DAIRY AND SEED IMPROVEMENT MEETINGS. 193 



Very little thought has been given to the efficiency of seeds 

 by our farmers as a whole; but you will readily see that this 

 is of vital importance. I might illustrate by drawing an analogy. 

 The dairymen of this state long ago realized that something 

 must be done to improve their dair>' herds and in order to find 

 out which cows were profitable and which were not, dairy test- 

 ing associations were formed and through the work of these 

 associations a large number of our farmers have been able to 

 weed out those cows that are not efficient. They have learned 

 that one cow producing 12,000 pounds of milk of average test 

 is equivalent to six cows producing 5,000 pounds of milk. In 

 other words, one 12,000 pound cow is six times as efficient as a 

 5,000 pound cow. 



The average yield per acre of oats in Maine, in 1912, was 34 

 bushels. The best varieties of oats recommended by the Ex- 

 periment Station, approximate an average yield of 60 bushels. 

 Figuring the cost per acre the same for both, which is true, 

 because the same preparation must be made whether you raise 

 10 bushels or 70 bushels, the 60 bushel oats, at market quota- 

 tions, are four times as efficient as those producing 34 bushels 

 per acre. 



With flint corn, in 1912, the average yield was 40 bushels per 

 acre. In this very poor corn year, official yields have been re- 

 ported of more than 100 bushels per acre. Applying the same 

 test to corn as to oats, the 100 bushel corn at market prices is 

 nearly four times as efficient as 40 bushel corn. 



It has been demonstrated this year with potatoes that an in- 

 crease of 50 bushels was made from selected seed. These few 

 examples will serve to illustrate the value of pure seed. The 

 question now arises, How can we place this seed on the market 

 so that the majority of farmers can secure it? There are at 

 the present time a few farmers who are raising and selling pure 

 seed, but they can only supply a very small part of what the 

 market demands. It is surprising to learn that the seed houses 

 here in Maine are able to procure very little seed of good quality 

 at home and in order to meet their demands they are obliged to 

 buy from outside the state. I have corresponded with the large 

 seed companies here and without exception they say that could 

 they secure good Maine grown seed of- the same quality, they 

 would much prefer to buy it. This is perhaps the reason why 



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