The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-04-12
Testing Seeds.

# takes but little time to test the
terminating power of the seed we are
going to plant, and it may make al
the difference betWeen 4 good Stana
and q poor one TO have all the SEED
planted to be Of strong termination
But in The garden seed we buy, ana
in fact. in all the seed We plant, the
heredity back of the seed is Of more
Importance than the exact percentage
Of termination OF course, We want
q good percentage of termination IN
any seed, but there may be, n gen
orally are. samples of seed that nave
a high termination VIII oh are poorer
seed to plant than a sample that
shows a lower percentage OF GERM
nation, because the first may not be
so well bred or SO carefully cleared
Of variant plants as the latter. Inc
breeding of the stock from which the
seed came is Of far more lmpo1 ~dnce
to the grower than the fact Of a lar
ger percentage Of g~ermlnatloD. IN
fact. in many garden seed the more
the stock, the the
termination, because nature IS always
trying to get back to natural condl-
tons. The best owe Of the dwarf
forms of garden peas, Tor instance
take minute care to weed out the rank
grow ng 'rogueS" that always are ap-
pearing in the crop, and to which the
whole would tend to run back II al
lowed to grow. These raEk-groWing
weeds or rogues nav the strongest
vitality of any, and a sample that has
not been we'll rogued during the
growth of the crop may show a
stronger termination than the we'll
rogued stock. But the gardener who
depends solely on the percentage or
termination would make a great mis-
take n taking the higher germina-
49, rx,-I T1,1 y,aSt1r <f h,JUInO
seed is SO largely a matter of conf
dcnce that we should always buy from
the seedsmen Of the highest reputa-
ton. and pay the best price, for the
seed will be atoned for many TIMES
over IN the crop.
There is q notion that Northern
grown seed are not only earlier but
better in the South. This is true Of
some things like garden peas but not
jill a great many other things. The
sweet corn seed of the seed stores
is almost always grown in Nebraska.
This, planted III the South, Will be
early. out 50 far as crop is concerned,
almost worthless. Corn, OF all plants,
needs to be grown in the locality
where it is to be planted, and by care
full selection. we can get a sweet cor
that Will flourish in the South. but
YOU have got to acciimate it first anu
breed 1t at home. One Of the largest
watermelon growers / know in Mary
land has all his seed grown for him
III Florida, as he has found that they
are better for his use than those in
h : own fields. In fact. all the wa
termeion seeds sold by the Northern
seedsmen are grown for them in the
South. There are many seeds that we
can produce We'll in the South if we
will take the pains to keep them pure
and improving: but saving seed from
the refuse OF the crop in the garden
is q sure rcad to an inferior article.
A friend once asked me to try some
Of his Early May cas- hat he had
been saving for years. ] planted Il
row alongside OF peas [ had bought
from a scotsman and that were Of
the same extra early class. l put
tall brush to my friends peas N
pecting them to grow tall, and they
went to the top of siN-foot brush and
half way down again before they
blooTned. lie had evidently been sav-
ing what was left on the vines after
hey got too old tc eat, and the eli
matte effect and the careless growing
had run them all to rogues and they
were two weeks later than the North
ern-grown seed. Garden seed need to
be bred under the best conditions
just as field corr does, and these con-
ditions vary with the climate, North
OF South, East or West.
The Foundation Of Rural Prosperity.
a sure foundation for Rural Pros
Derity. Good Live Stock, Well Fed. :
This was the title lately. and good
stock and well fed" stock are the
important points. An animal tina
even when we'll fed will not pay eth
er in beef or milk is a DOR anilna,
to keep, and poorly fed stock Of any
sort make poor manure The value
OF the manur made on the farm is
in direct proportion to the food value
of the materials fed. Manure made
from straw and shucks is straw anG
shuck manure, while manure made
from peaVine hay, ~cottonseed mea.
and corn takes its richness from the
food used.
A large farmer in South Carolina
once told me that he made cotton al
q cost of 4 IL cents a pound and he
made bacon at same price, and at thai