Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-03-08
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FIG. x111-GooD AND BAD TYPES OF STEEL
wnEAT

WHEAT.
Mote tho shriveled. shrunken condition
OF the kernels to the risht.]
enough. Some OF the largest grain
are shriveled and light in weigh
he only way to separate these is t
Use plenty of wind in the fannin
mill SO as to blow them over. Suci
rains are all right for feed. but ar
entirely out of place in the seed BIZ
This method of seiction is especial
important in the case OF wheat. as i
separates the hard from the sof
grains to some extent. since the So
ones are lighter. Hardness is an i'm
portant factor to look after, since.
hard wheat is much more yaluabl.
for milling purposes, making larger
amount Of high grade -four.
II the most value Is to be obtained
from the selection of seed some def
mite plan Of improvement must be fol
lowed. BY little care a variety OF
wheat or oats may be SO bred up as to
increase the yield from ten to twenty
bushels per acre. The work Is small
item as compared with the benefits.
In starting the work Of breeding the
variety which doe, best in your par
ticular locality should be selected. Go
into the field just before harvest time
and select forty or fifty of the best
heads In doing this the size and
plumpness Of che grain and the length
~, - I,, Si6aroH This
latter point has a great deal to dc
with the yield since long head often
contains twice as much grain as a
shorter one. The character Of the
straw is also important. 1t should be
straight and strong, with no. tendency
to rust, as a weak straw or one that is
badly rusted cannot hold up a heavy
head Of grain Another point to notice
is the stooling-that is, the number Of
stalks that grow up from one seed.
When the required number Of such
heads have been found they should be
put away in a dry place until spring
when they should be thrashed out sep
arately ind planted In little plot II
the garden. The seed from each head
should be sown in a row by itself
The rows should be about four inche'
apart md the plants the same dis
lance apart in the row.
As harvest time comes on grea'
difference in these rows will be no
ticed. Some will be badly affectes
with rust. Some will have weak stray
and will so down badly. Some Wi
have short heads containing but fey
grains each. A few of the rows wi!
contain plants and heads OF the typ
you are looking for. Select the bes
heads from these rows to plant in mex
years plot.
The second year, If the first yenr'
selection was properly carried on. cor
siderable Improvement will be obser'
ed. This year the seed from each
the strongest rows should be saved
bulk after sorting out any heads thu
are not of the required type. The see
from each Of these rows is to be plans
ed in little plot by itself the follow
ing spring.
Notes on these plots regarding th
strength of straw, amount of stoolin
and resistance to rust should be care
fully kept. The main point to be cor
eidered, however, is the yield. Til,
grain from each of the plots should
be weighed and the preference given
to the heaviest yielders. Seed from
five or six of the best producing plots
may then be saved for larger plots the
fourth year. The yield of these, to-
gether with the quality of grain and
strength of straw will determine
which strain is to be selected for field
use.
A factor which often cuts of as
much as 10 per cent from the yield OF
small grain is smut. Unlike rust, the
treatment Of this disease comes more
under the head of preparation Of the
seed than that Of selection. 1t may be
we'll, however, to give brief outline
of the methods Of prevention here.
Smut is fungous growth-that Is, a
low form Of plant which lives on other
plants 1t usually attacks the heads
of small grain, filling the place where
the kernels should be with a black,
worthless mass. The black dust OF
which this mass is made up is ccln-
prised largely of spores, which CORE
spond to seeds Of higher plants. These
spores become scattered over the seed
in thrashing and storing. In the
spring, when the grain sprouts, the
smut spore terminates also and sends
a tiny thread UP through the stem to
the head, where 1t develops into the
familiar smut ball. Often these smut