134 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



best results, but even when this is done it 

 is not all that is required to secure a good 

 yield, as the most essential of all for a 

 good result is the planting of nothing but 

 seed that has the vitality to germinate and 

 send forth a good healthv vigorous sprout. 

 In potatoes the first sign of inferiority is 

 the eyes growing deep followed by growing 

 small at one end, when any of these signs 

 are visible they should be discarded for 

 seed purpose as good results can not be 

 obtained from such seed, and however good 

 the culture may be, seed potatoes should 

 always be hand picked before planting 

 time. Take your pile of potatoes that your 

 seed is to be selected from and select, say 

 one dozen specimens of medium size, true 

 to name and characteristic in shape to the 

 true variety, then select the balance of 

 your seed as near like the samples as it is 

 possible to do. It is not policy to select 

 seed potatoes from a pile that sorts away 

 one-third or one-half. The larger the seed 

 that is planted the smaller will be the per 

 cent of small ones grown. 



The same care should be exercised in 

 the selection of all other seeds. Wheat 

 with a large berry usually yields the best 

 in a new country. Where farming is done 

 with a limited means, experimenting with 

 untried varieties should not be indulged in 

 as it is too costly, but varieties that have 

 been tried for years and proven a success, 

 such as theAustralian and defiance varieties 

 should be secured. The cost of securing 

 good seed should never be taken into con- 

 sideration compared with the benefits de- 

 rived between having good seed and poor, 

 as it is only a waste of time and money ,to 

 prepare ground to plant poor seed. 



"In an irrigated country small grain 

 does best on a hard surface. Spring 

 plowing is too porous and loose for best 

 returns, when potatoes or corn have been 

 grown the season before and prepared for 

 the small grain with spring tooth harrow 

 of something similar, that does not stir 

 the ground too deep is better. 



''The best ground for small grain is 

 where a crop of clover or alfalfa has been 



turned under, ground planted the first 

 year to potatoes, second year to small 

 grain. From 40 to 60 bushels of wheat or 

 from 50 to 100 bushels of oats cau be har- 

 vested off ground of this kind under fav- 

 orable conditions and with good seed. 



JOHN G. HALL. 



AMOUNT OF LAND. 

 The Orange Judd Farmer is advocating 

 the building up of a larger export trade in 

 corn through government aid, the money 

 now wasted in seed distribution to be de- 

 voted to the corn trade. In support of its 

 agitation it asserts that Japan enlarged its 

 tea trade by government aid and forced 

 China and India to do the same. The cane 

 sugar industry of Europe was developed 

 by a bounty system and. Denmark cap- 

 tured the English butter market by gov- 

 ernment assistance, while Australia has 

 forced it meats and other products into 

 the English market in much the same way. 



LEVEL ROOSTS. 



In three-quarters of the poultry houses 

 of the country the perches are arranged 

 like a flight of stairs, rising from the 

 front to the rear. Why this arrangement 

 was first used would be pretty hard to tell 

 unless it was because it was handier to lay 

 two scantlings against a wall and lay the 

 perches in notches cut into them. 



When the perches are arranged in this 

 stairstep fashion, the hens invariably 

 quarrel for the top perch, as it is their 

 nature to roost as high as they can get. 

 This quarreling leads to bruises and other 

 injuries and should be prevented by having 

 the perches all at the same level. 



The distance from the floor should de- 

 pend in some measure on the kind of hens 

 kept. If they are of the heavy breeds 18 

 inches is high enough, and 30 inches is 

 high enough for the lighter breeds. If a 

 tight platform of boards is placed under 

 the perches it will catch the droppings 

 and save the floor space clean for scatch- 

 ing room in bad weather. The platform 

 should be just far enough below the 



