Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1871-07-19
The Laws Of Grain Breeding.

At late meeting of the St Louis Far
nler's Club, the subject of breeding grain
was discussed. We take the following:
Col. Coleman thought that the subject
for discussion, the selection and preserva-
ton of seeds, was one of rs much import
ance as any that could be considered by the
club. He knew that farmers generally did
not appreciate the Importance of selecting
only the best seeds for sowing and plant
ing. 1t was just as important, IL they
wished 10 obtain good crops, to select
healthy, we'll developed, perfect seeds, rs
it was ID select good breeding animals If
they wish TO obtain the best specimens of
animals of their respective breeds. Stock
breeders 90 to great expense to procure the
best animals to breed from.
They will spend thousands of dollars,
and we might say thousands of guneas in
the old country for the best animal that
could be obtained to breed from Like be-
gets like, he said, not only in the animal
but i'm the vegetable world. Consequently,
if we want to get good seeds, good crops,
paying crops, healthy crops, they must
have good seed to obtain these crops from.
He was convinced that seed raised in the
best manner, having proper soil, plenty
of room, plenty of air and light, start with
more vigor, reproduce themselves earlier,
with larger returns than seeds which have
been crowded, and which were imperfectly
developed.
This law of reproduction, the farmer
should understand, is as rigid, as ineXora-
BILE in the vegetable world as i'm the ami
NAL world. He had no doubt it would pay
any farmer who was growing any of the
grains. any of the cereals, to lay off a GER
tain piece of ground for planting seed for
future sowing. Give them more air, more
light, more soil to feed upon, in order to
make them healthy and vigorous.
Where that space could not be given,
another plan was to go into the fields, and
selecting, for instance, for wheat, the
largest earliest heads, cutting them out
with knife, or oats in the same manner,
or barley, or any other grain, selecting the
largest heads, the first maturing kernels
and earliest ripened grain for future SOW
ing. Persons had told him, and written
home, that they had taken the large end, |
the butt end of an ear of corn, and planted |
the seed from that end, and planted that |
at the smaller end. They found that the |
corn from the large end will ripen three |
weeks earlier than that of the smaller end. |
As farmers were sowing their corn now, |
he would like them to make the expert !
ment.
There was another matter in the selec- |
ton of wheat. The early wheat always |
brings the best price, consequently the |
Alabama or Tennessee wheat is shipped |
here, and brings good price. Wheat OBJ |
tanned from the South, and sown in our |
latitude, would ripen a number of days |
earlier than wheat raised in this latitude |
a series of years. or wheat obtained from |
the North. He thought that wheat was |
an exception. He had found by actual |
that potatoes will not yield as |
big a crop from seeds raised i'll this lati- |
tude. He did not think potatoes were as |
well adapted to this latitude as to a more |
northern one. They would not have as
good crop from native potatoes as if they |
sent to the North for seed to plant.
The speaker next referred to the purify
ing and cleansing of seeds for wheat, bar
ley, oats and the like. He said they should
be run through fan-mill until every light,
trashy and imperfect seed was removed.
There was another important considera
ton in regard TO wheat; that was that it
should be put through pickle of blue
stone and salt and lime. 1t should be
washed in that in order to kill and destroy
the fungus and certain insects that affect
the seed. Farmers who had tried those
rules had reported that they had saved
their crops by doing So that they had
ripened them earlier and had destroyed the
fungus that frequently injured the wheat.
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