The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1911-04-28

testing 1t, but for those who are care
less and who think any seed will do,
a good rule Ia to test the seed and see
II 1t will grow. Seeds which will not
grow are not only a loss in themselves
but injurious to the land. for, II they
nave not been injured by moisture or
temperature the reason they do not
grow Is that they contain disease pro-
ducing fungi which kill the young
plant. Any seed which shows up
moldy in the termination pan should
never be sowed on the land.
Crop Rotation.
Different kinds OF land demand diff
ferent kinds of crops. and different
kinds Of farmers make success OF diff
ferent sorts OF rotation, but it is GER
tain that good crop rotation should
De practiced. Cur experiments show
that 1t makes considerable difference.
what this rotation is. No ordinary ro-
tation will prevent the introduction
of disease. IL fax crop follows flax
crop much oftener than once i'm Ave
years. Flax does particularly we'll on
properly cultivated corn ground and
has great Partially for sod lands. and
should either follow grass and pasture
lands or corn or other cultivated crop.
In the case Of the corn or cultivated
crop, the good results come from the
thorough packing which the ground re-
ceives the previous year. due to the
tramping OF the horses and the per-
sistent shallow cultivation. The ground
should not be plowed or worked deep
err than it was worked during the corn
cultivation period. On the sod lands
the blowing should be as deep as pos
sible and yet have the burrows lie over
fiat. If possible, before the sod is
plowed it should be thoroughly disced
On the surface ahead of the pillow to
loosen up some fine dirt to make the
between the sod and the
After blowing. the sod should
be disced and narrowed and sub-sur-
lace packed until it is certain there is
! good connection established between
he sub-soil and the furrow slices.
Preparation Of the Seed Bed.
"In preparing the seed beed for fax
very effort should be made to make
t as firm as possible and as shallow as
possible leaving only enough mulch to |
over the seed so that the drill work. |
ng at about one-half to three ourths |
4 an inch deep will strike moist, firm |
arth. This means that the previous
cultivation should be such as to con-
erve the moisture. Flax can stand |
OTIS Of punishment and can produce
crop Of seed with perhaps less rain |
all than any other OF the small rains |
provided 1t can first get well re9.ed in
moist, firm seed bed
When to Sow.
Sow as early in the spring as posi-
lie yet avoid having the young plants /
rosted so that the crop may ripen be-
ore the hottest days Of summer. or |
lse, In the warmer regions, SOW suffi- |
iently late that the maturing processes
nay take place in the cooler autumn |
months and yet avoid frost in the fall |
Excellent crops are raised under both |
onditions, but the crop is never very |
successfully grown when the crop must
10 it's main developing during the hot
est weather.
Rate Of Seeding.
For seed production, SOW not to ex-
eed fourteen quarts of good fax on |
my soil. If all the seeds grow, sixteen |
o eighteen pounds will give plenty OF !
'lants on properly prepared seed bed. |
They will be sturdier and give better |
iced production
Seed Treatment.
mo matter how hard one works on
he seed bed or how carefully he selects
he seed, IL he does not disinfect the
iced before planting, the work win be
argely lost for in a few years the
ground will become infected SO that,
regardless Of good methods, a crop
cannot grow.
Treatment.
Treat the seed with formaldehyde.
Using standard formaldehyde at the
rate Of sixteen ounces avoirdupois to
'orty gallons OF water. Use a spray
pump which will throw a forcefuI,
misty spray. After the seed is all
Steamed in the tanning mill, throw it
1own on a tight floor or canvas and
rake or shovel it over while 1t is being
sprayed with the solution. Rake, spray
and shovel until you have put on at
east one-half gallon of solution for
each dry bushel or seed. Pile the seed
up in pile, cover with q canvas and
It will be right to SOW in approximately
two hours. Treat in the morning that
which you wish to SOW in the after
noon. Treat in the afternoon what Won
expect 70 use in the morning. Caution:
While the fax seed lis being sprayed
be sure to stir it thoroughly and, il it
happens that you cannot seed it then
It must be spread out to prevent heat
Ing.
Harvesting and Threshing.
THE crop in dry regions often grows
very short, but this is no sign that
there is not q large production OF seed.
The flax crop may readily be but ten
or twelve inches high and yet produce
fifteen to twenty bushels per acre. This
means that careful arrangements must
be made for harvesting. In regions
where there Is sufficient moisture the
crop will grow sufficiently tall to be
cut with binder and this is then the
proper method, for the bundles can be
stood erect, so as to avoid moisture on
the seed boles. 1t will thus be ready
10 thresh within two or three days
after being cut avoiding chance OF in
Jury by rainfall. II the crop is short,
It is usually cut by means Of reaper
which throws the bundles OF fax to one
side where they should be gathered
ip as soon as dry and threshed. The
habit OF leaving these bundles lie on
the ground for several weeks to mold Is
one OF the most destructive processes
In flax growing. filling the seed coats
with disease producing fungi. eventu-
ally resulting In thoroughly injecting
the ground with diseases from the
moldy straw Any flax seed which has