Historic, Archive Document
Do not assume content reflects current
scientific knowledge, policies, or practices.
Ferguson’s Cotton Seed Gumption Ho, 211
Ferguson Seed Farms’ Inc.
This is the Trade Symbol of the Oldest and
Largest bonafide Scientific Seed-Breeding,
Seed-Growing, Seed-Farm, Seed-Busine§§
!il South grid ’yV'est.
It's on The Bags and, on The Tags
You will find this mark on every Sealed Bag of
Ferguson’s Certified Pedigreed Seeds
Improved Field Seeds Fxclusively
Sherman, Bex 624 Texas
Postmaster:- Return Postage
guaranteed if delivery cannot be made
in 10 days.
lie Paid
Sherman, Texas
PERMIT NO 8
Mr.
Rfd. Box
3
Plan For a Profit on Your Crops
Know the Elements of Chance You Take on
Seeds, Soils, Season and Cultivation
It takes a certain amount — say one-third of a bale of Cot-
ton—to pay the fixed cost of making the crop. If you harvest
less you lose. If you harvest more it is the measure of your
profit.
It costs less to make a bale on two acres than a bale on
five or six acres. The cost of Seed., preparing the soil, culti-
vating, etc., is so much “an acre.” You would not expect to
make a good crop when you have poor soils, poor plows, or
poor teams. To be true, yon “might,” but the average of ex-
perience is against you. So, also, with poor SEEDS.
Your Judgment, Ripened by Your Observations, and Ex-
perience, tells you to seek good soils, good tools, and good
teams, and the best information you can get on each. So, also,
with SEEDS.
Put this Down as Certain: You lose in decreased yields,
if you plant low yielding varieties. You gain in increased
yields, if you plant high yielding varieties. It is obvious, there-
fore, that your loss from low yields will cost many times more
than the slight extra cost of Better Bred Seeds. In the end,
you pay for good seeds, whether you plant them or not.
The Loss in “Value of Crop,” from even run-out or run-
down Seeds of even a recognized good variety is usually $3.00
to $20.00 an acre. Unfortunately, High Bred, Pedigreed Seed
“run out” faster than they can be improved and multiplied.
Therefore, il you would insure a profit from your crops, above
the “cost of making,” you should rely on the latest improved
Strains of the best varieties.
Your Crops Can Be No Better Than the Seeds You Plant.
You should not expect better Seeds than you pay for. You are
entitled to information about who improved your Seeds, where
they were grown, when and how they were last selected, or
their Pedigree, and what the reputation of the man or firm is
who sells you the Seed. When you start out to buy Better
Bred Seeds why not:
Make Your Seeds Insure Greater Success
by buying Ferguson’s Certified, Pedigreed Seeds, in sealed
bags. Buy direct (yes, “direct”) from the originator of the
Strain of variety, who, year after year, improves his strains,
supervises their growing, preparation and testing. Remember:
You Pay the Price of Good Seeds in Losses from “de-
creased yields” whenever you “take a chance” “on poor Seeds.”
An investment of only 25c to 75c an acre (only 1% to 4% of
the cost of the crop) often means $5.00 to $40.00 more in the
crop, or a profit of 500% to 5,000% on your “investment” in
Better Bred Seeds. Others get this .profit. ,Why not you?
If you must take a chance on Seeds, bet your money
where the odds and the wisdom of all ages are with you.
Far Seed Pr©gre»«, Ferguson Says?
“If Seeds are Good,
Some one made them so^
“If Seeds Remain Good,
Some one keeps them so*
'If Seeds are Made Better,
Some one must be on sod ‘onto” the Job.*’
Farm and jRanefr
CORN GROWERS UTfUTY TROPHY
Utility”' nseaKS bettej yielding com )
Awarded by Tesas Com Growers Assofiadoa
1© A. M» Fer^uss® for Produeing
The Highest Yielding Variety of Cor ip
Award based oe Fidd Yidd Tests made in South,
Central, East and North Texas,for S seasons in succession,
by the U, S. Department of Agriculture, and the Texas
Experiment Stations,
Mr. Seed Breedin Man
Says Farmer Jones to Farmer Brown,
“I see ye got some corn this year”
Says Farmer Brown to Farmer Jones,
“Yes, I ain’t no wolf to fear,
Ner mortgages an debts and sech.
How much ye s’pose this crop’ll fetch?
“Well I dunno”, says Farmer Jones,
“But ’pears to me t’will fetch some bones’’.
“Yes, I got 80 acres nigh,
An prices now is mighty high.
I figure I can do as well
This year as last-when it’s time to sell.”
