Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-29

| the educational authorities Of the
State carry to the boys In practical
simple form The boys are told how
10 determine the best seed
Without planting strong. seed. Of
course, the COrn-club boy is not IN
the race.
Seed Selection Necessary.
Such as have been careless abou.
selecting good seed can never win
though he have the richest land and
put on Il all the fertilizer that can
possibly be used Nothing can make
up for the shortage inhering In the
nature Of the seed itself
In view OF this. how important It
Is that one knows that he Is dealing
with a reliable firm when he buys
from a seed house. II the firm Is
honest but ignorant, how unfortunate
for the buyerl
one OF these days no person viii be
permitted 10 grow and market seeds
who has not first passed a rigid ex-
animation to determine whether or
not he knows how to produce good
seed and. second. no seed will be per
mltted to be sold the quality Of which
IS not known 10 be backed by right
cultivation and care. OF course there
is no way Of knowing how much the
loss to the farmer annually occurs by
reason Of having been sold poor seed
when he had a right TO expect good
seed.
When the difference in the yield OF
good seed and bad is equal to so per
cent, as II often is, what a public ca
lamity! Poor seed needs not only TO
be guarded against for the sake of
the planter, but for the public at
large, which looks TO the planter for
a food supply.
Plants Bred From Disease.
Not only are seed to be provided
which are high in yielding quality, but
one OF the very interesting features Of
plant improvement is that the better
the plant the more 1t resists plant
disease and insect dangers Profess
sor S. NJ. Balm, of the University OF
Tennessee, found that red clover had
come to be almost a complete failure
In that State, by reason Of disease
known as anthracnose Of clover.
Starting with a few plants in 2
patch that had resisted the disease he
bred from these. Each season he sub
jected the patch to the disease. even
TO spraying the plants with the spores
OF the disease, saving out Of each
patch those that resisted the disease.
Thus each year he increased his dis
ease resistant seed until now It is be-
ing grown quite widely over the state
A similar work has been done with
reference to anthracnose in cotton by
Professor +, j. II. DeLoach, director
OF the State Experiment Station OF
Georgia, similar work is being
done with reference to black root and
wilt by Professor e. l.. Worsham,
state Entomologist OF Georgia. In
other lines, but by the same process,
al
ease by right selection:
What with plant breeding and plant
selection, no magician will have ever
worked greater wonders than the men
who are taking care OF the plant life
OF the country.
These modern wizards are men
whom farmers sometimes are inclined
to look upon as bookworms, theorists.
potterers, impractical Adventures;
but 1t is these who are doing more
farming than the farmer, who Gre
ate bigger crops than anybody else.
who save the plants from greatest
loss.
Needs Legislative Support.
When the Legislatures are called
upon for an appropriation for these
workers in the colleges and laborato-
ries, these lawmaking bodies will not
be asked for money that will go fur
Their toward comforting real public
welfare. In the South where the di-
versiflcatlon Of farming is the para
mount issue and where there is a con-
slant thirst for information as to how
TO do this and that other thing TO
get out Of the single crop bondage and
the affections of the boil weevil, il
would be no less than a shame not
to provide all the men and means
necessary to render the required as
sistance; also to provide for carrying
on the experiments and investiga tons
for soil and plant Improvement and
for training young men for agricul-
tural leadership at the institutions of
learning devoted to the cause.