The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-08-04
WITH THE FARMERS
By Prof. w. F. MASSEY


| that some were buying his milling
wheat and claiming that thoy sowed
his wheat. He then declined to soil
this Kind TO any but a miller for grind
ing, as he valued the reputation OF his
wheat too much to let any one SOW the
lighter grain.
Int Sowing Pens.
Grccnesvilic County: IL have some
land on which wish to SOW peas in
even II it is August. There Is Il heavy
growth of rag weeds on tho land, and
| am told by reighbors that 1t will
inJure the land to pillow 1t In August
rms land was very poor seven years
ago l sowed 10 peas, and put 1t fn
red top grass for three years, and
got good hay. Last year | followed
oats with peas. and then oats again.
and they did finely Land low and
rather crawtshy. am Interested In
winter pasture for cattle and want to
know Your opinion about sowing oats
or rye in august. Have corn growing
where heavy growth Of clover and
Vetch was turned under. VIII the
vetch fcsecd the Lanai"
The only danger in blowing the land
in August will be that the heavy
growth Of rag weed may cause a fer
mcntation that will sour the soil and
make Inning necessary. l have made
peas of an early sort sown in August,
ana If the season is favorable you may
get enough growth 70 make II pay
Your land evidently needs Drainage. ana
probably lining. The vetch will doubt
less rcseed the land, for if ii was in
bloom before turning il. there will GER
fanny have boon some seed on the
Iowcl part of the plants ! would pre-
Ter TO SOW the oats or, rye in Sept=m-
Der.
Poorly Bred Seed
Inere Is no doubt that much Of the
seed sold In this country has been
hadly bred. This is especially true
OF the early cabbages. one can hardly
find a strain of Early Wakefield cab
bage that IL not badly mixed have
thein now, some early and gone long
ago We're typical Wakefield heads.
but the remainder still hold the
ground. and are heading round, nat
and all sorts Of shapes The Pennsyl-
Vania Experiment Station has been
making for several years tests OF all
the strains of Wakefield cabbage sold
by the various seedsmcn. The dlrec
tor, Prof. r. l. Watts. says Of ,ha
results: First. much OF the seed sold
py American growers and dealers *
poorly bred There Is a decided lack
Q. uniformity in the plants and heads
OF standard varieties such as the Jer-
sey Wakefield.
''' 'd'!ctles arc being in
troduccd annually b. well-known
seedsmen. This IS an outrage and an
AsuIt 20 cabbage growers The seeds.
men who Indulge in such practices
should be exposed. They do no, de-
serve IN" patronage OF Intelligent and
careful growers.
Third, IL Is absolute folly 10 cata
.osue and sell seed OF so many va
'!eties "hen fcw OF ,he standard
early and late varieties would me-,
the needs OF growers everywhert
Fourth COPENHAGEN Marhc, cab
page stands out promincntly a. an
unusually wcllbrcd early variety I,
i rs carly as Wakefield and larger
Tne seed used in the experiments wer,.
grown IN Denmark 1t +, a good
cabbage, no, merely because ,h. varia
y e good but 1t stands for good
breeding IN the Old country. hu, as
soon as the American seed growers
get TO growing IL there VIII be de-
'er!oTation unless moro care IS used
than at The present time have
quoted Director Watts In full because
there is certainly need for improve
ment in the growing Of seed .or our
gardens and farms. have not seen
pure stock OF Jersey Wakefield cab
hase for years. and II is especially an
moving 10 market gardener 10 have
patch that would have paid we'll
mad all been early but the profits taken
OF and the land held when IL should
have been cleared, because a large part
o: the plants are late rather than
early. and are anything but true Jersey
Wakefield
The new Copenhagen Market cab
bage is certainly nne and early. but
fear that Director Watts Is light,
and that when the seed are grown in
this country. we VIII have the same
careless practice and a mixed up lot
OF seed. In the meantime those who
want really early cabbage had bet
ter drop the Wakefield and SOW the
Copenha gen Market, and get Danish
seed.
Results in Crossing Corn.
Bulletin zoe OF the Virginia Expert
ment Station describes experiments
with corn. that showed where two
strains Of the same pure variety OF
corn from different growers were
crossed. there was a marked increase
the first year. even high as 80 per
cent. This would go 10 show that an
occasional interchange OF seed corn
between two farmers. growing tho
same variety. may be made to result
in Increased yields, a II IS we'll known
that a crossing within the Same spe-
cies is an invigoration Of the plant,
and stronger growth is usually &C
companied by heavier yields.