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Show Sugar Beet Seed. Tho proper selection of tho seod Is the first requisito In plnnting, says a bulletin of tho United States Department Depart-ment of Agriculture. At present most of our best beet seed Is imported from Germany and France. As with other commodities, thero nro a few standard varieties, tho quality of which Is well known These standard varieties aro also In tho hands of responslblo and established firms. Very serious mistakes mis-takes arc sometimes made In tho selection of seed Tho entire crop for ono new factory In this country was ono season produced from Becd of n low quality and with consequences that wcro serious and far-reaching. No ono can tell much about tho quality qual-ity of seed by looking nt it A farmer can test the seed by germinating germinat-ing n certain number of seeds between be-tween two dampened blotters kept wnrm and moist. Ho can obsorvo what percentage germinates As each seed or ball has from ono to five germs, thero should not bo less thnn 1C0 sprouts from 100 balls. If, in addition, ad-dition, SO per cent of the bnlls pro-duco pro-duco as much ns ono sprout each, tho seed can ho considered good from tho standpoint of vitnlity. Tho best method to pursue with relation to seed Is to consult tho nearest rcllnblo source of Information, such aB a factory fac-tory or an experiment station which Is making teats. Japan Clover. Wo herewith Illustrate n clover that has been much tnlked about during tho last few years. It was Imported somo years ngo, an initial consignment consign-ment coming from Japan to Charleston, Charles-ton, South Carolina. Tho scientist calls it Lespcdeza striata. It is a summer growing plnnt that thrives on light soils. After its introduction into in-to tho Carolines it spread with great rapidity, tho seed being carried by tho birds. It Is not likely to thrivo north of the Ohio river if left to itself. If it is grown at all further north, it will have to bo sown in tho spring, with the certainty that It will kill out In tho winter. Even then it may provo useful in somo locations. Just as is tho caso with crimson clover. It Is now widely distributed throughout tho South, being reported ns far west as Toxas. When It first appears In a community it has n salivating sali-vating effect on horses, but Inter thnt effect disappears, either because tho animals get used to it or because it exhausts ex-hausts something In the soil that causes tho salivation. Tho stockmen of tho South havo come to recognlzo this as n valuable forage plant, oven though it is a small grower. Seed should be sown lato In the spring after tho ground has becomo warm, Tho land should bo well prepared, pre-pared, as It must bo for all small seeds. If tho soil has been covered with timber In tho past tho chances for the success of the lespcdeza aro Improved. The seed obtainable, nt tho present tlmo Is unhullcd and therefore there-fore from ono to two pecks per aero must ho used Tho plant seeds tho ground nbundantly and where the cllmato Is not too cold tho seeding will bo continued from year to year. To Prevent Smut In Wheat. This coming spring wheat should not bo sowed without being flrst treated treat-ed if It has nny Indications of having been exposed to Binut. Tho trouble can bo obviated by dipping tho seed wheat In a solution that Is suro to provo effective. Smut is carried over from car to cor on tho seed wheat. Tho modo of treatment Is as follows: DIssolvo one pound of copper sulphato in 24 gallons of water. Sonk tho sed in this solution for twelvo hours, after which It should bo drained off. Then tho seed should bo soaked for ton minutes in llmo vvntcr mndo by slaking slak-ing ono pound of llmo in ton gallons of water Tho seed should then be dried ns soon ns possible. Caro should then bo taken that tho seed wheat is not eaten by chickens or rther stock, as tho Biilphato Is a deadly poison. It is tho experience of farmers that land that boro smutty wheat the previous previ-ous ear will not bear smutty wheat If tho seed Is properly treated, tho smut spores In the ground having been all killed by tho cold weather. Disease In Potatoes. If an Irish potato In Its rotting stato la loft on tho plot of land whero It grew this year, tho garden of that Uls-caso Uls-caso will remain In tho soli all tho winter and ho ready to Impart tho samo dlscaso to tho potatoes next jear. Tho Agriculturist advises Its patrons to go ovor their potato lands nnd havo nil tho decaying or scabby potntoes gnthored up and destroyed. Disease will sprrnd among plants as readily as smallpox nmong pooplo. |