Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1917-02-16
SEES BIG PROFITS
IN PURE BRED PEAS
A. s. CATION THINKS LOCAL FARM.
ERS SHOULD BEGIN GROW.
ING THEM.

ing communication this week on the
subject:
Most men accept the principle Of
scientific breeding in animal life. We
recognize that all our famous strains |
of draft horses and roadstcrs have
come up from the original horse
which was not much larger than
sheep and had cloven hoof at that,
If our scientists are to be believed.
Our dairymen are investing thou
sands of dollars in thoroughbred dairy
stock, cattle that have been bred for
generations with view to the pro-
duction of butterfat. We also recog-
nize this law of selection and develop
ment in fruits and are coming more
and more to recognize it also in
grains and grasses.
Last spring bought 500 pounds of
pedigreed Blue Bell peas. The seed
had been hand-picked for six years in
succession. I sowed in the same field
about 1000 pounds Of the best quail
ity of local grown Blue Bell seed I
could find, which had been grown up
the Des Chutes river. For this
paid $50 per ton, while for the pedi-
greed seed I paid 5000 per tom
i Made q Mistake.
I thought it too expensive to buy
enough for my entire field, but in this
I made mistake. At threshing time
my pedigreed seed produced fully
one-third more per acre than the or
binary seed. Not only that, but while
could get only $50 per ton for the
common stock could have sold the
pedigreed stock for 800 per ton to
some people, because the peas were
so much larger and practically all
blue peas, while the common peas
were badly mixed with yellow peas,
and for table stock the yellow pea is
not wanted.
When I bought those pedigreed
Blue Bells at $500 per ton supposed
was getting absolutely pure Blue
Bells, but found sprinkling of pur-
pie bloom peas among them, but we
pulled up al of these. There were
also a few light-colored peas of a
standard vine-Blue Bells are semi
dwarf vine - and white bloom, and
there are a few Of these light. peas
still in the seed.
i l have just finished hand picking
400 pounds of this seed for my own
sowing this spring. We picked out
every lfght-cOlored pea, 80 that am
now sure my stock next year will be
perfectly pure. We got 80 pounds of
light-colored peas out of the 400
pounds and l think fully one-half Of
these were over-ripe Blue Bells that
were light-colored on one side, but l
was so anxious to get the seed per-
fectly pure that took no chances on
leaving any that looked the least bit
light-colored.
An agent of Fishers FIGURING Mills
Of Seattle recently called on me and
when he learned that Thurston coun-
ty had sold to San Francisco parties
rs to 80 tons of peas last fall at $50
per ton. he was disappointed. He
. said their mills would be glad to get
every pea we can grow In the future.
think We can easily develop this
pea to point where it will yield two
to two-and-a-half tons per acre on our
uplands. In fact, 1t does that now.
1t makes one OF the most profitable
crops We can grow and constantly en-
riches the soil instead of impoverish-
ing 1t.
500 Ton Sure.
| IT we get pure stock, cutting out
all light-colored or yellow peas and
ali grow the same grade, so we can
furnish them in car lots, we can
easily count on 500 per ton for all
We can grow.
However, We need a pea thresher.
The ordinary grain thresher splits too
many peas and leaves too many in the
straw. A good pea and bean thresher
will soon pay for itself. If no one
can be found who will purchase such
machine and operate it as a bust
ness, would like to be one of ten
or dozen growers who would join
and buy one to do our own work and
then help our neighbors as best we
could. would like to hear from any
grower who would join in such a
movement no ono invostipo v,o,o