Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1917-03-21
BARNEY URGES
FARMERS TO PURCHASE
SEED EARLY.
HOME GROWN SEED WILL
GIVE BETTER RESULTS
Records Of State College Show That
Homo Grown Seed Corn viii Pro.
dues From Three to Ten More Bush
els Per Acre Than Imported Seed
Dealers Must Strictly Observe Law.
Special to Times Republican.

Special to Times Republican.
Des Moines, March Eff you must
buy your seed corn this year, do SO
early" is the advice of w. B. Barney,
state dairy and food commissioner.
Buying seed is one of the most i'm
portant pieces of work that the planter
has to do. 1t is not so easy to buy the
kind Of seed you want as some suppose
Take your time to it and see that you
get exactly the kind Of seed you want
to plant.
or the various reasons for good OF
poor crop, there is none so completely
under the control OF the farmer as, the
seed. Soil. rain, heat and cold, and
seasonal conditions must be accepted
as they are, but the seed Is selected
by the farmer himself.
The dairy and food commissioner en-
forces the agricultural seed laws OF
this state, and his inspectors are now
at work sampling the various seeds be-
ing offered for sale by the Iowa seed
dealers. The Iowa seed law applies
only to seed sold in Iowa and we
would recommend that farmers deal
with Iowa seedsmen, only, unless they
are experts on the particular kind of
seed that they are buying.
Corn Is by far the most important
seed planted by the Iowa farmer and
on its kind and quality depends the
prosperity of all our citizens. Manu-
facturer, dealer, banker. laborer, and
farmer are alike dependent on a sue
cessful corn crop for their success and
q successful crop can never be grown
from poor seed
Records Of the Iowa State College
show that home grown seed corn will
produce from three to ten bushels more
per acre than imported seed.
Homa GraWn Seed Best.
Commissioner Barney is urging the
farmer who must buy his seed corn to
select the best corn grown in his own
neighborhood and known to be of a
successful variety for his locality
Do not depend on the termination
test entirely. The termination test
tells whether or not the seed will grow.
but tells nothing about the variety or
the yield to be expected from it. These
Seed corn is now being offered for sale
at prices ranging from g TO IS per
bushel. Good seed Is we'll worth IS
per bushel but 1t should be IS corn II
It is offered for sale at that price. An
Iowa citizen recently paid 500 per
bushel for selected strains of seed
corn The best corn.growers are those
who plant the best seed. One grower
has recently increased his yield per
acre from sixty-hve to eighty five
bushels by more careful selection Of his
seed alone.
This year Dairy and Food Commits
sioner Barney has instructed his in
spectors to prosecute all dealers not
complying with the requirements OF the
law Most Of our Iowa seed merchants
conduct an honest business but each
year a few dishonest and incompetent
dealers sell entirely too much poor
and worthless seed.
Strict Enforcement Of Law.
The law requires that all agricultural
seeds offered for sale in this state be
labeled with the following statements:
/. Name Of the seed,
2. Name and address Of scotsman.
8. Statement Of the locality where
grown, when known.
Commissioner Barney has ruled that
where the dealer does not know the
locality where the seed was grown, he
shall so state thus:
1.-THE locality where this seed was
grown Is not known to me Cor us)."
All purchasers of seeds should have
q copy CT the Iowa law pertaining to
agricultural seeds; II you do not. send
a postal card to w. B. Barney, state
dairy, and food commissioner, Des
Moines, Iowa.