Portland Press Herald from Portland, Maine • 32

I 1 1 Section Page Sis Portland Sunday Telegram And Sunday Press Herald Portland Maine June 12( 1949 rw Mi tskss I How To Beat Jack Frost With Early Lettuce Cucumbers Cabbage And Com Sheep Raising In Maine Once Outdid Beef Industry Vo-Ag Course Aids 3 GI Brothers To Market Iceberg Early Good Pasture Offsets Fall Milk Drop Grain In Quantity Ups Dairy Costs Local Sales Of Wool And Lamb Brought Good Cash Return To Many Farmers i I--'' ms VM V- fj 'WMvMv JP S'" gif 1 Vy IT i An: almost-forgotten livestock Industry In Main In which the majority of the earlier farmera took part was sheep raising I Today the depth of decline Is shown over a ten-year period to have been from 48000 head to under" 30000 But value has risen In that time from $520 per sheep to above $1210 and appears to be going higher In the late and early 80's growing of sheep and lambs beef ci was more important that beef cattle sometimes In pond or river tho annuel clipping Job' began as soon as two or three warm days had One of the chjef values of the Maine Green Pastures contest ls that It teaches fanners how to avoid a sharp falling off of milk production when summer is over Cows that freshen In the late winter and spring months usually produce well during the flush season that is until about the middle' of July Then the drop begins as Pall approaches Ralph A Corbett assistant dairy specialist at University of Maine in a communication to the Pans Page says good pasture spells ample feed through Summer and in the least expensive form Cases Grain Costa' Poor grating ground means that more grain must be substituted good fields aid in reducing this expense Grain usjally conies from the West and it takes money to' get It here Zf 'Maine farmers do not have lush pasture dairying can only be carried on with much extra cost A cow giving down- 40 pounds of milk with four per rent but-terfat daily should have seven pwndi of 14 to IS per rent pro- -teln ration even if she la on xeellent pasture If the grazing ground la only the cow requires 105 'pounds of grain: and if only 145 pounds Better feeding of the milch herd in' Summer always' proves profitable Corbett says It helps the animal maintain flesh i Mndi prevents body reserve from-belngr depleted in the pasture period I Dairymen attempting to save I BACKGROUND OF CLOSE-UP (LEFT) IS FART OF 18 ACRES OF ICEBERG LETTUCE being raised oil Coul third Bros 40-acre farm In Scarborough Plants were stared tinder glass and marketing began this week Stooping over a cucumber plant 4 Inches high are John Coulthard left and Leo Estabrook agriculture teacher at Scarborough and Gorham High Schools Planta were started in strawberry boxes In hothouse and escaped frost after planting out by use of hot-caps Above GI brothers Elvanda John arid Jamea Coulthard who are operating the Scarborough farm- Elvanda Is not under the institutional on-the-farm training program which John and-Jim have taken since a year ago last September VW i -rt-J 'v A- 7- '-s pc Jf" The Coulthard brothers ere trying a unique experiment on a sunny half acre surrounded by forest growth They etarted aweetcom In quart strawberry hexes In the hothouse When the soil wee ready they soaked the earth In the boxes took them to the field turned the young corn from the containers and set the square blocks ef dirt without injury Into carefully prepared holes passed to enable the animals to dry off Hand Sheep Shears This was before the power-driven sheep shears and hand-work was a task If tho shearer used a platform it was built across arid sometimes the big bam doors were taken down for a more substantial floor for the operation If the animal was cut hi tho shearing carbolated vaseline was rubbed on Gradually the thick mat of wool roiled free and' the animals ran to shelter fo huddle together in shed or bam to keep warm I The wool was packed in bis gunny sacks nearly the size of a standard bale-of hal These were shipped to mills by purchasers Branded With Powder As the weather wanned and new wool began to show the sheep were driven to pasture having been branded by a mixture made from Venetian red A aalt-celler was the brush" i A good shake of the table implement and cars in designing tho brand quickly resulted In tho i flock being labelled with a letter or number four or five Inches long on side or back This helped in proving the owner of stray sheep or lamb Toward The Table When the lambs took on weight from the mothers milk and rich clover they were moved as they began to like to nibble nearer the stock yard The owner knew by telegrams how the market ranged and at the strategic moment one or several carloads of lambs would be shipped