The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1909-03-25
SOME PURE SEED GOSPEL
Prof. Willis and Prof. Holden Discuss
the Pure Seed Question to Farm-
crs and Citizens.
crs and Citizens.

The seed special arrived some
what behind the scheduled time
Thursday evening but notwithstand-
ing the lateness of the hour there was
a good crowd of farmers and citi-
Zens present.
The first speaker was Prof. Willis
OF Brookings, who took up a gener-
al discussion of agriculture and the
raising of small grains. Prof. Will
lis is a Very convincing and forceful
speaker and is very enthusiastic over
his subject. He first took up the dis
cussion of the profession of farming
and showed how the other profess
ions We're dependent upon it. Too
many became farmers, he said, be-
cause they have failed in everything
else. 1t requires just as much skill
and education to be a good farmer
as anything else. Also too many are
struggling along in professions when
they ought to be farmers. He. en-
.phasized especially that if a farmer
was not proud of his business he
should get out of it and get into the
one he would like.
Coming down to the discussion of
the main subject Prof. Willis took
up the conditions that confront the
farmer in South Dakota. The aver
age rainfall in this state is 90 inches
and With that much crops should be
a success. He said there were four
constituents 10 a good crop: season
soil, seed and the farmer; the other
constituents can not so we'll be con-
trolled but the farmer is directly re-
sponsible if his seed is not success
full.
In taking up the question of seeds
Prof. Willis said that the principle
underlying all agriculture was that
like produces like. With this. idea in
view he suggested that each farmer
as his grain commenced to get ripe,
go out into his fields and pick out
the heads that ripen first, pick
enough to plant a seed acre and with
this as a nucleus develop seed that
ripens fast and is sure to grow. He
emphasized especially the testing of
some of the seeds before planting.
Prof. Willis took up the cause Of
the spreading Of smut which he de-
scribed as being transmitted by
threshing machines. He advised the
farmers to be very careful about
this plant disease, both in the way Of
treating seed before planting and in
requiring grain separators to be
thoroughly cleaned before using.
Another essential feature that he
took up at some length was the use
of a loose covering of earth on the
top Of the ground to retain all the
moisture in the ground. Altogether,
the talk given by Prof. Willis was
bristling with points OF valuable in
formation for the farmers present.
The other speaker of the evening
was Prof. p. G.. Holden, who A. p.
Chamberlain introduced as The
Great Corn Apostle of Iowa. Prof.
Holden was evidently fatigued be-
cause of the many addresses he had
made during the day but he showed
such an earnestness and thorough
appreciation of the needs of the
farmers, and he was listened to with
close attention for the three-quar-
tiers of an hour that he spoke. His
talk was illustrated throughout by
means of charts and illustrations SO
there could be nc doubt as to the
point he intended to express.
The speaker first congratulated the
farmers of South Dakota for their
prosperity which he said might be
the means of their undoing because
of the dissatisfaction and inaction
in which it was likely to result, He
epitomized success as doing better
today than we did yesterday.
~ by IIlCdllS OL HIS CudTI anu ILG dCl-
ual figures Prof. Holden showed the
great amount of seed corn that is
unproductive and the number of hills
and stalks in an Urinary field that
are absolutely worthless. The re-
suit was shown to be startling if only
every stalk of corn in the field could
be made to produce. to say nothing
of the money and labor that would
be saved in %cultivating corn that
never grew.
\ ASthe remedy for the troubles Of
corn growers and the means to Their
prosperity he offered the system Of
testing all ears from which corn is
taken. Prof. Holden demonstrated
with a simple handmade model the
entire process of testing corn. HI
said that a few hours each day fol
the next few weeks spent in this kfnt
of work would be more beneficial
than a month or six weeks work II