Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1919-03-27

clover and grass seed is coming into
this county from various. seed con-
Germs, according to County Agent w.
A Buchanan, who warns farmers to
use care In the selection OF seed to
prevent the spread of Canada thistle
and other harmful weeds.
This year breaks all previous
records for the amount of interior
clover and grass seeds distributed over
the country by questionable seed con-
GERMS" says q statement issued by the
county agents office. "The sample OF
seed may look fine but wait until the
seed arrives. The practice of not eN-
aiming an express on freight ship
ment OF seed until the time of seeding
arrives may be the cause of a good
deal Of dissatisfaction
Some farmers may fool themselves
with the thought that the weed seed
in bushel of grass seed is of SO little
importance. the statement continues,
as to be negligible. But, the state
ment adds, this seed may contain the
seed Of the Canada thistle, buckhorn,
dock and other dangerous weeds,
which. once planted. can not be
eradicated short Of years of effort.
Dangers of Poor Seed.
more than half of all the samples
of red clover seed and mixed clover
and timothy sent from this office to
Ames for analysis" the statement
says, contain Canada thistle, buck
horn, curl dock and other noNious
weed seeds. Reputable seed COM
panies with an established business
rarely canvass the country to dispose
of their seeds, as their seeds sell on
their reputation or on the brand that
has been established. The purchase
Of mixed grass seed is generally I'M
satisfactory this year as much in
ferior seed, and weed seed. is more
frequently found in mixed samples
! than in seed Of one variety.
Inferior Grade Of Alfalfa.
"a large percentage Of the clover
sam pies offered this season contain an
inferior grade Of alfalfa seed. Glover
seed is short and more rounding In
appearance than alfalfa, while the
alfalfa seed is more slender and
larger. The presence Of alfalfa in
red clover seed will be- practically a
total loss to those who seed this mix
ture on sour land where no incubation
or application of ground limestone has
been made. Some samples of clover
seed appear to have old and new seed
mixed together, indicated by the luster
and brightness of new seed while the
bulk of the sample appears dull and
lacks luster, indicating the presence Of
old seed.
What 10 Paid For Old Seed.
RED clover seed costing s26 a
busheI. Of sixty pounds, has the fol-
lowing approximate cost per pound Of
good seed; figuring at $26 and germi-
mating 80 per cent, costs approx
mately A cents per pound of good
seed. and SO on as follows:
Terminating 80 per cent costs As
cents pound: terminating 80 per
cent, costs "a cents a pound; germi-
mating 10 per cent, costs 81 cents
pound; terminating 60 per cent. costs
70 cents pound; terminating so per
cent, costs Sc cents a pound.
1.-THE presence of weed seed, trash
or foreign matter in some samples has,
run as high as 20 per cent. The above
comparison in prices per pound is
figured on the actual seed value. show
ing that red clover at $685. germinat-
ing 70 per cent, cost so per cent more,
or 81 cents per pound Of good seed;
that the sample testing SO per cent
termination costs 100 per cent more
than good sample, or Sc cents per
pound Of good seed. The best seed
obtainable is the best investment
every time. The only satisfactory
method of securing good seed this
season is to see the seed before You
buy it, and purchase from reliable
sources"
Example of Poor Seed.
Attention Of the county agent has
been called to a clipping from news
paper of st. Cloud, Mimi, in which it
is stated that alsike clover seed and
timothy seed is advertised by an Iowa
seed company for only s12 per hun
dred. and it quotes w. r.. Parry, the
county agent, as saying. "a test Of this
seed by the state seed laboratory
shows a termination Of timothy, 81
per cent, alsike GA per cent. The mix
ture also contains 453 Canadian thistle
seeds per pound OF the mixture"
Will Test Corn Samples.
Attention is also called by County
Agent Buchanan to a test Of corn seed
made recently by a Marshall county
farmer, which showed 80 per cent
termination. The corn was picked in
the fall and has been fairly well
housed. If corn generally runs no
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