The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1912-02-29
HAVE YOU TESTED
YOUR SEED GRAIN?
Is A PERTINENT QUESTION eoe
EVERY FARMER OF BROOK.
INGS COUNTY
SEED GRAIN QUESTION IS DUBIOUS
o'ate College Asronomy Department
OF the Opinion that There Is
Little Good Seed Grain

DR.. A. n. Hume, head of the agrc
omy department of the State COLES
this week issued a bulletin TO r
farmers of South Dakota on the SO,
grain situation. Too much attentic
can o be directed to this importa,
subject, as better seed means il
creased prosperity to every part
the state. We re-copy the follovin
from DR.. Hume's bulletin:
TO farmers who look ahead tb
seed grain situation in South Dakot
at the present time gives food fo
thought. Good seed corn, particularly
Is hard to find. This is because of tn,
u~nfavorable weather that prevailed
last fall at husking time. Compara
lively few farmers took the pains &c
select their seed corn before harvest.
ing the general field. Frost and rainy
weather ensued, and, as a result
thousands of farmers have corn that
Will not grow.
The seed wheat situation is scarce
ly If at all better. A good deal of
Wheat remained in the stacks during
much of the rainy period of the early
fall, and some of it terminated and
was spoiled. Moreover, the wheat
crop was decreased by last
drouth. Hence, there is a reduced
amount of good wheat in the state.
The Agronomy Department of the
South Dakota State College of Agri-
culture n Mechanic Arts has been
making termination tests of seed
corn, urhAnl L--i-- ~
and clover sent in by farmers living
in various parts of the state. Inc
results are instructive in that they
throw more light on the seed SITUATION
for the whole state than can be Cd
tanned in other ways, nearly every
county being Represented ~ a sam
nle of seed of one kind or another.
However. we believe that these re-
suits are just a trifle higher than the
average would be for the whole state,
since many who send in seed TO be
tested say that they have taken good
care of it. Moreover, farmers VINO
hestir themselves enough to send
samples of seed for termination tests,
show thereby that they are awake TO
the importance of sowing only good
seed.-a statement that cannot be
made of all farmers in the state.
"Of &c samples of corn terminated
for farmers, only 6 samples tested
above 900; only II above 500; ana
IA were below 500. The average per-
centage for the &c samples was $50.
Not a single kernel of n Sample
grew, and another tested only 90.
This means that if this corn is planted
next spring, only two-thirds of a STAND
can be obtained at best; m II we
make allowance for u~nfavorable
weather at planting time, we shall
have to lower this estimate consider
ably.
"The average PERCENTAGE of 5 sam
pies of wheat tested was 70. w
samples tested 67% each, m one,
94go. This means that one-fifth more
seed per acre than usual must needs
he sown in order to get a good stand
Tests Of two samples of barley also
gave an average of 1870. One sam
nile of oats tested 500. These hgures
show that the small grain seed situa-
ton is far from the best. They furth-
or prove the necessity of testing seed
before it is sown.
Testing the termination OF small
grain Is a very simple thing to DO.
Any farmer can do it. Take an or
dinarv dinner plate or pie pan, and
Mace in it a moistened cloth vi blotter
Then count out 100 seeds Of the grain
Won wish to test, making no selection,
but simply taking them as you come
To them. Distribute these seeds over
the cloth or blotter so that they are
not crowded. md over the whole put
an inverted dinner plate or pie pan
TO prevent evaporation of moisture.
Set the seed pans or plates in a warm
room and in the course of 4 or 5 days
Won will find the seeds ready to be re
counted and the percentage OF living
seeds determined. When n uses
100 seeds in the test the number OF
seeds that grow will be the percent
g Ordinarily one moistening OF