390 



Missouri Agricultural Report. 



(3) By means of a seed test the actual value of seed in question as 

 compared with seed of the best quality can be determined and damage to 

 the crop or the land due to noxious weed seeds can be avoided. 



(4) Practical seed tests can be made with simple equipment by 

 any one interested in the purchase or use of seeds. 



(5) It is readily possible for the farmer to make practical tests of 

 seeds, thereby safeguarding against partial or complete loss of crops. 



(6) Seed testing is admirably adapted for practical exercise work 

 in elementary agriculture in rural schools. 



(7) The essential preparation for making seed tests consists of pro- 

 viding the simple apparatus necessary and of becoming familiar wdth the 

 general purposes and methods of testing and the features of importance 

 peculiar to tests of particular kinds of seeds. 



THE QUAIL, THE FARMER'S FRIEND. 



(Extracts from speech of Senator Francis M. Wilson of Platte county, delivered 

 in the Missouri State Senate, March 7, 1911, in support of his bill to prohibit the killing 

 of quail, "Bob White," for three years. Senator Wilson's remarks were entirely ex- 

 temporaneous, but at our request he lias attempted to reproduce some of his speecii 

 which excited State wide attention. The Globe-Democrat said, "The 'Woody-Dell' speech 

 of United States Senator James A. Reed was surpassed and Vest's eulogy of 'The 

 Dog' was rivaled in the State Senate this afternoon when Francis Murray Wilson 

 delivered a tribute to the quail which converted a hostile body and passed a bill pre- 

 venting the killing of the partridge for three years." The Republic said, "Moved by 

 the eloquent appeal of Senator Francis M. Wilson of Platte county to save the elusive 

 quail from extermination, the Senate this afternoon voted to close the hunting season 

 on quail for three years." The proposed law passed the Senate, but failed of passage 

 in the House.) 



The quail is among the most ancient of game 

 birds. In some form, differing in habits and ap- 

 pearance, gay with the plumage of sunny climes, or 

 grave with the subdued colors of cheerless land- 

 scapes, it has been found throughout the world. If 

 we search for its origin, the mists of antiquity 

 , obscure its first appearance among the children of 

 men. The Bible tells us of the Almighty furnishing 

 this toothsome bird to nourish and strengthen the 

 Israelites in their combat with the trials of the wil- 

 derness, and in all ages it has given the historian his 

 brightest glimpse of bird life, and the poet inspiration' for his sweetest 

 song. The name given this royal bird differs with the locality and folk- 

 lore of the people, but throughout the eastern states, from the pineries 

 of Maine to the flowery fields of Florida, and westward to the foot-hills 



Senator Wilson. 