to the Boston' or other markets in double-deck freight cars Sometimes a livestock ear would pull Into a rural aiding with the second deck mlsslng Then a handy carpenter and helper with scantling and braces and flooring always awaiting the emergency would soon build the single-decker over to do double 'The whole process was a planned operation from village farm to marketplace- pasting feeding through the winter lambing clipping branding and delivery to the freight yard There too many- Mainers today who remember the hard work and the romance bf it i Maine flocks ran from 20 to 100 head or more and each ewe being relied upon to produce usually two lambs brought thousands of lambs to market each Spring Cash For' Wool The farmers got cash for their wool and more cash from the drovers and local -meat markets for lambs Flocks were replenished with animals purchased many a time in the Canadian provinces Some of the ewes were fattened and sold to drovers who had a good market for them in Boston and sometimes in New York Those 'were the dsys when there was an outstanding demand for mutton a dish seldom found now on restaurant menus or at least only expensive houses" where the 2-lnrh-thlek so-railed "English mutton chops" are served at a prleej In the i890s every restaurant listed boiled mutton with caper sauce a dish universally popular Again there wag tho "Canada lamb equally popular and Justly so It was famous and still is at an old-time eating house which serves the white-coated workers of Quincy Market and Fkneull Hall It is a far look back to the days when sheep-yards were provided with long hay racks and V-shaped roughs for oats which as a fattening grain was a staple Tar To fight Colds In Winter It was -the custom to smear tar along the bottoms of the troughs when the farmer saw the sheep showed signs of having caught colds The sheep rubbed their noses in the tar licked it off into their mouths and the medication was supposed to be "good" for them Doubtless the program had reason for its existence for it was based on experience On good days the sheep browsed in pasture watched by faithful collie dogs The dogs never allow sheep to get too near fences because they would likely enough find their way over When the lambs began to appear in Spring there would be a swift' increase in the flock because many ewes wave birth to twins By May shearing time was on and after a thorough washing Week too much on grain when milk prices are low in -Summer will find lc can prove expensive for them because volume of production is lowered at the time when rich pasture -feeding one to three Plants Started In Hothouse -pounl of hay daily will -aid in Cutting Under Way' This Grange Jottings Tomorrow's Joint Meetings Mt Independence Grange will entertain Monday night a Joint meeting of Five Town Union and Fresumpscot Valley Pomona Also tomorrow at a day field meeting Knox Pomona will meet with Acorn Grange- Cushing Four Pomonas Tuesday The Grange program for Tuesday carries four Pomona sessions Winslow Grange will entertain special session of East Kennebec Pomona Degree work will feature an evening meeting of Lincoln Pomona with Dyers Valley Grange -North' Newcastle West Washington Pomona will meet with Columbia Falls Orange in Union and Washington Pomons rill meet with Topshsm st 5 with supper Day Meeting At Amity Aroostook-Penobxcot Union Pomona will meet Wednesday in a day session at Amity Orange Hall Picnic Supper At Orland When 'Hancock Pomona meets Thursday evening with Alamoo-sook subordinate at Orland a picnic supper will open the program That evening Pleasantdale Grange South Portland will entertain wth- a black-face skit during the Hour Atkinson Corner subordinate will act as host for a Thursday night session to East Piscataquis Pomona To Note Day Friday Manchester Orange will observe Father's Day with a special program By Frank Lovering What Scarborough High School Institutional on-the-farm training has done for three GI brothers two of whom are taking the coursed 'and the other worklng with them Is indicated by 'their shipments of'early Iceberg lettuce to the Portland and Boston markets starting last Monday Every new poison antlspetle spray or dust requires-the most careful experimentation by the scientists before it Is released for general use and even after that continued study may reveal lurking danger to human life birds animals or vegetation The war-discovered and much-publicized -DDT is a current and striking example of this situation The Pure Food and Drug Administration is Issuing a warning of great Import to dairymen with regard to DDT Where the chemical haa been used In dairy bams or for dl- -rect application to the cows It has