Shoshone journal. [volume] (Shoshone, Idaho) 1884-1931, 1899-06-23
Improving Plants bY selection.


From Farmers Review:-More than
ordinary attention has been de-
voted this year to the yearbook OF the
department of agriculture. The pres
ent secretary from the first has i'm
pressed upon his employees the i'm
portance of producing simple, prac-
teal articles which every farmer can
understand and profit by. rather than
abstruse, scientific articles. unintel-
ligible TO nine-tenths of the population
of the country. One of the many pop
ular articles which the yearbook VIII
contain is entitled Improvement OF
Plants by Selection" 1t is quite sim
ple yet instructive. 1t shows that I'M
provement IN this line is as simple
and important as is Improvement IN
the dairy herd. For instance; in Sc
lecting Indian corn for seed, II is the
common practice to select the best
ears at the time of husking. the main
object being to secure ears OF good
size, shape, and having large. we'll
formed kernels and a proper proper
ton of cob and kernel. This, while
good as far as it goes. does not take
the vigor of the plant into account
and hence does not accomplish all that
is intended The largest ears may
grow on comparatively unproductiye
and weak stalks; therefore to obtain
the best results, seed should be Sc
lected in the field. By patient selec-
ton, year by year, although the Inn
provement each year may be slight
entirely new varieties OF plants are
evolved. The article concludes with
Common methods of selection are
simple and inexpensive and should be-
come general practices in agriculture
Every farmer and horticulturist should
devise for each crop a systematic
method of selection so that the gen.
eral crop may be grown continually
from selected pedigree stock The
common agricultural crops respond
readily to successive selection and in
every case valuable results will doubt
less reward the agriculturist's atten-
ton to this principle"
Introducing Date Palms-Secretary
Wilson states that the department OF
agriculture will likely spend 5000
during the next two years in buying
date palms for the southwest One OF
the expert vegetable pathologists of
the department. w. t. Swingle, is low
in Morocco making close study Of
the African date and selecting the very
finest varieties and those supposed to
be best adapted TO this country 1t has
been found that date palms. under ir-
rigation will grow as well in Arizona
as in Arabia Early Mormon settlers
in the territories proved this many
years ago; but the trees were not of
the best varieties and date growing
never developed as an industry The
department, as Secretary Wilson indi-
Gates. is prepared to push the expert
nent on an extensive scale Each date
palm will be shipped III its own tub
and should arrive at its destination
without material If any injury.
Treatment of a Thistle Patch.-Our
advice is to manure the ground and
pillow early in the spring. Thoroughly
cultivate and make summer fallow"
of the ground until time to plant corn
Then keep the surface well titled all
through the growing season II you
could secure some sweeps to attach to
your cultivator, you could do much bet
ter work in cutting on every stalk oe
this pest Just under the surface.-Nich,
igan Farmer.