“If its a question fair and square,”
Says Farmer Brown to Farmer Jones,
“How much do you git from that there land?’*
“Bout sixty bushels — most all sand,
’Cept yonder river bottom land.”
“Well I will swan an here I be
A gettin half as much, ye see,
An my land’s all as black an’ rich
As any land; or I’ll beswitched.
Ye reckon ‘taint because of weeds?
Or maybe you’ve got better seeds.”
“Now there ye are“ says Farmer Brown.
“I guess I had as poor a stand
As well nigh any other man.
And yet, ye see now how she looks —
Jes’ like they be in picture books.
Well, I ain’t always had sech crops,
And ’taint been long since I ’ud say
My land ’ud never make much pay.”
’’But this here Pure Seed Breedin Man
Come out one day to see my kjxnd.
And says he’d let me have some seeds
That’s got long names an’ Pedigreed
And, well at first I didn’t know
As I could pay that much to sow.
After a bit I says — ’All right.
I’ll try ’em once and prove by sight.
Well, that’s been seven yers I grant
An’ I ain’t claimin to be smart,
But sir, the only seeds to plant
Is them that’s bred-up from the start.”
B
B
Small Grain Nursery whsre seeds are tested, selected and
if proven to be superior, multiplied. This picture shows the
planting of over four thousand separate stools of small grains.
Seeds to merit recognition and test in Ferguson’s Breeding Blocks
must stand the most practical tests, which science can make:
Measured rows, equally spaced plants, and weighed crops. Strict
scientific method makes “Ferguson’s Certified Seeds’’ produce more
Ferguson No. 922 Oats
FERGUSON No. 922 OAT is our latest high-bred, high-
yielding, variety of Red Oats. It replaces FERGUSON No.
71 OAT, originated in 1909, and introduced in 1913. The great
usefulness and popularity caused it to be widely spread over
the Red Oat territory. Now we offer FERGUSON No. 922
OAT. It is better. It is freer stooling. It makes higher
yields and a better f®&irty *f Grain.
Fortunately, we have never yet offered a new variety of
Oats, Corn, Cotton or Wheat that has not reflected favorably
on our ability as Seed Breeders, and proven to be generally
satisfactory and more profitable. This probably comes from
the caution which we exercise before introducing a new strain
or a new variety. We spent nine years comparing and testing
out many thousand selections of Red Oats before introducing
FERGUSON No. 71 OAT. We have spent ten years more,
•or nineteen years, before bringing out FERGUSON No. 922
OAT. It has these:
Proven Advantages Over Common Texas Red OaU
1. Larger Field Yields — More crops with same expense.
2. Better Quality of Grain — Long needed in Red Oats.
3. Greater Resistance to Rust — Saves 2 to 10 bushels loss
from red and black rust.
4. Greater Drouth Resistance — This is Crop Insurance.
5. More Stiffness of Straw — To Reduce Lodging.
6. Freer Stooling Habits — Due to Greater Vigor, thus af-
fording more grazing and requires less seed to sow.
7. Practical Freedom From Smut Losses — By reducing sus-
ceptibility to smut, or Head-Blast, and positively by
anti-smut treatment to all stocks.
8. Greater Hardiness Against Cold and Winter Killing —
Thus avoiding loss, affording more winter grazing when
sown in the fall, and at the same time secure earlier
maturity .and escape from late spring drouths.
These advantages mean eight ways of increasing the qual-
ity, quantity and value of your Oat crop. They are described,
discussed and briefly explained in our illustrated Seed Catalog,
and special Seed Oat Circular No. 210. Both will be sent free
to you and your friends for your names on a postal. If you
are an Oat grower, send today. Prices are quoted in Fergu-
son’s Seed Current. _
You should not be content to allow a single acre of your land to be planted toSeed
less carefully. Bred-lJp or less positive proof of high yielding quality.
Positive Proof of Bigger Yields and Greater Profits From
Ferguson’s Bred-Up Cotton Seed
During 12 years of
Government Experiment Station Tests
You know' that Cotton Seed will “run out,;” They also can be “run-up.
That is the work of the Seed Breeder. You also know that some Seed Breeders increased
the yielding qualities of their Seeds faster than others. You also know that if any Seeds1
made good, some one made them so; that if they remain good, some one must keep
so. Likewise, that if good strains of Cotton Seed are made better some one must!
them better.
