The Kadoka press and Kadoka reporter. [volume] (Kadoka, S.D.) 1910-1923, 1912-11-22
THE FARMERS
INSTITUTE COLUMN
THE SWEDISH SELECT OATS.

kota Experiment Station.
The South Dakota Experiment Sta
tion began several years ago to in
troduce new varieties of grain in the
hope of finding which ones should be
grown by the Dakota farmer. These
efforts have been rendered doubly
successful by the aid of the United
States Department of Agriculture.
Just how successful the search for
adapted varieties of our most import
ant crops has been is we'll illustrated
by the Swedish Select Oat,
This is pedigIeed oat. If pedi-
gree means any thing IN Ii se stock
and doubt If anyone Will dispute it,
1t means more with oats for the very
plain reason that both the sire and
the dam are found in the same indivi-
dual. Therefore, if the seed is not ac-
cidentally mixed by handling in seed
ing, threshing or storing, the pro-
geny will inherit their parents super
iority. That is the reason that the
at Highmore and has excelled among
the late varieties at Broskings.
RESULTS AT HIGHMoRE. At High
more, as reported in bulletin no. 124.
the average of Swedish select for
period of eight Years, 1908 to 1910,
was Ais bushels. To realize what
this means it must be compared with
other varieties which represent the
common oats quite widely grown in
this state, The American Beauty and
the Ameican Triumph which repre-
seuts q type of oats widely recon-
mended by seedsmen under various
names, type which gives remark
able retarns in Canada. but is appar-
emily not ADAPTED to our conditions;
produced an average of 289 bushels
per acre during the Ave years from
1906 to 1910. Compare this with 85.4
bushels produ,ed as an average for
the same period by Swedish Select.
Note that there was an average gain
of 8,5 bushels per acre for each year,
gain of % per cent. In other words
man growing Swedish Select oats
ut Highmore during that period would
have taken in 1,22 for every dollar
that the man received for his crop
who grew American Triumph or Am
erican Beauty. And this too, with
out anv extra expense, Increasing
yields by manuring, fertilizing or deep
tllling costs money, oftentimes so
much money that it does not prove
profitable, but increasing crop Yields
by growing the right varieties costs
nothing except rigid attention to
keeping the seed pure and up to the
standard.
The question may arise in the minds
of many--'.Is that air comparison?"
The answer is an emphatic, YES
For, as matter of fact the seed of
American Triumph used III 5his ex-
pertinent was purer, plumper and bet
ter graded from yeas to year than are
the common oats that are sown for
seed on many farms.
RESULTS AT BRooKINGs. At Brook
ings let us take the same comparison.
Here, during the I've year per-
iod 1904 to 1908, as reported in Bulle-
tin No. 110, Swedish Select averaged
44.8 bushels per acre, American Beau
ty during the same period averaged
2S.7 bushels per acre, gain of l6.1
bushels per acre. That is, for every
dollar the Swedish Select grower
took in from the sale OF his oat crop
at Brookings during that period. the
Ameican Beauty grower took in only
"a cents.
Is It good horse sense to spend much
time condemning John d. or the
local ri.;h man because he is making
eight or ten per cent on his money
when we arc letting from 20 to 90 per
of whist might haye beenn slip away
from M as the years go by for the
lack Of attention to the getting and
keeping OF pure seed of the right var
iety?
HrsroKY Or THE VARIETY. The
Swedish Select oat is the progeny of
. superior plant selected in Sweden
manv years ago. 1t came to the at
tention of Prof M, A. Carleton OF
the United States department. of
Agricultural In 1898 and 1899, while
he was making an exploration trip
through the cold, semi-arid portion
of Russia and, western Siberia. He
secured twenty bushels which was
distributed to various experiment
stations for trial In competition with
/. many other varieties. The South
Dakota station received few pounds
in the spring of 1899. The Wisconsin
station received six pounds. North
Dakota. Minnesota and Montana also
receiYed their quota, From this
n ~-.1< fho~a rovu an