A CHANGE OF SEED.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1136, 8 December 1893, Page 6

A CHANGE OF SEED.

Experience has taught that a change of seed is a highly commendable thing. Several advantages are gained' through it. At the present time we. , deal mainly with grain seeds, as these crops demand immediate attention. 1 benefits of the frequent use of‘ fresh seed imported from another district a chiefly, that the crop is healthier [and hardier, aiid that, therefore, a heavier; yield is obtained. For late or' high lying districts another equally important advantage is derived from; a judiciou.; purchase of seed. If farmers So situated bring seed grain from "a locality more favourably situatefl in respect to climate, and where an earlier harvest obtains, their crops from .flugh seed will reach maturity sometime before those from seed that had been grown on the same farm for years. . In many districts, especially oat-growing localities, the proper ripening. %( the crop is a fickle busine&N. Therefore, for these places, any scheme or system'that will stimulate the prop to earlier maturity is a point of the first .magnitude. Of coprse, good apd seasonable cultivation of the land and judicious manuring ajd ip bringing on the grain. Rut a still greater influence will he brought to bear in hastening oh thie harvest, hy the frequent use of seed from parts where it was accustomed'to Lpatpre at an earlier date in the r year.; The quantity and quality of the yield' are likewise improved by the change; Grain grown on a low-lying > seaside farm, for instance, makes most suitable seed for an inland or high-lying farm. Seeds should be changed every three or four years. The little expense and trouble incurred by the process will be abundantly compensated: for by the, beneficial effect on the corps. 1

Farmers in, early localities may also import fresh seed with advaniage^- 4 even from late districts. Such a change, while not seriously delaying theharyest, usually increases, the hulk of the pr(> v . dpce. In fact, marked benefit is gained by transferring seed from one cljainte, one soil, and one system of farming to another. Just as a change of atmosphere and surroundings acts bene-; fically upon human beings; these altered conditions improve the vitality* and, therefore, the producing power;of grain. A farmer who has attained an enviable reputation for the production of a certain popular variety of oats, applies this theory in practice. He occupies two farms, one on rich, loamy ' soil, close to the sea ; the other in an inland higher-situated district, and of light soil. He systematically exchanges hia “ pedigree seed from the one farm to the other, and thereby maintain! the vitality and standard of bis sale able seed In these depressed tinies when every legitimate means of rAisinf the income side of the balance-sliee ifl

commend this highly, important matter to tfie careful consideration of farmers. —Farm and Stock Breeder.