Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-10-04
Does 1t Pay to Save Seed.


W. w. Tracy in Rural New-Yorlzer
Will it pay for the farmer to save his
own seed? is the question the Rural asks
me to answer, and it would be difficult to
ask one that it would be more impossible
to answer by simple yes or no. There
are many things, some of them seeming
ly quite foreign to the subject but which
really do have a most important bearing
upon it. and instead of answering the
RuraFs question, l will talk of some of
them.
First, few, very few, appreciate the i'm
portance and value of superior seed.
They all want seed, but it would be very
difficult to induce farmer to pay $40
per bushel for seed corn, no matter
how superior he believes it to be. Now I
have seen difference of nearly ten bushels
per acre in the yield of eight acres of
corn planted with bushel of selected
seed over that of the remainder of the
field or any portion of it planted with
core or the same variety taken from the
crib. The whole field was planted and
cared for alike except in the matter of
the seed used. The eight acres from
selected seed gave sixteen bushels more
than the rest of the field. Allowing 1Oc
seventysix bushels, and considering the
corn to be worth 500 per bushel, we have
net gain of 5000 for the use of the
select seed, so the farmer could pay $40
per bushel for it and then gain SO per
cent for the use of his money.
Again with care, an ounce of tomato
seed will furnish plants enough for an
acre. What gardner would be willing to
fo L.
ever so nice 1t is certainly quite prsc
tioable to save select seed that will pro-
duce plants that will mature on an averag
one ounce fruit, or its equivalent to the
vine, one picking, or about three days
earlier than ordinary stock of that var
iety. What is such seed worth? By It's
use we can harvest from an acre of $500
to 1900 plants, ounces each, or 10000
ounces, equal to 10 bushels of fruit, which
at the first will easily bring SO per bu-
shell against Csc at the last of the season.
Deduct $2.40 for what the tomatoes
would be worth later, and we have 49,. so
cents net gain, SO the gardner could have
paid $5 per ounce and then mike so per
cent. on the investment. I could fill the
pages of the Rural with such illustrations
all drawn from experience, bat these two
actually worth far more than it is posi-
bic to get for it in the open market. To
save such seed costs care, time, knowledge
and money, md the scotsman Who would
grow such crop and offer it at something
like lis real value would find no customers
unless perhaps, among seedsmsn who
often do pay shch prices as have been
suggested for stock seed, but there are
thousands of farmers and gardeners who,
if they would make careful study of the
characteristics of certain superior seed,
might select such varieties. But they
don't do it, though seedsmsn often do
and should always, and using such for
stock seed Chat they are to grow their
seed crop FROM they offer better seed
than that grown by the ordinary farmer.
This may be contrary to the opinion of
some, but speak from experience.
During the past ten years have care
fully tested at least 1000 samples of
seeds received from farmers, those receiv
ed as extra have not averaged as good in
quality either as to vitality or purity and
quality of stock as the samples received
from seedsmen as representing their Or
binary stock which they had to offer.
This is only one phase of the subject;
there are other considerations of which 1
would like to write did space permit. But
think of these things-I have not ex-
aggereted them.