been found dangerous' to the milk The test tubes have revealed small amounts of It in the milk of sprayed cattle This Is especially harmful Frank 11 Lathrop of the of Experiment Station says for when DDT occurs In milk It has contaminated a food used largely as the diet for young children and by so many -people In many ways Because of this danger to the health of the consumer the use of the chemical In the bam has been condemned Further It is dangerous to make applications of it on beef cattle being grown for the market For fly control In dairy bams and on cows the recommendation Is made that Methoxychlor be substituted This Is a 50 per cent wet-table powder to the amount of 40 pounds mixed In 100 gallons of water or one pound in 2 Vt gallons of water For spraying bam walls one gallon will cover 500 square feet -even though methoxychlor appears to be safer than DDT In the dairy bam reasonable care should be used Lothrop says Cows should not be sprayed needlessly or excessively with tho chemical Every precaution must be taken to prevent contamination of any feed or drinking water Just as In the case ef all ether Insecticides Use of DDT can be continued to good advantage for spraying manure pits as well as In many other places outside the dairy bam where there la no danger of the chemical reaching the cows And we raise another cautionary signal: in every possible way the most careful attention- ought to be paid to general sanitation thereby to reduce need of spray for fly control In the dairy bam DDT Dangerous In Dairy Bams FOOD FREEZING DEMONSTRATION keeping up weight and -preparing for future milk production Corbett concludes Therefore good pasture can reduce the feed bill materially but it will not entirely replace hay and grain Animil Manures Low In Phosphorus Where animal manures are depended upon experts advise the necessary phosphrbus Is low and superphosphate should be added 'at the rate of 100 pounds per ton ef stable dressing or for each half ton of poultry dressing Use Of Fluid Milk Reduced Last Year Throughout the country- the use ef fluid milk plus cream was S68 pounds per person In 1848 In 1947 it was 400 pounds per person Aroostook Flans Saturday Pomona Aroostook Pomona will meet Saturday at South Presque1 Isle Panning ton Grange will observe Past night that evening and a -rogram at a meeting of "West Minot Grange will be put cn during the Hour by Hester VerrilL POYfERMOYERS Mow your lawn with oaso rams: rocti ivs Mowers Repaired Serviced Sharpened PHILIP YERXA Cl TwmI Sw 4-41 IS Vermont Green Pastures Winners In Maine Tuesday This Is the first native lettuce cut in Maine' so far as is known by Hagan -Vo-Ag district representative And Leo Estabrook agriculture teacher who directs the classes at 'both Scarborough and Gorham' High The returned world war veterans are John James and Elvanda Coulthard They are farming 40 acres on the Pleasant Hill road Sixteen acres are in lettuce The gently rolling fields are a picture of extraordinary beauty Transplanted April 8 Lettuce is a vegetable" which loves cool weather and the first plants were set out in the rich soil April 3 -The seedlings had been grown in the former Dyer hothouse on -Highland Avenue The young plants were so thrifty that heads began to form quickly and within six weeks were as large as a boy's clenched fist and as firm' ss a small rubber ball The outer leaves crinkled their edges sturdily in the intermittent sun and nourishing rain and growth was perfect Seeds of the batte'rnni squash were stuttered In tha lettuce rows In hills ten feet apart enough rows of the Iceberg being skipped each time to allow the aquash vines to spread This will make another crop from the same land The three-way partnership has seven acres of blue hubbard squash and three acres of cauliflower in other parts of the farm and a considerable planting of cucumbers and cabbage One of the finest Holstein herds in the United States will be Inspected on the Harold Shaw dalrjf farm at Sanford Tuesday when 60 Vermont dairymen and county agents will make on that day their oniyvlslt to Maine while touring dairy farms in this part of New England KEAM TOW SAVI 250 or More In Food Bills i A FULL EXPLANATION When the Farm Page editor was in this cornfield the shoots had grown to eight and ten inches tail and neither of two nights when frost was reported in the region on open fields was there any damage I The cucumbers and squash were also started under glass and when set out the cucumbers were protected by hot-caps No harm came' to the tender plants therefore fromfrost and they were uninjured- in 'removing from the strawberry boxes Cucumber leaves were- two and a half inches long and an inch wide