality of goods than another
the farmers feel they have a perfect
right to buy of the man who puts up
the best goods. Then what right have
the farmers to complain if California
buys her potatoes in COlOrldo-if Col
Orado raises the best potatOes} What
right have the farmers of Marion coun-
ty to complain if the market is poor,
as long as their output is poorer than
that of some other locality If there
was any excuse for the farmers of Ma
rion county producing poor potatoes
they would be worthy of sympathy.
But they have no excuse. In four
years time the potatoes of Marion
county could be improved three hun
dred per cent. The method to follow
is so simple anybody can do it. When
digging the potatoes save the hills
that have an abundance of nice uni
form, good sized potatoes, and store
them by themselves. In the spring at
planting time cut each one of these
potatoes in halves lengthwise. and
throw out all that show the least signs
of disease or hollowness. liant what
you have left and raise your next
year seed from them. Work your
ground well before and after planting,
and don't grow a crop of weeds along
with the potatoes. Practice this method
four years and the farmers of Marion
county will never need to complain
about the potato market.
Our wheat can be improved Just as
easily. Nothing brings a smile on a
miller S face so quick as clean unmixed
plump kerneled wheat. The smile new
er leaves his face as he adds a few ex-
ira dollars to the check he hands YOU
Such wheat is made into the highest
priced flour.
Oats are just as easy to breed up as
wheat. Good oats are the kind that
make first class Oat meal. Clean, un-
mixed, unadulterlted, large, plump oats
that weigh forty pounds to the bush
el-and there is no excuse for grow
ing any other kind in Marion county
never have to wait for a good market.
The fruit unions have men going
over the country offering as high as
four and half cents a pound for this
years crop of strawberries, where the
vines have been kept ncie and clean
and the runners kept cut off. Patches
that have not been property taken care
OF they will not even look at But the
owners of them will cut the market
and raise the calamity howl that a nan
can not make living in Marion coun-
ty, let alone making any money. The
canneries can not afford to buy poor
fruit. They would go broke if they
paid the farmer a living price for it.
Go to the groceries and note the dir.
ference in the price Of first and third
grade canned goods and you will not
have to reason long to see the point.
No class Of people are better placed
to see the need and the great advan.
tage to the farmers as well as to them.
selves of producing a first class pro-
duct as the middlemau, the merchant.
In their desire to develop market for
the farm produce, and knowing what a
better quality of produce would do to-
ward developing such market, they
are more than willing, they are desir-
GUS to pay their half toward the up
keep of any means that will aid the
farmer to produce a better quality of
crops They are trying to get the farm.
er to accept the assistance of county
lgriculturist for their own benefit, and
they nave no reason to deny it, but
the farmers will be benefited fully as
much.
The farmers are acting q good dear
like the little boy who refused to eat
the apple because his father picked it
for him instead of holding him up and
letting him pick it off the tree him.
self. If the farmers had been first to
sanction and encourage tne work of
county agrioulturist instead Of the mer-
chant they wouldn't be so slow in TAX
ing advantage of his help.
E. NJ. PETTYCREW,