St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1890-12-20
eETTeR SEED WHEAT.


eETTER SEED WHEAT.
4 Natter Alo.s which H.rners 0ss Nss
80 Toe Careful
Tho mass Of farmers are BY NO means
q careful to select the best quality Of
seed for wheat as they should be; and
there II . presumption that to this
cause IL due many Of the elements that
detract from its quality. such as chess.
cookie. smut blight rust etc. am
aware that some will take exceptions to
this statement yet the principle Is En-
tirely reasonable. and 1t accords with
the results of several years experience.
! know also that many Of the neighb0rs
will afarm that they have raised just -
good crops and the wheat tested Just -
many pounds per bushel when they
sowed wheat that was not recleaned;
but ! know that during the past two q
three years the quality Of their wheat
has deteriorated. and they are at loss
to know the reason. Whereas the
fully prepared for sowing under per.
s0nal supervision, has not 50 run out"
We have made good use Of the fam
ning-mill to clean seed, and the result
has been so satisfactory that we expect
to continue its use This has been nec-
essary to keep the seed free from chess.
II one cleaning would not suflice. . sec.
ond and third was given, and wo rea-
soned thus: Whether wheat turns to
chess for other people or not I do not
know. but one thing Is assured, and that
IA NhA tpVpn -
IL few chess seeds are sown there will
inevitably b much more chess. but if
the ''pcre and unadnltorsted" wheat 10
sown, we always harvest that kind Of
grain. know that this WAS an un-
usaally bad year for chess among wheat
and noticed 10 growing in fields seeded
to clover and timothy last year, but
there were only very few heads in our
own crop. The farmers who were an
noyed with chess in their wheat should
clean their seed very carefully and -
lect their seed the following year from
wheat grown on corn ground; for chess
will undoubtedly lie in the ground some
times . year or much l0nger-as was
noticed in the meadows this summer
and fallow ground becomes foul" 80
to speak, with chess In two or three
years. and during these later years 10
appears among the wheat But wheat
ar corn ground will be freer from this
pest on account Of previous cultivation.
Thoroughly cleaning the seed also
eliminates the shriveled and diseased
grains to . large extent Certainly
there Is scarcely batter reason for sow.
ing seed containing these kinds Of
grains than for breeding live stock hap
There was unusual complaint
this year Of the presence Of smut in
wheat I am not positive that carefully
the seed will prevent smut in
wheat. but, having done 90 for many
years, We believe that this has induced
. healthier growth all along. and this
II potent in preventing the growth Of
the fungus Furthermore. II seed con.
tanning only healthy grains Is sown.
there Is greater immunity from disease
Of every kind This, I think, accounts
for the absence of smut In our own crop
although its presence lessened tho
value Of many other crops in the neigh.
Farmers often do not suspect the
presence Of impurities in their seed
Since these do not lie upon the surface
pr are NOT readily discerned. the seed
ID supposed to be practically fres (,
from them. Several years ago some
reed was purchased from . farmer who
declared that 1t contained 10 impuri-
eies. A close examination revealed >
that IL really needed recleaning, and
We succeeded in bloSine out chess to
tho extent Of three per cent Of the
whole amount besides other impuri-
ties And yet this SEED was purer than
much that is s0wn ordinarily.
Men may differ as to the propriety Of
sowing only largo grains. but exhaust
I've tests have proven that desirable 70.
suits follow such seeding. and therefore
no mistake can arise by 80 doing. There
Is much wheat that will make good
aour that had better be 70 disposed than
70 be used Tor seed Every farmer who
raises much wheat should have . fan.
ning-mill that does good work. This
n,chine has fallen out Of use too much
Of late. Let us have - good seed for
wheat - We select for corn o. potatoes.
loe It certainly will pay. Il 10 custom.
ny for the local millers to offer . pre-
MUM on wheat that r. free from i'm.
puritics which Tar more than repays the 2
Extra pains taken to prepare the seed
and they can we'll afford to do
70. for much Of the ordinary wheat con-
aims NO small per cent Of impurities
hat IL worthless Farmer.
A Ssrvlcsshlo E.seh-Clsset.