THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD SEED 



selects for seed. All seed that is intended for the 

 same field should be selected from plants that have 

 ripened at the same time, in order to avoid the an- 

 noyance of having a part of 

 the plants ready to harvest 

 before others have reached 

 the proper stage of maturity. 

 In the principal seed-pro- 

 ducing sections the crop is 

 harvested in September. 

 The yield varies from 1,500 

 to 2,500 pounds to the acre, 

 from which there will be a 

 loss of about 25 per cent 

 when the seed is recleaned. 

 Good clean seed should 

 weigh 45 to 55 pounds to the 

 measured bushel. The legal 

 weight per bushel is quite 

 variable, ranging from 30 

 pounds in Oklahoma to 42 

 pounds in Tennessee and 57 

 pounds in Minnesota. 

 Where the seed is grown 

 commercially, it is removed from the plant by means 

 of a power stripper, recleaned and stored in bulk; 

 but when the grower has his own seed patch, 

 the seed is best stored in the head. This may be 

 done by piling the heads in a loose heap or by bunch- 

 ing a number of heads together and suspending 

 them from the rafters of the attic or crib by means 

 of a wire or a stout twine. If the heads are handled 



Fig. 7. Undesirable brush hav- 

 ing large central stems and 

 twisted straws. Seed should 

 be selected from plants pro- 

 ducing fine, straight straws. 

 If seed is selected from heads 

 like the above, many heads of 

 a like kind will be found 

 among the progeny. 



