Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1921-08-16
PLANTS

No farmer needs to be. told Of the. value of iac-
|elimating certain plants; In his own experience he
has seen plants originally unsuitable to the locality
in which he lives adapted to that locality by inteli-
gent breeding and selection. AS a matter of history
he knows that most of the plants which form, the
basis of agriculture in all its branches have been de-
veloPed from other and less useful forms and suited
to climatic and other conditions to which thew had
been accustomed. Corn, one Of the most widely
distributed of the grain plants, was developed from
Ia grass, and Luther Burbank has recently completed
"a similar cycle, bringing about in a few years the
same transformation from grass to- modern corn
which occupied the aborigines for centuries.
The length Of the growing season has much to
do with the acclimatization of plants. The plant
which is native to a tropical climate is accustomed
to abundant time for growth. Moved into a territory
with a shorter summer it fails to mature. Those
members Of the species which by inheritance require
"a long time to mature fail to reproduce themselves
under less favorable conditions, for their peculiar
needs, and only those Survive which. will mature in
less time. Thus the character Of the plant is chang
ed gradually and varieties are produced which will
thrive in the colder climates. II
Where plants are grown for the production Of
|matured seed the thorough acclimatization of the
plant is of the highest importance. Our corn grow
|ers have demonstrated that in their own experience.
Corn which is perfectly satisfactory in Oklahoma is
useless in North Dakota. It has been necessary, as
the culture of corn proceeded farther and farther
north, to develop varieties which would ripen in
fewer and fewer days, and as a result of this, process
I'VE nave seed corn raised IN the northwest which is
perfectly adapted to northwestern conditions. There
has been a similar kind of development in the growth
Iof wheat, barley, and many other plants.
Sometimes there is confusion as to what accli-
matization is for, and what it accomplished. For in
Stance, the conditions which governed the growing
of field corn and those which apply to the growth Of
sweet corn for table use are entirely distinct. In the
,one case the purpose is. the production Of ripened
seed in the other it is the production Of green.ears
of palatable corn. Unless one is in. the seed corn
business he does not care whether his sweet corn
ripens or not. RiPened, it is useful only for seed.
For any other purpose it is surpassed by ordinary
field varieties. Hence while the conditions demand
the use OF locally grown field corn, imported sweet
corn is in every way as good.
The tomato is another familiar illustration Of
these facts. notwithstanding the fact that ripe to-
matoes are occasionally produced in this latitude
from seed planted directly in the garden in the
spring, that plan is not often satisfactory, nor is it
likely to be. To be at all dependable the tomato re-
,quires a longer season than that. between our late
spring and early fall frosts. Hence the plants must
be started indoors, under dollhouse conditions. For
this reason, home grown seed is no more dependable
than any other, and in this particular case the late,
slow-ripening fruit is usually superior in size and
flavor to that which ripens earlier.