Ferguson Seed Farms believe that seed improvement is progressive, that)
it is certain and positive only when guided by Scientific Methods. Faith in the great:
usefulness of this work has kept a staff of Seed Breeders at the task for nearly 25 years.;
Here are some of the cold figures, likewise based on scientific tests, that justify our;
faith. Read them, Mr. Farmer. The information, and the idea, may add $500.00 orf
Ferguson Seed Farms, $1,000.00 to the value of your crop this year,
making more than bale per acre. Bolls 99.3% _. , . , ,, , e -p- i
f ^ -u c • ^ First, let us rccornize that the Triumph Cotton originated bv Prof. Edsoa,
Storm Proof 4 to 7 months after opening. . , , ’ i ■ . „ .a k a n k „ \ \r r - r , ,, ,
and later progressively improved by A. D. Mebane, A. M. herguson, Kd Kasch and
_ . . _ others, was the greatest improvement in cotton known to the Southwest. Today it is
Big Yields. Large Bolls, HigJi Gin Turn-Out. generally recognized as the best types of Cotton for all sections west of the Mississippi
Yes! Feb. 27. Nev
A Breeding Block
Boykin No! Picked.
River.
Second, you as a farmer, ask, “How may I know who
iced this highest yielding Triumph Cotton'" For answer,
here is definite information based on the Records of impartial Government Field
Tests by eleven competent investigators, thru 12 years in varying seasons and
soils, in Texas. Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana. Your Government has spent
thousands of dollars making these tests for your information.
Results of many other tests point to the same conclu-
sion. These figures represent the “Records” of scientific Tests (and
are not the “opinions" or “claims” of anyone), where the Strains of Triumph
Cotton from two Seed Breeders, both earnest and ambitious in their work, were
grown side by side in impartial Government Tests. If the tabulated-comparison
was made with other strains of Triumph, or other varieties sucli as Lone Star.
Acala, Rowden, or any other variety sold in the Southwest, the result would be
even more favorable to Ferguson's Bred-Up Strains.
How the Tests are Made. The Experiment Stations
often get Seeds of all the varieties, from different breeders, and plant
test-rows of the seed from each breeder, side-by-side, where all the conditions of
planting, cultivation and care are the same, except the seed. In such tests it is
accepted as a fair conclusion, that any noted differences in the yield or rapidity
“i fruiting, etc., are due to the inherited yielding qualities of the Seed, as devel-
■ oped by the Breeders of the different Seed.
In These Tests, Ferguson’s Varieties of Triumph Cot-
ton from Ferguson Seed Farms,, were compared and tested against
useless to offer explanations of “how” or “why,” or make “claims.” The amount
of the yield is the measure of the value of the seed, and of the seed breeding
work of each in producing better yielding strains. Now apply the information in
this table, to your plans for "More Cotton on Every Acre” of ' this season’s crop.
Make Definite Information Turn to Sure Money by
planting Ferguson’s Bred-Up Cotton Seed. You should not be content
to allow a single acre of your land to be planted to Seed less carefully
Bred-Up or on less positive proof of high yielding quality.
Eleven Government Tests Prove Superiority of Ferguson’s
Strains of Triumph Over Mebane Triumph
Comparison of Yield of Seed Cotton
Season and Location of
Stations Making tLe Tests
Seed
Ferguson ’s
Seed |
freed
J Gains by
| Ferguson's
Seed
Cotton Lbsl
Coil,.. LSs
Cotton Lbs.
1912 San Anton. o Exp. S|
1914 N. La. Exp. Sta.
1016 Ark. " “Mena
1917 “ “ “ Scottsj
1917 “ “ Van Buren,
1917 “ . " " Wynnei
1918 Scottsl
1918 “ “ “ Scottsl
1921 ” “ | Scottsl
1922 " “ “ Scottsl
1924 “ ” “
480.
971.
432.2
1747.0
738.9
1293.9
403.3
1347.9
1319.4
1627.
, 991.
1 1042.
520 -
1234
572.0
2061.6
832.9
1267.5 j
651.6
1496.1 |
1284.4
1721.
[ 1296,
| 1278.
26.4
35.0
g IF
263
137.8
314.6
94:0
248.3
148.2
97.
305.
236.
Average Yield and Gain ;
in 11 Government tests
in 3 States in 12 Years
1032,8
1184.6
147.4
Average Yields and
Gains for Ferguson's
Seeds Since 1918.
1274,6
1417.1
Soods 206.!)
