Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1917-09-07
WHEAT GROWERS
ARE CAUTIONED
Department of Agriculture
Warns Farmers Against
Seed Promoters

Washington, ID. c., Sept. "A
warning to American farmers not to
be misled, in their zeal for increased
wheat production. into planting alb
normally high-priced seed for which
eXtravagant claims are mde, has just
been issued by the United States De-
partment of Agriculture.
Wheat is attracting, at the pres
eLt time, greater attention than per-
haps ever before, owing to its COM
rarative scarcity and high price and
the necessity of sowing a large acre
age this fall" says the department.
statement. "As might be expected,
therefore, various persons are offer
ing to the public, varieties that they
describe as far superior to the kinds
now being grown. These varieties are
usually given some catchy name and
extravagant claims are made for
them.
."An example of this kind is the
Alaska, or Seven headed wheat that
was exploited a few years ago. The
& hackers of this wheat did not get
very far with it, however, as the
Post Office Department issued IA
fraud order and their business came
to q standstill. This type of wheat
having a large, branched head has
& been offered at ahigh prices to the
people of this country many times
under one name or another. Records
concerning it go back more than
hundred years. Just now another
exploitation is threatening under the
name Titanic This type of wheat
with branched heads should .be left
strictly alone by the farmers of the
country.
"A favorite scheme employed by
those having wheat for sale for
which they wish to obtain eXorbitant
prices is to claim that their variety
requires but n small amount of seed
s per acre. A peck of seed, twenty
pounds and n half bushel per acre,
5tre amounts frequently mentioned.
of course the claims of maximum
Yields from these small seedlings are
not substantlated by fact. Only on
s Try lands or under very special con-
litions is the seeding of as little as
wen forty-five pounds per acre of
wheat advisable. On nearly all of the
wheat lands of the country ii is more
profitable to SOW from a bushel to
wo bushels of seed per acre than
o SOW less than bushel.
THE United States Department of
agriculture has shown in previous
publications that the claims of max
mum Yields obtained from sowing
bne or two peCks to the acre of the
wheat known as Stoner. Miracle, or
Marvellous are not substantiated by
Experiments. Safe rules to follow
IA the case Of all wheats for which
uch claims are made are first to
Iow as much as has been found
profitable with other varieties in the
heighborhood. and second. not to
,av high prices for the seed.
Radical claims Of high yields are
nade for some varieties of wheat
is not uncommon in advertising a
hcw variety for an INSCRIPTIONS or
uniformed promoter to claim yields
our or five times that of the aver,
ge yield of the country. Claims as
Ugh as fifteen or more times the
verage yield have been made in spe-
ial cases Such claims are absurd
nd no one need be misied by them,
well-bred variety in the section to
yhich it is adapted may yield a few
ushels more than the varieties be-
ta commonly grown. Very seldom,
pdeed, can doubling of the yield
'c expected.
Buying seed grown at a great
lstance from home is another thing
nat wheat growers should be on
heir guard against. No wheat grown
nd bred for California conditions.
or instance, no matter how good
or California has been found adapt
d 10 the country east of the Rock
es. California adapted wheats do
OF succeed east of that State. Meth
r would the wheats adapted to the
Atlantic coast or the Mississippi val
ey succeed in California. In short,
ome-grown seed should be used
Mess the State agricultural expert
lent station or the United States De-
artment OF Agriculture advises
therWiSe" 4"