Show EXPERT SAYS FARMER MAY RAISE OWN SEED LOGAN camers of utah will profit a great deal by revising an old mis conception conc epton that seed from some other farm Is better than from their own dr george stewart agronomist with the experiment station of the utah college stated in answer to inquiries on home grown seeds however dr stewart said there come times when seed grown on a given farm should be replaced by seed from another farm but this Is only when the seed formerly used Is mixed diseased or otherwise of poor quality it Is so extremely important to have good seed that no farmer should hesi N tate to spend considerable sums in order to have the very best and cleanest varieties known the college authority emphasized however many farmers in the state have a feeling that even though they hae good seed after a few years they should exchange this for seed grown on another farm or even in a different locality there are few known cases in which the actual facts are more misunderstood than in this case seed becomes adjusted to local conditions when crops are kocg grown on a given farm they become adjusted to the particular conditions which prevail on that farm among thousands of plants some are not so well adapted as others these plants are weakened somewhat by conditions unfavorable to them and they produce fewer and fewer seeds as the years go on eventually they disappear entirely from the crop populations this leaves only the plants most perfectly suited to the given conditions about the time therefore tha the crops of a good farmer become well adjusted to his farm and are ready to give him their best returns the farmer is seized with a whim to exchange his seed and get some which has not gone through this weeding out process so far as his particular soil Is concerned dr stewart continued to explain that the question of adapted seed is especially important in sections that special conditions such as summer drought short seasons unusually rich soil unusually porous soils a special type of irrigation or any other condition that Is not general in the locality only about half of the plants actually sed in a grain field produce seed for arvest while the other 50 per cent or Is crowded out in the competition for room moisture and plant food he stated dr stewart went on to explain that any man recognizes that range sheep gradually become adapted to that condition and corn belt cattle can be selected for that condition with plants the selection is many times more rigorous on account of heavy rates of seeding practice he said garden seed best selection on outside dr stewart however explained that two exceptions except ons to this general statement should be noted as follows first vegetable and garden seed for a farm garden should be secured through a reputable dealer se lecton and cleanliness making it practically impossible for good garden seed to be produced on the ordinary farm second with potatoes fredom from disease Is the paramount issue and it better seed can be secured by shipping in certified seed this should by all means be done however there Is no reason for exchanging potato seed if a man should be growing certified seed himself dr stewart said |