The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-05-08
PRACTICAL VALUE or nv COURSE
IN FARM CROPS.
State College Student Gives Reasons
Why Training Is Valuable.

BY Omer Mills, Pennington County.
There are a number of things which
| have learned from my course in Farm
Crops that | expect to be able to apply
to advantage in actual farming. For
instance. a knowledge of what crops,
because Of their peculiar characters.
arc best suited to cultivation in my
W home locality; and some informa-
ton as to which varieties, other things
being equal, will give the largest
yields under the unfavorable condi-
tons in that country, Is usuable and
valuable knowledge. Probably more
valuable still is the ability to wisely
select and prepare seed grain for SOW
ing, and to improve crops by means OF
seed and breeding plots. Since these
are things upon which successful ag-
ricultnre largely depends, it seems to
ne that they arc things well worth
any farmers time to know.
Farmers Do Not Farm Wisely.
In that part Of the state in which
| happen to be NEST interested (Pen
nington county,, it is not generally
known which crops, with the possible
exception Of alfalfa end corn, will
prove to be most profitable: and as
regards varieties. which are best suit
ed TO the climate and soil conditions.
there Is almost q complete lack Of in
formation. The crops which have been
most extensively grown In the past are
wheat and oats, which are most quick
" affected by any dry weather, rather
than corn, which is better able to
withstand the dry spells. As no atten-
ton has been given to the matter.
those varieties with drouth-resistan.
or early maturing characters, such as
kabanka wheat, and Siyty-Day cats,
have occupied but a small place as
compared with poorly adapted varie-
ties. While the farmers attribute their
successive failures to drouta alone.
anyone who has made a study of farm
crops can see that the plan Of cropping
has not been what it should for a drv
country. If the proper crops had been
soWn, something might have been
raised, whereas failure was often alb.
solute.
Yield Mus. BE Increased.
Even when the right crops and best
adapted varieties are grown there will
still be need for every effort to IN
crease the yield If the operation IS to
be successful from a financial stand.
point. In the farm crops course at the
State College we learned how this end
'aisht be attained fer the small grains
by cleaning, grading, and treating the
seed. or to a greater degree by the
selection of desirable heads, either bv
bulk or by individual head method, and
increasing the seed by the seed plot
method. In regard to corn there is, In
addition to the selection and increase
Of good seed, an opportunity to breed
a strain especially adapted to the local
conditions. This sort of work can be
done only by someone who has made a
study Of it and who knows how to pru-
coed.
Values Corn Study Most.
Since corn must have a large place
IN the crop scheme for the west
river country" and since there is no
variety at present especially adapted
and a~cciinaated to that locality, / value
above all the rest that part of the
farm crops course which deals with
corn. To be able to select the best
cars Of seed corn from the desirable
t.pe OF stock; then to test the yielding
qualities of each separately, AMI IT.
crease seed from the few best, giving
added yigor by cross-breeding is sora-
thing worth while. The results which
1t IS possible to bring about for i
neishborhood by such work make this
part of the course Of inestinaDle
value.