Oregon State University. Dept. of Bioresource
Engineering.
Title:
Bioresource Engineering Department
Records
Dates:
1924-1983 ( inclusive )
Quantity:
12 cubic ft. 6 microfilm
reels
Collection Number:
RG
001
Summary:
The Bioeresource Engineering Department
Records document the research and extension activities of the department; the
design, development, and use of agricultural equipment; and the architectural
design of structures primarily for agricultural use. The Records also include
extensive materials pertaining to the flax industry in Oregon from 1938 to
1954.
Funding for encoding this
finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for
the Humanities.
Historical Note
The Department of Agricultural Engineering was created in 1916 when the
Department of Agronomy was subdivided, and was placed within the School of
Agriculture. It was originally housed in the Farm Mechanics Building (now
Gilmore Hall). The first department chair was William James Gilmore. In 1947
the department became jointly administered by the Schools of Agriculture and
Engineering. The department's name was changed to Bioresource Engineering in
1991.
Fiber flax processing investigations were conducted at Oregon State
College from from the late 1930s through mid 1950s through a joint USDA/Oregon
Agricultural Experiment Station project. Engineering research led to the
development and introduction of improved equipment for pulling, deseeding,
scutching, and cleaning flax. Also, improved designs for flax mills were
developed and recommendations made for prevention and control of flax mill
fires. Researchers involved in this project included W. M. Hurst, L. M. Klein,
J. E. Harmond, and M. C. Widger.
Fiber flax had been grown in the Willamette Valley since 1915, but prior
to World War II the acreage was small and production and processing methods
were based largely on European practices. When European flax supplies were cut
off by World War II the acreage of flax and number of mills increased
significantly and research results were available so that improved equipment
could be installed in all the flax mills.
Content Description
Series 4 documents the research activities of the department. Series 7
consists primarily of correspondence of faculty member John Wolfe, much of it
concerning irrigation. Series 8 consists of reports and short features
broadcast over radio station KOAC in the 1930s and 1940s. Series 9, annual
reports of research, spans the years 1970 to 1983.
Series 10 consists of materials pertaining to the flax industry in
Oregon from 1938 to 1954: references, reports, design specifications, and
building and equipment plans and drawings. These materials resulted from state
and federal fiber flax processing investigations between the U.S. Department of
Agriculture and the Agricultural Engineering Department of the Oregon
Agricultural Experiment Station.
Series 11 consists of plans and drawings for homes; farm structures and
equipment; selected campus buildings and structures including buildings at some
Branch Experiment Stations; and plans for non-OSU buildings and/or sites
designed by Agricultural Engineering Department faculty, primarily H. R.
Sinnard. Most of the farm structures and equipment plans and drawings were
published and distributed by the Extension Service.
Use of the Collection
Preferred Citation :
Bioresource Engineering Department Records (RG 1), Oregon State
University Archives, Corvallis, Oregon.
Administrative Information
Arrangement :
Organized into 11 series: I. Monthly Reports; II. Staff Meeting Minutes;
III. Correspondence, Robert M. Alexander; IV. Projects and Reports; V. Patents;
VI. Agricultural Engineering Personnel; VII. Correspondence; VIII. Radio Talks
and Reports; IX. Annual Reports; X. Flax Industry Materials; and XI. Plans and
Drawings.
Related Materials :
Materials related to the Bioresource Engineering Department can be found
in the College of Agricultural Sciences, Dean's Office Records (RG 158);
Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 25); Extension Service Records (RG
111); Bioresource Engineering Department Photograph Collection (P106); and
publications in PUB 10-11a.
" Research in Rural
Electrification" , March 18, 1939
5
2
" Power and Agricultural
Development of the Northwest" , July 7, 1938
5
3
" Planning a Dairy
Barn" , December 11, 1939
5
4
" How Statistics Improves
Physical, Chemical, and Engineering Measurements" , December 14, 1949
5
5
" How Electricity is Being Used
on Oregon Farms" , March 25, 1940
5
6
" The Pneumatic Tired
Tractor" , February 17, 1940
5
7
" The Effect of Tire Wear on
Tractor Performance" , January 27, 1940
5
8
" Land Development in the State
of Oregon" , January 24, 1940
5
9
" Rubber Tires for Farm
Equipment" , April 10, 1940
5
10
" New Developments in Farm
Tractors" , October 11, 1939
5
11
" Engineering Evolution and its
Relation to Agriculture" , February 14, 1940
5
12
" Explosives - An Instrument of
Industrial and Agricultural Progress" , January 10, 1940
5
13
" Studies of Barn Dried
Hay"
5
14
" Engineering Aspects of Rodent
Control"
5
15
" Aids to Judgement in
Irrigation"
5
16
" Planning a Small Farm Walnut or
Filbert Drier" , May 20, 1939
5
17
" Labor-Saving Devices Used on
Oregon Farms" , October 19, 1942
5
18
" Repairing Farm Machinery Now
for Spring and Summer Needs" , February 1, 1943
5
19
" Electrical Hotbeds and
Propagating Beds" , January 26, 1942
5
20
" Dairy Barns" , January 10, 1947
5
21
" Adequate
Wiring" , February 14
5
22
" Farm Safety"
5
23
" Farm Building
Insulation" , November 22, 1946
5
24
" Pumping Molasses When Adding it
to Grass Silage" , October 25, 1946
5
25
" Servicing the Cooling System
for Anti-Freeze" , November 8, 1946
5
26
" Who Ever Heard of a Half
Horse?" , June 13, 1947
5
27
" The Second Home on the
Farm" , May 16, 1947
5
28
" Farm Fire
Protection"
5
29
" Hydraulic Power Controls for
Farm Machines" , April 4, 1947
5
30
" Roof Coverings on Farm
Buildings" , April 18, 1947
5
31
" Hay Driers for Western
Oregon" , May 2, 1947
5
32
" Electric
Hotbeds"
5
33
" Mechanical Means of Weed
Control" , February 24, 1940
5
34
" Low Pressure Sprinkler
Irrigation" , January 13, 1940
5
35
" A Comparison of Two Types of
Cylinders" , January 20, 1940
5
36
" Wood Hoop
Granaries" , February 10, 1940
5
37
" Mechanization of Sugar Beet
Production" , March 2, 1940
5
38
" The Policies of Creditors in
Relation to Soil Conservation" , February 3, 1940
5
39
" Electricity on the
Farm" , February 28, 1940
5
40
" One Story Dairy
Barn" , March 9, 1940
5
41
" The Power Companies Activities
in Rural Electrification as Viewed from the Standpoint of the
Public" , March 1, 1940
6
This reel consists of materials also available on reel 5 or
in paper form. A detailed (item-level) inventory is available in the Archives
central file.
