Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1883-08-16
SEED WHEAT.

Seed wheat should be pure. 1t should
not contain seed OF ether varieties Cros,
breeding often leads to good results in stock
raising, the cross being better than either .,
the original breeds. But almost accidental
hybrldlZing OF seeds, such as occurs by lhe
lndiscriminate mixing of different varieties
or wheat, gives rise TO harvest of quality
inferior to all or any of the original varie.
ties. 1t would be useless for me to saw
which is the best variety of wheat, because
certain varieties are best suited to the soil
and surroundings Of particular localities.
AT present, however the Fultz seems to
lead. But whatever variety the farmer
choose to sow. let him sow but that one va
| rlety. Ii his wheat is mixture of two or
more varieties, he should go elsewhere for
seed H >#F Nl. Hs..'-'p ,.''
1t should also be free frem chess. / do
not believe that wheat turns 10 chess Ma
ture is not true to herself and true to her
laws ii it does. whatsoever man SOW
eth that shall he reap - but sometimes
man reaps what he has not sown. Chess
ripens before wheat, and in harvesting the
wheat, is shelled and falls to the ground.
Then. again, chess will lie dormant in the
ground for years, and when the conditions
are favorable will gerlnnate. These two
facts may account for growth of chess
when none was sown.
Returning to the Bible, we are Informed
that man may sometimes reap the whirl-
wind when he has sown only the wind.
This is true and righteous saying as re-
CARDS chess. 1t is harder than wheat, and
does not wnter-kill, and on this account
will tiller when wheat does not. 1t thus
gains on the wheat, and the man who has
chess in his wheat and sows it year after
year, will have more chess the longer he
sows it. Chess can be removed with the
aid of any decent fansing mill, and seed
wheat should not contain a grain OF il.
Neither should it of rye. which detracts from
the quality Of wheat fully as mach as chess.
Like chess, rye will gain year after year, be-
ing harder than wheat The only remedy
IS to sow clean wheat on clean land. Seed
wheat should be free from cookie. Never
sow one grain of this obnoxious pest. =
have heard farmers say that if they had
any shrunken wheat they always used it for
seed, as it would not bring geod price in
the market and contained the greater num-
Der of grains to the bushel. Now, where
all the conditions Of soil and weather are
favora BILE to gerninatlon, this sort of wheat
may do for seed. But it must not be for
gotten that the first, If it may not have been
jhe onlv. object of nature was to provide
or the perpetuation of the seed There
ore we are forced to the conclusion that the
starch, gluten, ETC., placed around the germ 6
n the seed was put there to assist in obtain ,
ng that result, and not solely to furnish {
'read to man. And when we come to in +
'estigate the phenomena of germination and q
growth we find that such is really the case. c
starch is present in seeds and tubers. \
The gluten OF wheat when the seed is j
'lanfed in the moist soil, acts as ferment. il
The starch, by this action OF the gluten, d
hemicaly absorbs water and forms sugar. s
ne food OF plants. This is wise provision h
I nature to sustain the young plantlet un- a
Il its root formation is sufficiently develop .
to obtain sustenance for it from the soil. v
Hhen the soil is very fertile and in fine me- 81
hanical condition, and the weather propi- s
ous, shrunken grain may furnish nutri- v
lent to the plantlet, until it can obtain suf- D