Pullman herald. [volume] (Pullman, W.T. [Wash.]) 1888-1989, 1920-07-30
PURE SEED

ing wheat fields in the county. The
one thing that stands out more than
any thing else in the county is the
great number of varieties of wheat
in each district and in many cases
on one farm. If the great number
of varieties were each confined to
its own field things would not look
so bad but when we find that by
actual count one field contained as
many as II varieties of wheat we
begin to question whether that man
is making as much money out of
that wheat field as he should be
making. The county agent has han
died some millions of bushels of
wheat for the Canadian government
and knows the market value of a
load of wheat that is somewhat pure
as to variety. He also knows that
it doesn't require very large
amount of soft wheat in a sample of
good No l Northern to reduce the
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materially. Yet this thing happens
to very large percentage of the
farmers of this county The Palouse
country produces an enormous
amount of wheat each year but the
quality of the wheat produced is not
given much consideration.
In small way the county agent
can help to improve the quality and
amount of wheat produced but he
must have the cooperation of every
wheat grower in the county.
There are four methods of increas-
ing crop production: First, by in
creasing soil fertility. Second, bet
ter tillage methods, Third, disease,
weed and pest control. Fourth, by
the use of better seed. OF these, the
last seems to me to be of the great
est Importance. All other conditions
being perfect, you can't accomplish
much with poor seed. Better seed
goes a long way in the economic in
crease of crop yields. There is lit
tie other cost than obtaining the
pure seed in the beginning while in
creased yields that are brought
about through tillage or destruction
of crop pests must be repeated year
after year 1t will be seen that the
use of better seed brings increased
yields with less expense.
We will take it for granted that
in this instance the term better seed
means pure seed, that is, seed that
is all of one variety. Seed that is
100 per cent hybrid 1913, forty-fold
or any other variety. Seed of this
kind is hard to find and there is very
little of it on the market but there
is no reason why every farmer can
not produce his own pure seed and
one method is as follows:
Secure from the State College or
some other source enough pure seed
of some variety to plant one or two
acres. The seed must be planted on
absolutely clean land. Unless this
can be done it is useless to attempt
to produce pure seed. After the two
acres is headed out it must be gone
over and all heads of other varieties
pulled out by hand and removed
from the field. The wheat from this
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kept free from other wheats. A
man should then have from 80 to
SO bushels of seed wheat which he
is absolutely sure is free from other
varieties of wheat. The wheat in
turn is again planted on clean
ground. Eventually he will have his
fields planted each year to pure seed
and as he only uses one variety of
spring and fall seed there is no pos
ing such mixtures as now exists. OF
course, one has got IA decide in the
beginning on the one variety that he
wants to raise and decrease each
year his acreage of other varieties.
OF course, there are always great
many men who cant be bothered
with such nonsense" but usually
those men cans see beyond their
noses and can't be expected to keep
pace with their more progressive
neighbors.
There is yet another method that
can be followed in getting a start in
pure seed and it is perhaps the best
method where the man is looking
for improvement along a certain line
and cares to take the time to get his
start that way. A sufficient number
of heads of wheat are selected from