The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1907-12-05

W. M. HAYS.
There are three cardinal themes
which appeal to the interest-the self
interest-of the farmer: Crops, hogs
and cattle. Anything which relates di,
rectly to any of these vital topics is
sure to command the willing ear of
the nan of the soil. 1t is not strange,
therefore, that the professional swind-
Ter who makes a business of cheating
the farmer has recognized this fact
and made the most Of it
For many years the improved seed"
swindle has been one Of the most sue
cessful and is taking hundreds of thou
sands of dollars from the pockets of
the farmers. Besides taking money
for something worthless or. next
to worthless-it does the direct
damage Of planting hundreds of
fields with seed inferior in germinat-
ing power or lacking in value per acre
of the crop and of undermining pop
ular confidence in the practical value
Of progressive work done by the agri-
cultural departments of the national
and state governments-for too often
the seed swindlers claim an endorse
ment by some department or some
person connected Herewith. There is
not an agricultural department which
has not placed the emphasis of its
message to the farmer upon the great
gain In results to be had from the
careful selection of seed-whether in
corn, in the smaller grains, in cotton
or in grasses, clovers and the forage
crops. There are few, if any, lines of
recent experiment and research along
which such immense and significant
progress has been made by the agri-
cultural scientists as in the matter Of
seed breeding; improving standard
varieties and making new varieties.
In this n particular the work Of the
national and state experiment stations
has made a Few chapter in the agr1-
cultural history of this country and
has worked a potential revolution in
productiveness of the tillable acres Of
the United States.
The men actually in charge of these
experiments are SO much the best,
safest and most disinterested authori-
ties on the new varieties of field, or
chard and garden crops worthy of pur-
chase, that their advice should be
sought. Since their salaries are paid
by the nation and states, part of their
recognized work is to give informa-
ton, and nowhere in the world Is
there a body of men more courteous
or ready to be useful to those for
whom they work-the American farm
or. They will nearly always advise
farmers to secure standard seeds,
trees and plants already used in the
neighborhood, or If new kinds are to
be chosen these men will advise
which of many new candidates for
favor they should risk on their high
priced lands instead of kinds known
to give good crops. ;
In the light Of four years later a
man who would grossly overstate the
prospective yields Of a "billion-dollar
grass" not only securing the farmers
money, but inducing him to plant his
land to a crop less productive of value
than the crop he would otherwise con-
tinue to grow, is a business pirate.
The experiment stations and state
and United States departments Of az
r%iculture, state horticulture societies,
field crop breeders societies, the
American Breeders association, and
similar organizations, are rapidly de-
veloping the testing Of standard, new
ly introduced and newly bred varie-
ties, SO that they are able to advise
farmers which varieties to use In their
regular business planting and which
are valuable to experiment with in a
small way.
The tree agent who induced the pio.
neer farmer to purchase from large
fruit pictures orchard trees in which
the family long hoped, but which
numbered the ground until the pio.
neer mother had brought up her fam.
lily and had gone to her reward. has q
mighty black spot in his record of
deeds done. The seed firm which sold
my friend Clark Red top seed in which
Kentucky blue grass seed was mixed
for a permanent hay meadow. far
north, made well nigh worthless large
areas of peaty land situated where It
could not be pastured, but would have
permanently produced fine crops of
timothy. The dealer was criminally
ignorant, because he was asked for
seed for a specific purpose, and he
put In the blue grass, which grows too
short to NOV for hay, but crowds out
the variety suited to cut for hay.
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