The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1912-01-19

in any way, but that it has been proven
that proper composing Of manure
does away with weed pests and plant
diseases. He contends that If fresh
manures are spread upon farm lands,
manures which contain weed seeds and
cultures of plant diseases carried there
in the old straw particles, that 1t will
be absolutely essential that such a
system of crop rotation is developed
as will allow this method of using
manures to be spread upon hay and
pasture lands where the weed seeds
and disease will have a chance to die
out before the lands are again cropped
to the kind of crop which produces
the kind of rubbish, bedding mater
ials, etc. found in such stable mani
ures.
Pure Bred Seed a Necessity
During the twenty or thirty years
that have just passed since the state
of North Dakota has had the cereal
crops under cultivation the farmers
have been engaged in raising as many
bushels of grain on as many acres as
they could possibly work,
The time has come when there must
be a change in this process IL grain
raising is to be continued al a profit
able business, even though the land
is the most fertile and most suitable
for this business that is to be found
anywhere in the world.
The time has ONE when the aver
age farmer raises more shrivelled
wheat than plump wheat. He more
often sows millet seed that looks more
like pigeon grass than he sows plump
seed and ats. instead of weighing
forty pounds to the bushel, stay very
close to the low standard requirement
of thirty -two pounds or below. In this
region there is no common sense in
raising wheat that weighs less tina
sixty pounds to the bushel, or oats
that weigh less than thirty-fiye OF
forty, for the fertility is still in the
land to produce such grains.
The Pure Seed Laboratory, estab-
lished by the state at he agricultural
college, examines, under my direction
thousands of samples Of seed each
year and it is a discouraging thing tc
realize that many farmers seem to b.
using the laboratory to learn how poo
a seed they can SOW and still be SAFE
in getting a stand. The Pure SEED
Laboratory, in SO far as it can, will b.
glad to give advice in regard to tn
quality of seed. but 1t would be mucl
better il the farmers were sending II
samples of pure bred grain and asking
the question, Us the grain which Il
sent a pure Variety" They should no
II WaH3 ~ 80 ~ .1aofta1nc . q aFyXyhaD
are the kinds of weeds that are in Ii
DO you think 1T will terminate higl
enough to make a standg" No fafrne
should SOW any other kind Of seed thai
/ he wishes to have grow. No farme
j should think of sowing sample Q
seed which contains all sorts OF mix
! lures and various varieties of that kin
. Of seed. or which Is so light weigh
} that he is afraid it cannot sprout Hi
] thought should be along the lin
E Of the following questions. rs til
sample OF wheat which ] am about t
SOW the heaviest weight brightest col
. ar. the most viabIe sample OF tina
j particular breed OF wheat that I ca
/ p~rocure2" rs 1t thoroughly free froI
j any other kiuds OF weed seedsg'
i Many farmers are ready and wiliiA
B to SOW that kind Of seed but are IN
i able to buy II, even though they wvul
) like to do 80. The experiment station
in the northwest have developed
i number Of kinds OF pure-bred wheat
3 and have placed them into the hand
i OF tile farmers. but az ascertained b
1 the Pure Seed Laboratory. 1t Is ea
i tremely different to md any sample
/ which are free from other kinds I,
+ wheat. Hundreds OF farmers write
j the college every year to ask whel