The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1919-01-23
RAG DOLLS Good
AS seed Tester
Various Kinds of Apparatus Are
for Sale by Different Com
merCiaI Firms.
SIMPLE MATERIAL NEEDED
RIeached Muslin Is Cheapest and Has
Given Entire Satisfaction-Ker-
nels Should Be Sprouted
in Five Days.

A young lady-a very young lady
IN Union county, Kentucky, is believed
to have done at least as much as any
American of her years in helping to
increase food production in this coun-
try. She gave all her clothes for use
In making rag-doll testers Of the ger
minating power of seed corn. And her
years are only two.
Her father, a county agent of the
United States department of agricul
ture and the Kentucky extension Or
ganization, used up all the spare cloth
around the house in making testers
for the farmers in his territory, and
then he turned to the baby's ward
robe. The need for testers was acute,
and baby didn't need as many clothes
as formerly. The result was that the
baby had to wear tub until her moth
er could prepare her raiment.
The seed corn situation in the spring
Of 1918 was serious. 1t is not expect
ed to be so serious in 1919, but in many
sections of the country farmers will
have need for rag-doll testers or other
apparatus in finding what seed will
produce corn and what will not. They
may not have to use the baby's clothes,
but they should be ready with testers.
How to Make Rag-DoIl Testers.
Various kinds of apparatus for test
ing seed corn are for sale by COM
mercial firms. Others may be manu-
featured at home with simple mate
rials. Some of these testers, such as
the sand-box tester and the sawdust-
box tester, are described in various
publications of the department of ag-
riculture and the state agricultural ex-
pertinent stations. The rag-doll seed
tester has proved to be one of the
most convenient and satisfactory
forms, as we'll as one of the least ex-
pensive.
The cheapest material which has
given entire satisfaction is bleached
muslin. The muslin should be cut into
strips 16 inches wide and from to 5
feet along. With a pencil or crayon
draw a line down the center of the
strip. Leaving at least inches at
the ends, mark the strip crosswise
every inches, numbering the sec
tions.
Using the Rag Dolls.
Moisten the tester before putting the
kernels upon it. Number the ears and
place them in definite order. From
different places on ear No. take out
ten kernels and place them In section
No. l.. Similarly take ten kernels from
ear No. 2, place them in section No. 2,
and continue in this manner until
every section of the tester has been
filed. Care should be taken to place
the kernels some distance from the
dividing lines, so that slight displace-
ments caused by handling the testers
will not mix the samples. Fold each
side of the tester over, so that the
edges meet In the middle. Press the
cloth down firmly over the kernels,
and, using a cob or some other cylin-
drical object as core, roll the tester.
Tie a cord or slip rubber band
around the middle, and the doll is COM
plete.
The Testing Process.
The dolls should be thoroughly i'm
mersed in lukewarm water. From two
to four hours have been found suffi-
cient for the soaking, and it is best
not to soak for more than ten hours.
Remove the dolls from the water, al
low them to Gain, and place them
where they may be kept warm and
moist. During the termination period
the dolls should not be subjected to &