pulling free of one of the white covers revealed And the weeds! They were having a wonderful time! Grass had grown six inches high beneath the opalescent shelters i Lettuce is expected to yield from 700 to $00 crates per acre and the 16 acres should grow about 13000 crates The going price Is 8110 a crate' Last year it was $250 due to a slackening in California Vo Ag district representative Hagan and Leo Estabrook the instructor are as delighted as the Coulthaids at the results which are showing up this year from the training While Hagan is in charge under the GI Bill of Rights on-the-farm plan the whole responsibility rests with Estabrook or as Hagan said placed on the high school" meaning 1U aggy teacher All la Service 1 The Coulthards have "been coming to the farm" over period of seven years one of them explained This was "during and after the war They are young men from 23 to 39 and all have done valiant service lor Uncle Sam John was a paratrooper in Oer many Van with the navy In the Pacific "saw plenty" Jim was security' officer In Germany working with the army Each is mar ried "and the girls work right along with us on the farm" Van lives In a tidy bungalow near the precious cornfield and John and Jim In the farmhouse set Into a comer Of the cucumber and lettuce patch The house has been made Into two apartments I Each ef the yeung men agreed that the GI coarse "has made It possible for ns to carry on this program In a three-way partnership" John said "it has proved very educational" and Jim said know any plan 'that can beat what wo have learned from Leo (Estabrook) these two years" Of great Interest atad value to the boys has been the knowledge they have gained in the control of different Insect pests and dls eases When John reached Scarborough "betweerf fighting and liberty" In 1942 he worked out for a while and then "started In a small way with Van" on snap beans which found ready sale In the Boston market Later Jim was discharged from In charge of the bus tour will be Lester Smith native of Buxton who is Vermont Extension Service agronomist He Is a University of Maine graduate The visiting Vermont dairymen will be those who won in last Vermont Green Pastures contest is the only Maine farm to be visited He has 175 acres of hay pasture grass silage and com land gnd a heard of 135 registered Holsteins of which 65 are milkers On Dairy Herd Improvement Association tests the 25 cows being milked three times daily average 500 pounds annually of butterfat Shaw Is a DHIA member a member of the Maine Artificial Breeding Cooperative and a trustee of University of -Maine' He Is a leader In numerous farm organizations 'and was the first county extension agent in Androscoggin-Sagadahoc He also operates An apples orchard with 700 tree 1 realm duty In former and Joined with the other broth ets to make up the farming trio Van absorbs fro mthe fount of knowledge at-which his GX brothers have be eh nourished In the Institutional course at Scarborough High' and "we discuss things develop ideas and pitch in and work like the deuce This common interest is in full flower now bom of the second world war- "as you might say two years ago come next September John said smilingly Asked about cooperative marketing the group were In- general accord that it would be an asset if all growers would unify on the method 'jr ve v' MARION MORAN Molno Homo Demonstration Specialist OF THE FHA APPROVED HOME LOAN PLAN IS YOURS FOR THE ASKING THIS PLAN IS MEANT TO BE OF HELP TO OWNERS AND HOME IF SUCH A LOAN FITS WITH YOUR PLANS WE GLADLY HELP YOU AN APPLICATION i i i Frozen Food I State of Maine NbrtEi Scarboro ASK AT MORTGAGE LOAN DEPARTMENT I Lester Smith 5 PC DDT Is DeatK To Cutworms Commercial vegetable growers have recently learned that 5 per cent DDT Is effective! In killing cutworms The paper collar placed about tomato plants especially is always effective if the soil inside the collar shows no sign of the pest A- mash of lVa pounds of bran one ounce of paria green one cup of molasses and a quart of water will kill cutworms but if children animals chickens or birds are likely to get Into the garden the 'fresh mash should be placed under boards at dusk to prevent accidental poisoning GOTHROW A SHAW CO Allan's Co Gray Rood -1 I'f 481 Assets Over HOME BUYERS IN WILL MAKE Refreshments I and Free Samples of Sponsored by EBDBBBBBBRBDBmiBEBBDEBRMiMBESBRBSIBOBSRn NOW Vs the time to think of TRACTORS PLOWS HARROWS SPRAYERS SAVINGS BANK MAINE POTATO GROWERS Inc Selection lc good at prosant eg don't wait too long to inspoct and ardor your noadad oqulpmont OANlZErORIB Congress Street $25000000 HAROLD BRACKETT Auburn St boy and A Growers' Cooperative Serving the.