Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1906-03-02
USE GOOD SEED.
Pc. Atkinson, Of the Montana Expert.
ment Station, Gives Views.

Pi... Atkinson, Of the Montana Expert.
ment Station, Gives Views.
Prof. A. Atkinson, of the Montana
experiment station. sends the follow
ing to the Argus:
It is commendable business en-
deavor to try to make the enterprise
in which We are engaged yield max
ium returns on fits investment. Since
the business of the farmer is the con-
verting of the soil and air elements
into marketable commodities, the most
successful farmer is the one that reaps
the fullest returns in the form of crops
harvested. There are three lines
along which we may direct our ener-
sies if We wish to increase the re-
turns from the farm. These are by add
ing plant food elements to the soil,
by adopting improved methods of till
age, or by improving the quality of
the seed planted.
Throughout Montana there is room
for considerable improvement in the
quality of seed sown. The climate is
such as to produce high quality of
grain and too frequently selection, in
order that only the best may be sown,
is entirely overlooked. In a recent
publication by the Department of Ag-
riculture at Washington. compar-
ison is made of the price per bushel
of the grains that would actually germ.
mate in high and low priced seed, as
offered on certain market. 1t was
found that the high priced seed quot
ed at $3.50 per bushel cost actually
$l.65 for seed that would give 100
per cent termination; while the lower
priced seed which was sold at 81, cost
actually few cents over $4,000 per
bushelbushel, for the seeds that grew.
While this may be an extreme case.
it illustrates what is usually fact, viz:
that low grade seeds are by far the
most expensive, as our crop comes on
ly from seeds that grow.
The increasing of the amount of
seed per acre sown is often resorted
to as a means of offsetting the dis
advantages of inferior seed. While
this may enable us to get enough
good seeds sown, yet the crowding
that comes as result of the many
weak plants that start from the in
ferior seeds seriously handicaps the
growing crop. Again when any con-
siderable area is sown the increased
amount of seed grain necessary is a
factor Investigations have proven
that much better returns are gained
from two bushels of we'll cleaned seed
than from three bushels of uncleaned
seed grain. This saving of one BUSH
ell per acre would itself on a forty
acre field amount to enough to pay
for the cleaning of the seed, to say
nothing of the increased yield that
comes when only good seed is sown.
The belief that seeds deteriorate or
run out" when grown on the same
soil for number Of years, is COM
monty accepted one. The 1905 annau-
al report of the Ontario Experimental
Farm presents some results which
throw light on this problem. The
same varieties of oats, barley, and po-
tatoes have been grown on that farm
for the past 16 years without the ad-
dition of fertilizers. The seen in each
case was carefully cleaned every year.
The results show that in every in.
stance there has been a steady in
crease in the yield. In the case of
oats the yield has increased from "A
to 100 bushels per acre, with barley
from so to GO bushels per acre, and
with potatoes 12O to 249 bushels per
acre. These figures show quite clear
ly that it is possible to grow the same
varieties of grain and potatoes on the
same farm for considerable number
of years without change of seed. They
also indicate that the running OUT
of seeds is attributable to the failure
to select carefully rather than the fact
OF being repeatedly grown on the
same ground.
The best time to prepare seed grain
is during the winter months when
farm work is not pressing. At this
time the farm help is not fully occu
pred during all of the hours of the
day, and can devote some of these
idle hours to getting the springs seed
into shape. This reduces the cost to
a minimum and places the increased
returns from good seed as clear
gain, as enough is saved in the amount
of seed required to pay for the work
is not best to wait until spring OF
seeding time is at hand before clean
ing the seed grain. When this is done
the rush OF spring work too frequent
iy makes it impossible to get the
grain cleaned properly. If 1906 seed
grain is not already cleaned NOW is
| tho time