THE ESSENTIALS OF AGRICULTURE 



EXERCISES 



1. Testing different grades of seeds. Obtain a sample of good 

 wheat and divide into lots according to the size of the seed. Select 

 for the first lot the largest, plumpest, heaviest kernels ; for the second 

 lot, those of medium size and plumpness ; and for the third, the small, 

 shrunken kernels. Plant each lot separately under similar conditions 

 as to soil, depth, and rate. Record the time of coming up and the size 

 of plants at the end of ten and thirty days respectively. If a winter 

 variety, note any differences in winter killing. Winter oats, barley, and 

 rye may also be sown in the same manner, in order to get survival 

 effect regardless of the severity of weather conditions. 



2. Selecting seed. Select from fifty to one hundred heads from a 

 field of standing wheat, or from the shock or stack, or from samples 

 previously collected and kept for this purpose. Obtain as many types 

 as possible. Thresh each separately and place in envelopes. Count and 

 weigh, to determine which heads are most productive. Count out an 

 equal number of kernels of each, and seed those from each head in 

 a row by themselves. Note winter survival, time of coming up, head- 

 ing, ripening, and yield and quality of grain. Would it be possible to 

 improve the wheat yield by increasing and propagating any one of 

 these strains ? 



REFERENCES 



BAILEY, L. H. Cyclopedia of American Agriculture, Vol. II. The Mac- 



millan Company. 



DONDLINGER, P. T. The Book of Wheat. Orange Judd Company. 

 HUNT, T. F. Cereals in America. Orange Judd Company. 

 HUNT and BURKETT. Farm Crops. Orange Judd Company. 

 LIVINGSTON, G. Field Crop Production. The Macmillan Company. 

 WILSON and WARBURTON. Field Crops. Webb Publishing Company. 

 Barley Culture in the Southern States, Farmers' Bulletin 427, United 



States Department of Agriculture. 

 Culture of Winter Wheat in the Eastern United States, Farmers' Bulletin 



596, United States Department of Agriculture. 

 Oats, Growing the Crop, Farmers' Bulletin 424, United States Depart- 



ment of Agriculture. 

 Rice Culture, Farmers^ Bulletin 417, United States Department of Agri- 



culture. 

 Winter Oats for the South, Farmers' 1 Bulletin 436, United States Depart- 



ment of Agriculture. 



