The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-06-13
BoLLEY ON FLAX.
Interesting Discussion on Flax Wilt by
North Dakota's Celebrated Expert,

For some years Professor Bolley has
been attempting to breed immune, or
more properly speaking wilt resistant
flax. Numerous varieties and strains
of flax collected from al over the world
have been seeded year after year upon
f1ax-sick ground, that is ground which
because of persistent cropping to flax
has become thoroughly infected with
the wilt fungus. The theory for this
line of procedure was that some in
dividual plants of superior constitution
might be found which would be able
to resist the wilt diseases. Results
more than satisfied this expectation.
The first year some sixty individual
plants were selected and the seed of
each was saved separately. Since that
time, each year, the seed from the best
plants from each of these potts have
been saved and reseeded upon the
same sick ground, until finally strains
of flax growing alongside died in a
few days. Gradually, however, more
flax rust which is an entirely different
disease, came in the plots every year
until in the season of 1905, the fax
of the breeding plots was so severely
injured by rust that Professor Bolley,
unable to account for the excess of
rust on these breeding plots, decided
to withhold the so-called immune
seeds from distribution to farmers I'M
til further information could be OBJ
tanned. Since the close of last har-
vest Professors Bolley and Pritchard
have put in much time upon the study
of these new flax troubles, and have at
last arrived at proper explanation
why the flax in this immunization
work was so badly attacked by rust.
while ordinary flax in adjoining far
mer's fields was injured to but a slight
extent. The reason is as follows in
this article, and is another strong
argument why farmers should cease
to sow flax after flax Farmers need
not expect to raise good crops of flax
If they continue to SOW it up on the
same ground, year after year, even
though it is wilt proof, for the ex-
periments in the new greenhouse and
the outdoor studies just completed
demonstrate that flax rust lives over
in the old straw and Immediately at
tacks the young plant of the following
year, which accounts for the fact that
the max samples In the immune breed
Ing plots were so badly attacked.
AA oAoOA " Adh0 sure EQe
ground should be as full of wilt dis
ease as possible, it has been the habit
to plow under large quantities of dis
eased flax straw each year. The re-
suit was the rust spores upon the old
flax terminated and Immediately af-
fected the young plants to the marked
extent noted. The amount of damage
increases each year until the crop of
1905 was practically destroyed. The
department had increased the seed of
number of the best samples, until
several bushels were ready for dis
tribution, but the rust in 1905, shrivel-
led the seed to such extent that it was
not deemed desirable to distribute any
of 1t for fear that rust might be thus
distributed. Only a sufficient quantity
OF each sample was saved in order to
allow the experimenters to continue
the study of rust and wilt.
Experiments conducted In the new
green house, built for the department
for this purpose, have left no doubt
in the minds of the Investigators that