The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1913-09-08
WITH THE FARMERS
BY Prof. w. F. MASSEY

from all that shoot late, so that tn,
pollen Will be furnished only by tn,
earliest plants. Then select seed from
the ears that ripen first BY following
THIS up several years YOU can get the
variety fixed to como true.
e. Several others ask about seed selec-
fion OF corn. One correspondent says
chat he goes into his field before har-
I resting time and takes ears from plants
! mat arc OF fair stature, avoiding those
I that put the ears too high from tho
! ground, with a short top above the
ear, as he wants corn with just as
I many leaves but shorter jointed, and
! with ears about halfway between the
ground and tassel. His idea of corn
plant is all right, but in going through
! q field and selecting seed from the
| plants that come nearest to what lie
| wants 1t will be Il long time before he
gets his corn to como to that type uni
1ormly, for with the tall and ungainly
stalks all around. the corn will be more
apt to be fertilizcd by the pollen from
| these than from it's own and he will
get more of the tall ones than OF the
| type he is after. OF course, some sort
of selection in tho field is better than
taking seed corn from tho crib.
But the farmer who wishes to breed
to good ideal plant must take n
little more pains. Corn breeders prac-
tice the planting of n row to each ear,
and then take out the tasscls from al
ternatc rows to insure crossing, rs IT
is found that crossing in the variety
invigoratcs the plant But this ear
row plan followed up year after year
will lead TO breeding in and In, unless
some OF the same variety of corn is
used that has been grown elsewhere.
Few farmers will take this much
trouble. and n very good way will be
10 plant n seed plot remote from other
corn, and then watch the plants close
iy and remove the tasSels. while green
from all stalks, that make no ear, and
from all stalks that do not come near
TO your ideal rlant. Then the corn will
be fertilised by the best stalks anly,
ana seed from these can be taken for
the next years crop. and the best Sc
lectcd to plant another seed patch to
be treated in the same way. Thus, by
annual care in eliminating undesir-
able forms. YOU will, after time. get
a corn of uniform character. But it
takes years of careful selection to es-
tablish uniformity in the product. 1
once started with n cross of two va
rietics of corn, and it took me seven
years TO get Il type that came uni
formly true TO seed
%phidcs on DahIias
a Nottoway woman says her dahlias
are covered with little flies, and wants
to know what TO do for them. Spray
with a strong tea made from tobacco
stems. Or yet some one of the CON
centrGtcd nicotine extracts from n
seed store and make a dilution of this.
use an article called Aphine that Is
diluted with 40 parts OF water. and
ii is very effective or aphis or all
sorts.
Peach Dorcrs.
y have some fine peach trees four
years old, and wish to keep the borers
out of them. Have been told to paint
the trunk OF the trees near the ground
with white lead. / have some cement
Could / not use this?' I would rather
be afraid to advise the use of the
cement, as it might harden so tight
as to injure the trees. The white lead
will. 10 q great extent, prevent the
moths from laying eggs, but YOU can
not depend entirely on anything but
constant wntchfulness. You should go
over the trees spring and fall, and
wherever any signs OF gum appears at
the base of the tree, go TO work at
once and cut the borer out That is
the only way 20 make sure of keeping
them down.
Growing DnhIias.
Dnwddie County: please tell me
Of some one who can tell me about
!ahlia growing, ana where ] can pro-
cure good roots" Growing dahlias is
:. very simple matter. An. scotsman
on dealer in plants in Petersburg or
Richmond can supply you with the
roots in the spring, or you can grow
also them from seed. All the dahlias
have-and l have hundreds of them
i have raised from seed. | get seed
OF good dealer in spring and SOW
them in a frame about the same time.
or little later. than SOW my tomato
seed. Then, when the plants are n
, Few inches high, and the weather
settled and warm, | transplant them
into rows three feet apart each way.
These seedlings will all bloom the
first snuncr, and | have lots of them
now blooming from seed sown this last
spring. Many of the seedlings Will
make inferior flowers, and these | dis
card. and save only the best Many
of them that make single flowers are
fine, for the single flowers are better
for cutting than the heavy double ones.
hy dds means have selected for
several years till have collection
as good as any l could have bought,
and have the cactus-iiowcred the
decorative style and the SHOW sorts.
II is fun to watch the Seeding plants
to see what sort of flowers they will
make. ana when one gets only a dozen
Z OF moro ont OF hundred that are
/ worth keeping, he will soon get n good
collection. To keep The roots in winter
| take them up when the frost cuts
The tops. and cut away the tops leav-
/ ing four or five inches of the stalks
/ for the new buds are on the base of
the stalks and not on the tubcrs. I
I then dig shallow pit and place n
/ layer OF straw in il. and on this place
/ the roots closely upside down, and
cover With straw thickly. and then
mound the earth thicltly over the
whole They keep far better in this
way than in a cellar. In the spring
take them up and place in a warm
| place till the buds start, and then YOU
can divide the roots with bud on
each portion, and YOU are ready to
! plant again
Arctic Grass.
i want good grass for hay. and
/ am contemplating trying the Arctic