Knoxville daily chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1882, 1871-07-14
The Laws Of Grain Breeding.

At a late meeting of the st. Louis Far
mer'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 as 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, if they
wished to obtain good crops, to select
healthy, well developed, perfect seeds, as
it was to select good breeding animals if
they wish to obtain the best specimens of
animals of their respective breeds. Stock
breeders GO to great expense to procure the
best animals to breed from.
They will spend thousands of dollars,
and we might say thousands Of guineas 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 in 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 in 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 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. a'
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. a'... ..-. '.-'5.- 1904
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 number Of days
earlier than wheat raised in this latitude
series of years, or wheat obtained from
| the North. He thought that wheat was
an exception. He had found by actual
experience that potatoes will not yield as
| big crop from seeds raised in 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. -aiHI
| 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 a 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.