Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1912-04-11
A HINT FOR SEED TIME.

(From the Boston Transcript.)
This is the month when the sower goes
forth to sow, but unless he Is sure Of his
seed he may be wasting his time and his
strength. The conditions of the present
year are so peculiar that he needs to be
moro than usually cautious. We have al
ready called attention to the high price
Of seeds that are on the market for the
coming season, especially for garden
planting and the uncertainty Of their
termination. Floods, drauEhts and other
untoward experiences have been very dis
couraging to the seed raiser and the deal
ers are hesitating more than ever to guar
artee their stocks. They are not as a
rule to blame If their goods fail to sprout
They cannot go behind the supply and
the intrinsic quality is more n matter Of
speculation that It has been known 70 be
In years before.
But from a commercial point of view 1t
is even more important that only fruitful
seed for our great staples shall be put
in the ground. The manager Of the Kan
sas CITY Clearing House association Is
FORMULATING the sound doctrine that the
farmer who sows INFESTED seeds is likely
to lose his place on a first mortgage some
day. and the importance of this matter is
shown by the fact that the country banks
are taking 1t up and campaign OF edu-
cation with respect to testing corn and
wheat Is in progress. cashier of one of
them writes to the Clearing House man
ager: II have read your warning and I
want to add warning of my own. | have
tested the seed corn Of 20 farmers who
deal with this bank and out OF the 20 only
three had corn that germinated."
That is bad for the credit Of those
farmers who seek to do business with
ing by method that anyone can employ
Will be insisted upon. The Middle WEST Is
appealing to the newer Northwest to
come to its rescue. Bankers in the cities
and towns OF the State OF Washington
have been asked by bankers in the coun
try's corn belt to interest farmers in their
section In the growing of high grade seed
corn because OF the dearth Of suitable
seed In the native corn States. This re-
quest Is coupled with the statement that
not only is there very serious shortage
OF seed corn Of all kinds, but most of
that already tested has shown very poor
termination. III the farmers understand
the serious danger OF planting weak seed
we shall have good crops and prosperity
in this section Of the country"
There is heredity In vegetable life as
there Is in all other forms of life rhat
which is vigorous and fruitful is likely to
show like qualities In recurring fructifica-
tons, but II the germ Is barren or It's
vitality is feeble the result will he disap-
pointing to the farmer who places his
hopes on the harvest. There are three
prime essentials to the raising OF a crop.
proper fertilization. good seed and thor
ough cultivation OF the soil. but unless the
second condition Is adequately met the
others will be Of as little avail as the eff.
forts OF the hen that tries to hatch out
door-knobs or porcelain eggs Inbreeding
may also be carried too far. Seed return
ed 10 the soil on which Ia grew may not
show deterioration for time. but in
few years it should be replaced with seed
from other soils. BY the discovery OF
Turkey Red wheat Nebraska has nearly
doubled her yield to the acre In 20 years.
which more than doubles the value Of her
wheat lands, for It costs little more to
prepare for and harvest a large crop than
IA small one