GOOD SEED 



M Still mill the seeds, tho' chosen with toilsome pains, degenerate if 

 man's industrious hand cull not, each year, the largest and the best." — 

 Virgil. 



REJECT THE UNFIT 



Only sound, live men are fit for the trenches. The recruits are coming in, enlist- 

 ment is keen. First of all comes the medical examination. The weaklings, the 

 deficient, the unpromising, are weeded out. They may look fit enough, but the rigid 

 examination discards them for they will not do at the front. Every inefficient man is 

 a burden to the strong and sturdy fellow. Then they are gone" over again and any 

 alien enemies are ejected. The alien enemy is even a greater menace than the unfit and 

 untrained. You who are raising food for the fighters at the front are fighting at home. 

 What about your seed? Seed is the parent of the crop. Put it through its testing. 

 Do not waste your energies on weakling seed. Eject the alien enemy seeds — the weeds. 

 Give your soil a fair chance. Do not waste your labour with the poor seed or dirty 

 seed. Fight fair and be fair to yourself. 



THE SEED SITUATION 



GEO. H. CLARK, B.S.A., Commissioner, Seed Branch, Dept. of Agriculture, 



Ottawa. 



The seed season of 1915 was a very unusual one in respect to the production of 

 seed, especially in Eastern Canada, as the very wet weather before and during harvest 

 greatly affected the crops. The available supply of foreign seed has also been materially 

 influenced by the war in Europe and by weather conditions in the United States. 

 These circumstances have combined to bring about a condition in respect to the general 

 seed supply which requires careful attention from every farmer. 



Wheat — In Ontario, and the other eastern provinces to a lesser extent, the quality 

 of the wheat was materially lowered through wet weather at harvest time. However, 

 where the grain has been well dried and carefully stored it will probably be suitable for 

 seed in most cases, but care should be taken to see that the vitality has not been damaged 

 through heating. Where there is any room for doubt, a vitality test should be made. 



Fortunately, there has been a large crop of good quality wheat in Western Canada 

 which may be drawn upon by those districts in the East which require to purchase seed. 

 The difficulty that has hitherto prevailed in securing pure seed wheat from Western 

 Canada should be largely removed this year as a special grade has been established for 

 seed wheat that is free from noxious weed seeds within the meaning of the Seed 

 Control Act. Wheat of either the Red Fife or Marquis variety which has been certified as 

 suitable for seed by a government inspector may be obtained at the government interior 



61 



