Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1906-04-26

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The growing Of faxseed as q reg
ular rotation crop has not, as yet, OBJ
tanned 4 very firm footing in the North T
west, although support is gradually
coming to the belief that it should
have place In every rotation Of crops.
It Is undoubtedly fact that the
great majority Of Northwestern farm
ers have considered faxseed as q pio-
neer crop and after one or two crops
have dropped it. In many cases these
crops were grown successfully on the
same land, year after year, and from
this occurred the failures Of 1900 and
1901. ~o@3 !. b.. .5S,"::: .2 ..5, z. 4
To some extent the dismal failure Of
the 1900 crop, and a large part of the
1901 area, was not entirely a misfor-
tune, as it turned the attention of
scientists to discovering the cause Of
and a remedy for the failures. ...~
Within the past four. years more
has been learned about the ills to
which the faxseed plant is liable and
methods for avoiding them than dur
ing the entire previous history of the
plant and at the present time our
knowledge is very complete.
To the experiment stations Of the
Agricultural colleges at Minneapolis
and Fargo we are indebted for the
greater part of this knowledge, and
especially to the Fargo school, where
Professor Henry l.. Bolley has been
untiring in his efforts to improve the
yield and quality OF faxseed. The re-
suits of his study are summarized in
the following recommendations:
use only plump, bright colored fax
for seed. Treat all seed fax every
year,; the treatment was found by
many farmers to be great success in
1909. Before treating clean all seed
thoroughly in tanning mill until all
bits Of straw and chaff as we'll as light
weight seeds have been removed or
blown out. The treatment recon-
mended will not kill the fungus which
Is always to be found inside diseased
straw and chat because it cannot
penetrate to it. In a diseased crop
most of the light weight, dark colered
and scaly seeds bear the fungus on the
inside of the seed coats. Such seeds
must be removed, for the treatment
cannot prevent those from injecting
the soil. d" .'.:@ ss'5s
""use formaldehyde at the rate Of
enc pound of the standard strength to
forty gallons of water. Spread the
sssd upon tight door, or upon can
vas, and aprinkle or spray on small
amount OF the liquid "a fae spray
thrown by small force pump is best).
Shovel, hoe or rake the. grain over rap
Idly. Repeat the spraying, shoveling,
hoeing or raking until the surfaces Of
all the seeds are evenly moist, not
vet enough to mat or gum, but thor.
oughly damp. This can be accom-
plished without mating, If well hoed
or sheyeled over. Leave the grain
piled for several hours The dry grains
will absorb the excess Of moisture
without injury or mating and the
spores of the disease will be killed by
the fumes. It takes about one-half
gallon of water solution to- properly
wet one bushel Of haxseed.. #
after this care has been taken with
the seed l recommend these further
precautions:
Sow all fax on a compact, even seed
bed. as shallow as possible and vet
have 1t well covered. Sow smaller
areas to fax and never follow fax by
aax until number Of years have in.
teRvensd. I recommend the following
series Of crops until we have learned
reasons for a better one:
FLAX. {. >.3=%
wheat, oats or barley. :a.ar
"Corn, or other cultivated crop, or
ssllew. ~' e. So 1s3 "
wheat. 4s=5
"Grass. D. 4Ss q:
pasture. one or moro years, then
lax If desired" $ e}s
About rotation Professor Bolley
says: 5.s
1t will be great source of wealth
10 Northwestern farmers il. unlike all
others heretofore, they can so nearly
eradicate the diseases of fax from
their seed fax and from the soil that
they may continue to produce good
rrops of fax. Think what boon to
this region it would be If the farmers
may continue to produce as heavy
crops Of FAX on their lands In the fu.
ture as they do now upon new land.
This is a new doctrine, but do not
| Hesitate to say that such can be the
ease and even much better crops than
are now grown. Remember that it
was once quite generally held that no
one could tell how to avoid the occur
renee OF smut Ia wheat ana eats.