The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1907-09-04
. Valuable Farm Experiments.

More Practical Farm Experiments"
are included in a farmers bulletin mo
296) now on the press of the Depart
ment of Agriculture, Washington, d.
G. The little pamphlet is full of good
things, complied from the results Of
government experiments and the most
valuable of the work of the various
experiment stations throughout the
country. There Is no publication of
Uncle Sans of more general value than
these farm experiment bulletins. The
one In question contains some fifteen
short condensations of practical exper-
iments, many of them covering a series
OF years, ana being the results of the
work of several separate scientific in
vestigations. They contain real in
formation, written in non-technical
language, and can any of them be read
in ten minutes or less.
The first item discussed Is "Wells
and Pure Water" Every one knows
the value of pure water supply, both
for the household and stock, and its
relation to the wholesomeness of dairy
and other products sold from the farm;
but not everybody pays enough atten-
ton to the location or construction of
the well.
Another subject is the need of phos-
pilates in acid soil and the necessary
tests to determine its acidity. The val
ue of good seed over poor is strikingly
set forth in some statistics of clover
planting. This is another instance
where everybody comedies that to plant
questionable seeds Is poor policy, yet
thousands of acres of good lands are
regularly prepared with care and then
planted with seed whose germinative
qualities and purity are unknown,
with resulting poor crop. The de-
partment is doing its best to stop the
sales of impure or dead seeds; but the
question rests after all with the indiv-
idual farmer. If every one tested the
seeds he bought, and especially If he
reported cases of adulterated or dead
seeds to the government the sale OF
such seeds would be Immediately stop.
ped. In one sample of seed examined
an acre of alfalfa planted from this LOT
would have resulted in $4,000 weeds
including dodder, plaintain, foxtail
etc. In another sample there were "a
different kinds of weeds. In one case
of clover seed-taking fifteen pounds
to the acre as the standard for sowing
owing to impurities, 1t would have
been necessary to sow seventy-thret
pounds, while the weeds would have
smothered the crop. Certainly this
seed as a gift would have been mos
expensive.
Farmers who have been troubled
with dying out of their clover will dt
well to send for this bulletin, as it con
tains an account of a fungus disease
which has been attacking and In som,
instances almost destroying, clove
fields. The remedy seems to lie in pro
curing seed from selected health,
plants. The work of the government
along these lines is very encouragin!
to the eradication of the disease.
Oat fields infested with wild mustar,
were rid of the weed by spraying o
iron sulphate, and many other weed
were killed at the same time withou
detrimeHt to the oats.
In hothouse and cold-frame plan
growing an inexplicable dying off o
seemingly healthy plants frequently oc
ours. This is the result of harmful
bacteria, which get into the soil, es
pecially if it is used several seasons
Sterilizing the soil will kill these germ
while at the same time it is show
that seeds germinate quicker an
plants develop better in sterilized sol
Dry burning of brush or trash is
simple method of sterilizing.