The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1908-08-06

from the air and stores ii in the soil
and nitrogen is one of the pricipal ele-
mentS OF fertility in the soil. No other
plants do this except the legumes, that
is the clovers, peas. beans and vetches.
Every time we grow a crop of clover
and feed it on the farm and put the
manure out fresh from the barn, with
out allowing it to heat or leach in the
rain, we have practically improved the
farm because of the crop having gown
there and gathered this fertility, while
with crops other than legumes there
is always a little deterioration Of the
soil. even if the crop is fed UP on the
farm and the manure returned to the
land fresh and a great deterioration
if this is not done.
The other reason for making the
cloyers higher is that when properly
cured they are more valuable for feed
ing purposes than the other hays be.
cause they contain more protein, a
bone, muscle and milk producing mat
erial which is the highest priced ele-
mcnt in feed and the element neces-
sary to be fed with our common grains
grown in this country and fed to- our
stock. One bushel of corn or barley
fed to fattening cattle, sheep or dairy
COWS with good clover or alfalfa will
produce more meat and milk, than one
and one-half bushels of the same grain
fed with timothy or prairie hay or corn
fodder.
If you haven't clover or alfalfa on
the farm now, you can have some by
next fall, by sowing the seed early in
| thn Cr,yfno y11lino tho NvnA1e ntt nf
it while it is small and not sowing
anything else with it. Red clover and
alfalfa must have well drained land,
but alsike will stand lots of water after
it once gets started. Remember it is
the best sheaf of hay that will score
he best, not the biggest coarsest grass.
For the collection of grasses, have
but m variety of grass in each sheaf.
he sheayes are small, only four inches
in diameter in this lot. Get as many
varieties as possible from the home
farm. All sheaves, both grain and
grasses should be perfectly even at
the butt and tied very tight with Irvine.
BY putting a short piece of short stick,
in the center of the small sheaves, so
it will not show and tieing them in
two places they will make a better
display, as this will keep them straight.
Beans.
Beans are included in this contest.
because we believe they should be
raised very much more generally in
this section of the state than they are.
They are better for the land than any
other cultivated crop we grow. because
a legume and are very easily grown,
very profitable and mature early, be-
fore we are likely to have any frost.
The White Navy Bean is the common
little white bean kept in bulk in stores.
Seed beans like potatoes and corn
should be selected from the individu-
al plants. That is for the best results,
you should go into the bean patch and
pick your seed for next year from the
plants that have produced the most
beans of the best quality. 1t is to call
your attention to this that we have in
cluded the three stalks in the contest.
The two quarts and all grains except
corn will show better If picked Over
by hand and shown in glass jars. To
pick by hand, spread out a little at
a time on the table and pick out col
ored, broken or uneven kernels. 1t
don't take long and you will have some
prime seed for next year.
Potatoes.
There are 80 points for a peck of
early potatoes, variety named, and 100
for late ones. Each of these must be
of some distinct recognized variety. A
mixed lot won't do. The best way to
select your seed potatoes is to go into
the patch with a fork and select hills,
| n- t1o,,fr ufith q rcAI IAaJtI,, rt,a-r
top, but not very coarse and one that
has not been injured by blight or di-
sease and dig it up and examine the
product. If you find n good reasonable
number of good, smooth, even pota-
toes, say four or five. save them all
for seed. If not, don't do so. Avoid
saving seed from a plant that only
produced n or two good potatoes and
a lot Of little or deformed ones, no mat
ter how many of them there are. If
farmers would select a bushel of seed
potatoes in this way every year and
then reselect for their product from
this bushel, they would increase their
yield 80 per cent in two or three years.
Treat your seed for scab and plant
in ground that has not had potatoes
in it for at least two years. To treat
for scab get II pound of Tornado
hyde and put into thirty gallons Of
water and immerSe the potatoes, en-
closed in a gunny sack, in this for two
hours. This can be done either before
or after cutting. Immerse all sacks
you are going to have them in before
planting, so they will not be infected
again. If you do this and plant them
in ground that has not had potatoes
in it for two years, you need not fear
scab and can manure it if you wish.
Scabbv potatoes will not score well in
this contest. You need not have them.
Smut in Your Grains.
Smut in your wheat, oats or barley
will also reduce your score. You can
treat this seed very easily. Mix M
pound or pint Of formaldebyde to forty
five gallons for wheat and to thirty
five gallons for oats and barley and put
the grain in gunny sacks, only filling
them half full and immerse them in
the water turning them over two or
three times), for five minutes, then
drain and SOW.
If you put the grain in sacks or in
wagon box or through q drill that has
had smutty grain in it, you will rein