The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1923-05-07
OUTLINES YEARS
SUBSTATION WORK
DIRECTOR IDDINGS RETURNS
FROM TOUR OF STATES STA
TIONS-WORK APPRECIATED

IlONS"NOhh AGGhEOIAIED
Agricultural interests throughout
the state are beginning to realize the
full value of the service being
rendered by the various branches of
the University of Idaho agricultural
experiment station in the develop
ment and permanency of agriculture,
according to e. J. Iddings, dean of
the university college of agriculture,
and director of the station, who re-
Gently returned from his annual tour
of the substations and temporary field
stations maintained in various parts
of the state to study most effectively
the problems concerning the Idaho
farmer. Dean Iddings looked over the
progress made during the last year
and with the station superintendent
wentsover and approved programs for
the present year. The substations
are located, at Caldwell in the south
west; Aberdeen, in the southeast;
Felt in the upper Snake river val
ley; and Standpoint in the extreme
northern part of the state. Field
stations are at Parma, st. Anthony,
and Sagel while special field work
is being conducted at several other
points.
The Caldwell substation, which is
devoting considerable energy to soil
improvement, feeding investigation,
and dairy farm improvement, and the
Aberdeen substation, with program
including tests of varieties of cereals,
breeding of new wheats, barleys and
oats, experiments with potatoes, ir-
rigational and cultural experiments
with sugar beets, have their future
work well under way according to
Dean Iddings. At the Caldwell sta
tion last year feeding experiments
were conducted with 120 steers and
COWS but the cropping program for
the present year has been changed
to provide sufficient feed 70 r the
handling of both cattle and sheep in
the feeding experiments to be under
taken next fall and winter At the
Aberdeen station tests are being made
with approximately five thousand
nursery rows of cereals, representing
varieties from all over the world
Wheat Experiments
The Aberdeen station is making a
distinct contribution in the develop
men t of Federation, a new wheat,
which has on the Aberdeen farm out
yielded Dicklow one of the most popu-
lar varieties for the irrigated sections
of the south, by an average of five
and one-half bushels to the acre,
Considerable Federation seed has
been distributed and large acreage
of pure seed has been seeded with
the idea of more extensive distribu-
ton next year Should this new
variety be found suitable for all parts
of the irrigated belt in the south it
will no doubt increase the acre yield
by significant figure, according to
Dean Iddings.
One of the most important projects
of the station is the alfalfa weevil
work being done at Parma by Claude
station entomologist. Mr..
Wakeland is making a careful study
of the control of the weevil with
sprays and dust poisons and observa-
tions of various other kinds of con-
troll measures, including the intro
duction of the insect enemies that
prey upon it. Dean Iddings reported
that in certain sections in which these
enemies had been intro
duced about three years ago the dam
age had been materially reduced. The
weeviI problem is of such Importance
that the experiment station is doing
everything possible to lessen its raw
ages. In conjunction with the weevil
work Mr.. Wakeland will study the
snowy tree cricket, which is develop
ing into a pest, and continue his in
vestigations of sprays for the leaf
roller.
Work at Standpoint
Extensive work is also planned for
The high altitude station at Felt, and
he station at Standpoint. At Felt ex-
oeriments are being conducted to Sc
cure data on new varieties of crops
)ther than the standard ones for that
section and to determine the best
lates for p1owing and the most salts
actory cultural practices for the non
irrigated regions of the upper Snake
liver valley At Standpoint work is
)eing done in soil improvement and
With tests of date and method for
eeding various legumes. experiments
With forage crops and the problems
lrising in the cut-over land areas of
hat part of the state Leaf roller
are under way at En-
net. studies of potato diseases are
,eiDg made at both Parma and ST.
anthony, tests of cropping mthods
nd fertilizers for peat soils are be-
ng made at Sagel while considerable
work. on leaf roller sprays, study of
omato blight, and vegetable produc-
ion tests is under way in the Lewis