The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1914-04-10
TESTING FARM SEEDS IN THE
HOME
BY |. s. OAKLAND,
Minnehaha County, Glass Of 1912, State
College, Bookings.

One would not think Of putting In
his seed without knowing that it COLI
tanned no noxious weed seed, and that
its termination test would be high
enough to insure a good stand. SEEDS
may have a low per cent termination
for three reasons: a. Freezing be-
fore the seed is mature, thus r~upturin2
the cells Of the seed; ca grain may be
stack-heated or bin-burned, or it may
sprout, mould and heat in the shock.
The amount of grain lost in this way
IS considerable when there Is very
much rain during this time CT sha
year; (3) seasonal conditions may be
so that the grain does not fiji ou- well.
due to long continued drouths or hot
winds during the growing season.
There may be other reasons. but these
are some Of the principal ones.
It is generally known that the South
Dakota Experiment Station at Drook-
tnes and the government seed testing
laboratories at Washington, p. g. test
seed for farmers free Of charge, buf
the time Of sending in seeds may be
saved by Any farmer who SO desires.
He may wish to sell some seed 70 his
~neiehbors, but II he takes Tie SINE
t. send it to a seed testing laboratoi =
ne may lose the sale, due TO the DELAY
before he can get returns. The aver
4aoe farmer knows whether he has any
no1i.us weeds on his farm and 'fe7
al he has to 90 before seeding his
gain, alfalfa, corn, etc, is 10 MAKE
Il termination test.
While all kinds Of farm seeds may ne
tested, the seeds which 1t IS especially
desirable TO test are: clovors, alfalfa
grasses, cereals, D fax 2,d corn
These are generally grows in Sonti
Dakota. Potatoes are so bulky that
no convenient way Of tessin their VI
tajtv is known. A tube kept il 6
cool. dark place ard kept from freezins
o. s~prcuting, IS good for seed PR
poses. GarGsa seed shoIli alv avs b.
purchased feGn a good, relia''n sec
house which should give the germina
ton and purity test on the label.
Aopa.at S Needct.
The Aus needed for testing
need not be very expensive. Two III
l.'ates, five yards Of cotton flarnc!. ans
a small piece Of blotting paper is al
that is needed IA making the gernlina
ton test. The entire outfit can b.
purchased for less than 81, and tn
money saved will sometimes repay III
cost q thousand times.
Testing Seed Corn.
When seed corn is picked after
hard frost, the viability may be re
lduced Is PER cent or more. Seed corr
that is picked before a frost and hun;
UP to dry, il mature at the time @
picking, will generally have a germ.
nation of 95 to 100 per cent. 1t cost
anout Is cents an acre to ear test see
corn. At the Ames Experiment Ste
ton it was found that INFESTED cor
yielded SIS bushels, while tested cor
yielded Is bushels per acre. The mos
convenient way of testing corn is t
lay the ears on a table. shelf or racl
and begin from the left and count te
wards the right. The cotton flannel /
now cut up into strips Is inches wild
and "a inches long. Squares one an
one-half inches are ruled off and mari
ed and numbered with a blue markin
pencil.
Now number the upper left han
corner square one, and number fror
LEFT to right. The operator Is no,