The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1909-07-02
The Improvement of Wisconsin To-
bacc0 Through Seed Selection.
BY E. P. SANDSTEN
Continued from last aOeek.)

| Continued -froDz last aOeek.)
POINTS OF A GOOD SEED PLANT
A typical plant should have medium
to stout stalk so as to be able to uphold
the plant during windy weather. The
leaves should be arranged compactlY on
the stalk and should grow close to the
stalk. The leaves should be broad, in
fact, the broader and more rounded the
leaf is, the more valuable it is, since a
larger number of binders or wrappers
can be cut from it. Plants showing
prominent ribs should not be saved for
seed, as these are Objectionable to the
cigar manufacturers. Texture and quail
| Iity are difficult to describe, but in gen.
eral the leaves should be thin and elas-
| tic, that is to say, cured leaf should
possess fiexibility and elacticity. The
| leaves, for this reason, should have a
certain amount of gum or oil. Quality
| is greatly influenced by fertility and
character of the SOIL Considerable inn
provement along this line can be OBJ
| tanned through careful seed selection.
| The leaves should have little or no leaf
stalk and they should not be tapering
| from the stem end, but should expand
directly from the stalk.
TREATMENT OF THE SEED PLANTS
When the plants are ready to flower,
all side shoots and all flowers that do
not rise from the central stalk should
be removed, permitting only the early
central flower clusters to produce seed.
Flowers growing from the side shoots
do not produce as strong seeds as do
lcentral shoots. Further, they will not
ripen sufficiently early In the fall to
make them of any particular value, and
| If permitted to grow and produce seed
| they will weaken the seed from the
central stalks; the main object is to
throw all the energy of the plant into
the production of seed from the central
stalks.
Attention must also be called to the
| fact that ordinarily our tobacco grow
ers do not top tobacco early enough.
Often flowers are permitted to expand
before the topping is done. This is
great mistake and a great waste OF
plant food. BY permitting the flowers
to appear here and there over the field,
they are very apt to cross-fertilize the
blossoms of plants intended for seed,
and this would be disastrous when one
is endeavoring to obtain pure seed.
Hence the grower should be on the
watch and Should top his crop before
the blossoms appear.
STRIPPING SEED PLANTS BAD PRACTICE
The practice of removing the leaves
from the plants intended for seed at
the time of harvesting the crop is quite
prevalent in the state. This is de-
cidedly bad practice, and should not be
done under any consideration. The few
| leaves saved from the Seed-produclng
plant are of so little value, and do not
pay for the extra trouble of picking
| them, that the farmer can well afford
| to leave them alone. Further, 1t they
are removed from the seed-producing
plant, the seed will be weaker and
| smaller, for the leaves are necessary
| for the full development of the seed.
| The leaves are the kitchen or labora
tory where the plant food is prepared
| for the seed, and if they are removed
the seed will suffer to that extent.
CURING AND CLEANING THE SEED
| AS soon as the seed is ripe, and be-
| fore frost appears, the stalks should be
cut off a foot or more below the seed
pods and hung in dry place where
| there is abundant ventilation to permit
uninterrupted curing. The seed stalks
will require about two months to thor
oughly dry and ripen, after which they
may be taken down and the seed shelled
| out on canvas with an ordinary hand
fail. The threshing should be done
/ during dry weather, as the seed will
| then shell out very readily. Care must
be taken in handling the stalks, as 9TH
erwise considerable seed may be lost.
| The cleaning of the seed may be done
in various ways. Figure 6 shows an
| improved type of tobacco seed cleaner
devised jointly by the members of the
Horticultural department. 1t IS a mod
| flied type of one designed by the United
States Department of Agriculture, but
differs from that device in many essen
tial parts. The machine is not only
easier to operate, requiring less labor
and skill in operating than the govern
ment machine, but it will also preform
many times the amount OF work:
Further, this machine is automatic and
| does not require taking apart to remove
/ the clean seed. The feed is also auto
IL Is IlOG IlSNCSOdI CHcC viz
farmer have one of these machines ex-
cept when he intends to grow seed for
| sale, then the purchasing or making OF
machine would be a good investment.
Ordinary fine hand sieves can be used
for the same purpose, though the pro-
cess is quite slow and tedious. Great
emphasis must be placed on the purity
of the seed. That is to say, the clean
ino Shol1ld hn thorough all small and
/ light seeds should be removed, and only
the plump and strong ones should be
left after the cleaning process is COM
pleted.
SEED TESTING VERY IMPORTANT
/ Ordinary commercial seeds show a
termination from 40 to so per cent,
while really frst-class tobacco seed
should test about so per cent Low
termination tests indicate many weak
and poor seeds and strong and vigorous