Cal State Polytechnic College - El Rodeo Yearbook (San Luis Obispo, CA)

Page 31 text:

POULTRY DEPARTMENT This year, the poultry department got under way with a fine group of students and about 2000 fowls in the permanent egg-production and meat- breed flocks. The various poultry breeds represented were the Single-Comb White Leghorns, Barred and White Plymouth Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds, Black Minorcas and Black Australorps, which fur- nished a large field of study and project operation for the students. From these birds, fine flock-mating breeding pens, two of which were trapnested, were made. Four pen mating breeding pens were also made. All the hatching eggs from the flock matings were easily sold to one of the nearby hatcheries, while the eggs from the pen matings furnished replace- ment stock for the school flocks. All the chicks hatched from the pen matings were wing-banded and pedigreed. There were about 1500 of these chicks which were divided into five projects. The students kept accurate records on each chick so that they could be used in determining the value of their parents as future breeders. One outstanding feature of this year’s poultry work was the absence of colds and other diseases. Through the interest in the flocks and their care by the students, hardly any diseases were encountered. All the birds were vaccinated against fowl pox and all the breeders were blood-tested for pullorum disease. The birds were treated from time to time for intes- tinal worms as well as external parasites such as lice and mites. The de- tailed and perpetual attention to sanitation was the most important item in the fight against disease. A battery house and two fattening batteries, two laying batteries and a battery brooder were installed by the students during the year. The poultry club was quite active this year in sponsoring several in- teresting field trips and played a leading part in the Poly Royal. An egg- laying contest was held in which the student project birds were placed in competition. Several of the poultry club members went out to Farm Bureau meet- ings where they gave entertainments and educational talks about poultry. The poultry department came to the front this year in the matter of giving prominence to its work throughout the state. As a result, many commercial hatchery men and representatives of equipment companies have visited the school plant, and advice has been greatly in demand throughout the state. As an example, the head of the poultry department, Richard I. Leach, conducts a monthly page in one of the leading poultry journals, and in- cludes in this page some of the activities of the Poly department,in addition to work being done by poultry project operators in vocational departments in many high schools throughout the state. During the year, three students left school to take up permanent work. Sol Montrose was employed as assistant in the large poultry enterprise at the Rosemary Farms at Santa Maria, where he is doing a fine job. Wil- liam Suttenfield and Leslie Vernon have gone into the poultry business for themselves.

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HORTICULTURE DEPARTMENT The horticulture department was reorganized this year offering to the student a two-year course of complete training in the fields of landscaping, orchard management, greenhouse practice and truck crops. Field trips to surrounding areas provided additional opportunity to observe and to study methods of growing and handling field crops in extensive plantings. Dur- ing the two-year course, the student keeps complete records of commer- cially-productive projects. Instruction in landscaping included greenhouse practice, nursery prac- tice, landscape practice on the grounds and buildings on the school campus, the laying out of the garden at the San Luis Obispo Mission, plant propa- gation and plant identification. The rebuilding of the glasshouses and the installation cf an automatically-controlled steam heating system has made possible the raising of many young perennial and annual plants. The re- landscaping of the campus has been taken over by the horticulture depart- ment and the raising of the shrubs for this work has been greatly facili- tated by the rebuilt glasshouses. A nursery plot has been established near the propagation house and several hundred trees and shrubs are already planted here to grow large enough to be set out around the buildings on the campus. A large cut-flower garden supplies all the school needs and is an object of beauty. Among the plants produced this year were approxi- mately two thousand trees, five thousand shrubs, and eight hundred flats of annual and perennial flowering plants. Part of the plants were sold and the money turned into the project fund, some were planted on the campus. On January 14 a field trip was made to Santa Barbara. This trip in- cluded the Gillespie Gardens, Blakesley’s Botanical Gardens, the Santa Barbara Court House, the Samarkand Hotel and several of the city parks. The purpose of this trip was to familiarize the students with good types of landscaping and the different kinds of trees, shrubs and flowers as to their foliage, type, soil requirements and various other characteristics. Orchard management included pruning, thinning, grafting, budding, general orchard care and a study of the common deciduous fruit varieties, with practice on the school units. Instruction in truck crops included a study of vegetable varieties, growing, disease prevention and control. Field trips were taken to study methods of growing and handling truck crops and commercial seed raising. Productive projects were carried on by the students, including the raising of one thousand Youngberry plants, three-fourths of an acre of Stone and Marglobe tomatoes grown up on stakes, one-fourth of an acre of Brussels Sprouts grown under overhead sprinkling system to combat insect pests, three-fourths of an acre of early sweet corn, two acres of stock beets and stock carrots and the growing of two hundred flats of young annual and perennial flowering plants. Several projects of raising trees for nursery work are also in progress. Among the community activities were the drawing of plans for the restoring of a garden at the San Luis Obispo Mission and talks and demon- strations before Farm Center meetings.