The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1905-02-24
A Large Gathering and Plain,
Profitable Talks ON the
Importance Of Good

Importance Of Good
There was a good attendance
of farmers at the seed wheat
meeting held at the court house
last Tuesday evening. the build
ing being packed with an inter-
ested audience of grain growers.
The lecturers we're Prof. w. A.
Wheeler and Prof. E G. Chilcott,
of the South Dakota agricultural
college and experiment station,
and in company with J. ]. Quinn
and George Devegnahd of the
Tri-state Grain Dealers associa.
ton they are making the towns
on the G. NJ. & st, P. railway in
the north part of the state, on
a special train, and giving short
talks on the Importance of secur-
ing good seed, and the best way
to test it, the train stopping
about forty-five minutes at each
place. The addresses are of a
practical nature, and owing to
the large amount of shrunken
grain from the epidemic of rust
last year, the question is one
that appeals to every farmer.
Prof. Wheeler the botanist told
of the plant life and structure
of the wheat and gave the mode
of testing for termination as
follows:
The per. cent of termination of any
seed can be so easily determined by
test that there is no reuse for any one
sowing seed which will not grow. The
termination, though by no means the.
only test that should be made, is.
nevertheless, a very important one.
In making the test, count out W. lots
of 100 seeds, each, from each sample
to be tested. Spread the seeds on a
moist flannel cloth that has been
placed on a plate Cover with another
moist cloth. and cover the whole with
another plate. Do the same with the
other sample of 100 seeds. Place them
both in a moderately warm room and
leave for two or three days. Examine
occasionally, and if the cloths become
dry moisten the upper one. AS soon
as the seeds begin to sprout, remove
those sprouted each day and count.
After from six to ten days, the sum of
those removed will give the per cent of
seeds hat will terminate and the
number remaining will give the per
cent of those that either will not ger
inmate or are slow about terminating.
Rapidly and uniformity of germi-
nation are important points to note.
For killing smut in seed grain
the speakers presented the fol
lowing, and asked for a thorough
careful test of the seed:
Rusts are in no way that is known
distributed upon the seed grain.
Shrunken grain from rusted wheat is
no worse for seed than any other cause.
The smuts are the diseases most com
monty spread on the grain. Most of
these can however, be SO easily pre-
vented that no fears need be held con
corning them. The sinking smut of
wheat and the loose smuts of oats and
barley can be prevented by treating
the seed grain with a mixture of one
pound of f~ormaldehyde to As gallons
of water. The solution car be sprink-
led upon the grain as it is spread upon
the floor. Thorough shoveling of the
grain so that every grain is thoroughly
wet should follow. The grain should
then be allowed to stand in piles for
two hours. Several machines are on
the market for applying the liquid
formaldehyde, and some of them are
pppfact1v SatiSfactOrv
The three points mentioned here as
among those which should be observed
IN the selection of seed grain are
those which are so often overlooked by
farmers that special emphasis should
be given them:
Test all seed to be planted, Of what
ever kind, for termination.
Not less than 80 per cent is cOnsid-
cred satisfactory for wheat, 90 per
cent is a good test. A lower test than
this must be accepted for some seeds.
Always secure the heaviest seed OBJ
%tainable, other things being equal.
Where there is the slightest doubt
about smut being present, treat the
grain with formaldehye as a prevent
alive.
Prof. Chilcott stated that the
best grains were produced in
the same manner as the best
live stock is produced by a
constant breeding up, securing
a suitable and healthy seed, and
making a discriminating and
careful selection of seed from
this production each year.