The Donaldsonville chief. [volume] (Donaldsonville, La.) 1871-current, 1906-09-01
FARM SUGGESTIONS.
DR.. S. A. Knapp. Originator of the Sue
cessful Knapp Cultural system Of
Farming, Issues Advice as to
Sa1ecfinn of seed

At frequent intervals the farmers 9
Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Ar
kansas and Oklahoma are favored
with valuable suggestions by DR.. S.
A. Knapp, special agent in charge o.
the work of the United States depart
ment of agriculture in this section o.
the country, with headquarters at Lake
Charles.
These hints and suggestions form q
part of what has come TO be known as
the Knapp cultural system, which is
simply a common sense system Of
farming drawn from the experience OF
the best practical farmers, the expert
ments OF the government and state
stations, and the deductions and in
duetioas of agricultural scientists in
all lines. It is as nearly as can be
the sum of human experience in farm
ing, and it's general aim is TO produce
the best results with the least outlay,
to raise the best and largest crop pos
sible to the acre, and to make farming
a profitable business.
It was the application OF the Knapp
cultural system, about which there is
nothing mysterious or obtruse, that
checked the ravages of the cotton boil
weevil in Texas. Where its methods
were followed faithfully farmers raised
better crops than they had ever raised
before, even in the Weevil-infested dis
tricts, and raised them at time when
they were able to command highly sat
isfactory prices in open market.
DIR. Knapp's latest suggestions relate
to the selection Of corn and cotton
seed with a view Of improving the
quality and increasing the yield of
those crops, and are as follows:
SEED SELECTION.
Station No. in the highway farm
progress is good seed.
Planting selected seed OF the best
variety and of the highest vitality, is
absolutely essential to the production
OF the best crops
Buying the best seed, if the farmer
does not have it, is commendable; but
this must be followed by the best cult
walton and the most careful selection
to elimin ate minor defects and improve
the excellencies of the type, or the
seed will deteriorate.
COTTON SEED.
That like produces like, is law OF
plant life to be observed in all details.
From your best field Of cotton select
the best portion, and in this ehoi ee
division mark the most vigorous and
productive plants, showing short joints
and fruit limbs near the bottom. The
entire plant should be an exceptional
fruit producer. Seed should be Sc
lected from these marked cotton stalks,
but the top bolls and the bolls on the
ends of the limbs should not go into
the lot for seed; they tend to make
the cotton later. The bolls selected
for seed should be picked by special
field hands, sent in advance OF the
regular piekers. This seed cotton
must be stored in dry place and
watched to avoid mixing.
Special care must be taken at the
gin that the gin and floor are free
from all other cotton seed before
ginning.
Where greater length Of staple is
desired, select such bolls only as show
the longest staple. By careful selee-
tion most any desired qualities, or
characteristics, can ultimately be.
secured.
SEED CORN.
The above rules for cotton apply to
corn.
Fix some standard qualities of corn
and type of ear you prefer, then select
70 secure these.
Il white corn, with average ear,
ii should be about eight inches long
with medium cob, long, deep and un-
form kernels, which cover the ends Of
5he cobs well, husk closely adher;ng
20 the corn at the tip. The kernels
should show nitrogen content above
,he average. In the above case the
seed corn should be selected from q
stalk that has two early matured ears,
'q as to promote tendency to pro-
luce two ears and early maturity.
Il the large ear type is preferred, it
IS better to select the seed corn from
stalks bearing one ear only, but of the
desired type In general character
sites it should correspond to case one,
except with larger and longer ear.
All barred or non-producing stalks
should have been de-tasselled, and all /
,ars blighted or blasted BY smut
should have been removed from the
ield where seed corn is to be selected. |
Avoid selecting seed ears near blighted
ears or even good ears where most of
he surrounding ears are nubbins.
Store IN dry place, aud never
when wet or not thoroughly cured.
Letter to AIeee Rodrigue. DonaldsonvilIe.
Dear sIr-some people get disap-
pointed in painting; it doesn't come
put as they thought it would.
G. 3. Edwards, of Edwards s
Broughton, printers, Raleigh, N. q,
painted his house Devoe three years
,rr. l,a hnd uSna 10 ..93-