Emmons County record. [volume] (Williamsport, D.T. [i.e. N.D.]) 1884-current, 1902-08-15

i
was merely working in the interests of
the drug-stores, and claimed that whis-
ky could be obtained at many Fargo
drug establishments by the glass.
Elax.sick. Land.
Prof. Bolley, Of the agricultural COL
lege experiment station at Fargo,
sends out the following:
"There is an innate belief on the
part OF the great majority of farmers
that flax rs crop is very destructive
to the fertility of the soil. This be-
l lief would at first seem to be we'll
founded. Flax crops have been raised
for thousands of years; but history
Indicates that there are practically
| only two ways in which any continu-
l GUS success may be had with the crop
1t must either be grown upon new or
virgin soil or upon land which is not
known to have had flax upon it for a
considerable number OF years. In
Holland, North France, Ireland, Bel
GUM and Germany the best farmers
say that it should not be sown upon
the same land more often than once
in twelve to fourteen years. Some
Belgian farmers claim that they can
get a good crop as often as once
in seven years, provided they SOW
a very clean, perfect type Of
seed. Now, we of the agricult-
ural college happened to start
at a very favorable time for
working with this tax trouble.
We have found that the flax plant is
not particularly hard upon land, that
we can get better crops Of wheat after
flax than after. wheat, oats, barley, or
perhaps any other crop excepting a
cultivated one. Our chemist has found
that flax does not take more fertility
from soil than wheat; indeed, not quite
SO much. Our agriculturist has found
that considerably better crop can be
raised after flax than after wheat, and
in the biological department we have
found that the real cause why flax
seems to be hard upon land, why, for
example, flax cannot be raised year af-
ter year on the same land without
making the soil fax-sick, is a fungus
parasite which grows upon the flax
plant and produces large number of
spores, which get into the seed at
thrashing time by falling off from the
sick Wilted and dried-up straws. We
find that this fungus develops in the
soil, and stays there number of years,
living upon the decayed matter Of the
soil, where itcan attack the young flax
when the next crop of flax is put upon
the land. Hence, farmers have sup
posed that, as the flax plants quickly
die off, there must be something lost
from the soil by the previous crop
which the flax plants need for food.
Many experiments prove that this is
not the case. Here is an example: II
one takes enough Of his flax-sick soil,
where fax plants will no longer grow,
to make good sized pot experiment
or small bed, and steams the soil fo1
such bed throughly, one can then
plant treated flax seed upon such
steamed soil and grow perfect crop
I of flax to complete maturity without
any disease. The steaming kills all
i life that is in the soil, but it is not
sufficient to make any material change
in. the soil. 1t is then proven that
there is something alive in the soil
which attacks the flax plant and kills
IT.. It is also proven that the soil is
yet fertile enough to grow good crop
Of fax, ii only we could get rid of the
fungus, which, experiments show us,
can produce the disease whenever we
4 place it in the soil. The common way
of putting the fungus into the new
I:soil is by way of the seed, 1t you dc
not know how to select seed from youl
crop that is now growing SO as not tc
SOW more tlax-wilt fungus into your
land, write the college,. -
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