22 PRODUCTIVE FARMING 



CHAPTER II. 

 PLANT IMPROVEMENT— GOOD SEED. 



One of the best ways to improve our crops on the farms 

 or in the gardens is to select good seeds for planting. It is 

 a law of nature that '' like produces like." 



Seed Selection. — Careful selection year by year will 

 gradually improve any crop. The seeds should be healthy 

 in every respect, free from impurities, large and heavy for 

 its kind, and taken from the best plants. We may save seeds 

 from those plants in the garden that show the qualities 

 which we want. The same care should be exercised in the 

 selection of seed wheat, oats, rye, and other field crops. In 

 the case of corn and potatoes it is possible to select seed in 

 the field from the best individual plants or hills, but in the 

 case of small grains this method would not be practicable. 

 With these grains we should follow some good method of 

 grading to secure good, large, plump kernels; such have the 

 best characters (Fig. 9). 



Sifting and Fanning Grain. — Sieves are very useful for 

 separating the poor seed from the good. Meshes of just the 

 proper size are used to screen the large and let the small 

 fall through the sieve. The practice of winnowing the grain, 

 used in olden times, is now replaced by the use of fanning 

 mills. Fanning devices are usually found in threshing ma- 

 chines to separate the chaff, lighter seeds, and trash from the 

 heavier grains. All seeds to be sown should be cleaned and 

 re-cleaned until they are pure and of the best quality. (See 

 exercise with large and small radish seeds, page 28.) 



Wheat and other small grains have been less improved 

 by selection than corn because the kernels are handled less, 

 and being smaller less attention is given to their individual 



