The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-04-10


ready to take four kernels from differ.
ent parts of each ear, care being taken
not to take kernels from the butt or
the tip. If one has a discarded table
Oil cloth it may be cut into pieces as
large as the flannel. This is attached
the corn. This prevents the
sprouts from growing through the
cloth and keeps the kernels in place.
This tester is called the rag doll. 1t
Is now rolled up, tied, moistened and
placed in a covered tin vessel. Air
must be allowed to circulate freely
during the termination. Every seed
should terminate, thus showing a via.
bility Of 100 per cent. If any of the
, kernels of an ear fail to terminate,
that ear should be discarded. The test
should be completed at the end OF
five days. The temperature should be
kept at about so to go degrees Fahren.
heit.
Testing Wheat, Oats, and Barley.
The rag doll hes always given me
better results than any other method
| have tried. l count out 100 seeds
at random and place them on the rag
doll. A small piece Of paper with the
name and date can be placed on each
sample. 1t is well to test samples in
duplicate, and be certain that the sam
pie is a representative Of your bin. The
rag doll is rolled up and treated in the
same way as in the test for corn. At
the end of five days, the termination
,should be complete for the wheat and
cats, about six days is required, how.
ever, for barley. The ~viability should
be from 80 to 100 per cent.
Testing Alfalfa and Clever.
Take a piece Of blotting paper and
cut it into four inch squares. Moister
them. but do not allow the seed to lie
in water. Count out 100 seeds at ran
dem and place on the blotters, place
blotters between two tin plates, the
upper one upside down. At the enc
so per cent is considered a good ger
mination.
Weed sned.
The most common weed seeds fount
in alfalfa, clover, and cereals are: Rus
sian thistle, green and yellow foxtail
lambs quarters, pigweed. ragweed
barnyard grass, tickle grass, bull this
tie, marsh elder and field mustard
These are generally classified as harm
less weed seed. All weed seeds ART
harmful if they are allowed to grow
in great numbers in any field, since
they are rohhing the plants OF plan
food and moisture.
The ncxirus weeds either act as par
asites or lave perennial creeping root
stocks which infect the cultivated fiel;
SO that farming becomes very unDroht
able. Guack grass, field dodder, Glove
dcdder, Wild oats and Canada thistl,
are known as very noxious weeds, an
any farm seed containing any Of thes
: weed seeds should not be soWn. Brom
/ grass seed very frequently contain
0uack grass, although no quack gras
I Is known to have been found west c
: the Missouri river at present. How
ever, if seed containing this noyfou
l weed is sown 1t may be but a shor
! time until 1t spreads ver the entlr
1 state.
!. Guy from Samples.
, If you are buying seed from a sma
seed house or from a reliable CONNIE
cial firm it is we'll to send for a sampi.
$ Test the sample for termination, an
e il you find any weed seed in it sen
it to the state college at Brookine
: for Identification. 1t takes but a shol
e time to make such a purity test, but
termination test requires from FIVE I
d twenty-eight days. Time is saved |
n this way and a purchase a be mad
v before the stock is exhausted,