The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-03-05
ADVANTAGE OF GOOD SEED
WHEAT

Hubbard Milling company. is attracting
considerable attention and orders are
coming in quite freely. There is no
, doubt but that this is most i'm
portant move and The Free Press can
not help thinking that farmers will
consult their own interests in paying
very much more attention to the mat
ter of seed wheat and seed grain OF
'all kinds than has been their custom
in the past.
The seed wheat offered by the mill
ing company was grown by the Armenia
G. Sharon Land company of North Da-
kota, company which is farming 40
900 acres and which is paying particu-
lar attention to the matter of seed
grain of all kinds. From their book
let describing their methods, we take
the. following:
Wheat is still the principal crop
throughout the northwest, but in many
sections the yield has fallen below
where it is a profitable crop to pro-
lduce. This reduction of yield and
quality is due to poor seed and cul-
tivation, lack of crop rotation, etc.
by proper crop rotation, care in
selecting our seed and good farming
we have always secured satisfactory
yield and good quality wheat. On our
seed farm we conduct tests each year
to show yield and quality of diff
ferent varieties, and when we have
secured promising ones they are az.
ways tested against the old varieties
in order that we may note the advan-
tages, if there are any. By this method
we have succeeded in securing first
class yield and good quality.
"When Minnesota No. 100 wheat was
first distributed by the Minnesota Ex-
pertinent station, we secured a quanij
ty, grew it in small way for a few
years, noting the yield, quality, etc.,
as compared, to our old varieties. After
three or -four years trial we found
that it was the best wheat we had
ever tested, and are now growing this
exclusively as our main crop, with
excellent results.
Need more be said to convince
you that this is a suitable variety for
the wheat growing section of the
northwest? Our seed is thoroughly
recleaned and graded. We discard
twenty-five to forty per cent, using
only the very plumpest grains, Rec
ords show that this wheat yields from
two to five bushels more per acre than
other varieties.
"The average yield of this wheat
for ten years at the Minnesota EX
pertinent Station has been over twenty
six bushels per acre. A number of new
varieties Of wheat have been intro
duced into the northwest within the
last ten years, but, with the excep-
ton of No. 1863, not one has proven
a success, most of them lacking the
qualities which are essential to make
first class four The method of plant
selection now generally in use is based
on the theory that the common varie-
ties of grain contain, upon close obser-
vation, ten, twenty or even more dis
tinct strains. Some one of these is
more prolific. harder than the other,
but it requires expert knowledge to
make the selection.
Professor Hays, formerly of the Min
nesOta station, now assistant secretary
of agriculture, selected a single wheat
plant from thousands. Tested on re-
peated trials, it was found superior H.
yield, quality and vigor. This selection
is known as No. l69, and is the most
widely distributed in the spring wheat
section.
Selections are made of individual
plants with the hope of still further
improving the wheat by roguing small
fields, that is, going through the field
just before the ripening period and
discarding all but the most perfect
plants which are true to the variety,
and also by hand picking the seed on
larger fields. Besides this, all of the
seed we SOW, as well as the seed we
sell, is clean and graded in the most
thorough manner, using both screens
and air blast to separate the light and
imperfect kernels. BY our system of
records we keep perfect record of the
seed from the time it is introduced
on the farm until it leaves our hands.
We hope we have made it plain to
you that it pays to give more than
ordinary attention to seed wheat and
seed grains in general. 1t would be
impossible for the average farmer to
produce as fine a quality and as wen
graded seed wheat as we do"
We do not believe there is any doubt
that the farmers of Blue arth county
could readily increase their yield of
wheat from five to ten bushels per acre
by proper selection of seed wheat and
better methods in farming.
With the high prices now prevail
ing for wheat and the prospect that
good prices will obtain right along in
future, we believe it will pay our
farmers to go into the matter sys.
tematically and by better methods and
better selection of seed grain, there is
no doubt but what they can add large
ly to their profits.