Measure the Gain in Dollars Per Acre. The average
gam for Ferguson's Seed is 151 pounds per acre=T-w.or.th $12.00 to
SI 5.01) on every acre of vour Cotton Crop. Taking the results since 1918. showing
$16.01) to $20.00 an acre. On ten acres this is $160.00. On 100 acres it is $1,600.00. In
strains of such provei/high yielding Seed, the gross extra profit woufd be not less
than $150,000.00, or $750.00 to everv 50-acre cotton farmer
No Matter Where You Live, FERGUSON’S SEED SERVICE is as Close to You as
Your Mail Box. Not every community lias a reliable Seed Store, specializing- in 'Bred-Up Seeds.
Every Seed Store does lint have a Seed-BreediriK, Seed-Growing, Seed-Farm, with its own Gins (we have four
Kins) and Seed-Cleaning, Seed-Grading, Seed-Plants (we havp three), nor Seed-Testing Laboratories. Trial
Grounds or a staff of practical and scientifically trained Seed Specialises. to add to and protect the efficiency at
its Seed-Service. All these are yours when you. order Seeds from Ferguson Seed Farms.
We Make Mistakes. If they occur, tell us. We
may be. able to correct them. Others will not.
Write, us good-naturedly if you can, but write any-
way! We think enuf of our Seeds to sell them on:
Buy Certified Bred-Up Seeds Direct
from recognized Breeders. Ferguson’s own Strains,
improved from year-to-year, Multiplied, Grown, Ginned,
Cleaned, Sacked and shipped from our own Gins, Saed-
Cleanlng Plants and Warehouses.
Ferguson’s Stringless Guarantee
“Satisfactory Seeds or Money Back,”
,‘ust as given in our illustrated Catalog. Gladly
I ent free to you and your friends on request.
For Latest Prices send for “Ferguson’s Seed
Current.” It’s published from our own print shop
every time the moon changes, to give the latest
gossip about Price, Quality and Value in Seeds.
When you write, name all the different kinds of
crops you grow.
I SEED III
Igrowep.sI \
i eryuson Seed Farms is ;
(•on with an Idea and a
ore than n Nin e business, t or 2$ years it has been an Instiiu-
Ideal of Sredsmanship for the upbuilding of the Southwest
Ferguson’s Latest Varieties
Most Profitable in 1923-24
In Tests at Temple Experiment Station
In a recent report on the tests of Cotton varieties for 1923
and 1924, at the Temple .Experiment Station, the Director,
noting the progress in Cotton improvement, says: “A study
of results in the variety tests for the past two years show new i
varieties out-yielding the old standard varieties."
For an example of how the new varieties are out-yielding I
the older varieties, the Director recites thatt “NEW BCY- !
KIN Cotton yielded 699.66 pounds of lint cotton in 1923, and
399.3 pounds in 1924, leading all varieties in both years.”
Ferguson’s New Boykin Made More
By $22.75 to $51.00 Per Acre
Below is the tabulation of the average result for tiie seven
best varieties in these tests for the two seasons, in pounds of
lint cotton per acre (in third column); the amount of extra
yield made by NEW BOYKIN over each of the other six
varieties (in the fourth column), and the Value or Profit in
dollars, of the Gain for NEW BOYKIN, figured *t 25c per
pound (in last column):
iNew Boykii
Truett Trim
Lone Star
|Mebane Trii
Belton
Acala
'Rowden
Gairs by New Boykin
Tn Pounds Jn Dollars I
91 : $22.75 ,
342 I
w Boykii
144 Ills. $39.12
These Farmers
H arrested The Profits
r rom i
Ferguson I
Half and tins,
a good yiclder. 1
Half and Kasch.
New Boykin”. -
Ferguson ?
ns Mebane. -
both being plan
>r£tison s Seeds
. 400 Better Than llalf-a
-”1 find Ferguson No. 106 to
roved to be better than Half-a
llod He Pin. .led
H. B. Sturdivant,
-Third Bale 1
Made Slightly better than bale to :t acres. First ba «■ | y’ .
You^boUs a?l‘ ff)fsx er tha^Rowder^VJ? ' c}8’.ond second bale. 578 lbs- •r?’" M70 lbs...
twice as much more per acre.” -Fred FUrn, l o nmerceTex. VoTS;-'*0" * "" mQ1 ‘
His results a%ree substantially with Temple Experiment Station, ear.
above Experi’i t nt Station Tests and Farmer's Experience s Usually a*
Ferguson’s 25 Years of
i Seed Service
Who Serves You, and How Are You Served?
Mr. Southwestern Farmer?
I want you to get MY IDEA about Seeds and Seed-Serv-
ice.— “Bred-Up Seeds in sealed bags, direct from Breeder fc©
Planter/'
Nearly 25 years ago I started out on this idea of Testing
to find the best varieties, Improving, or Breeding-Up better
yielding strains, and then Growing them for Seed, as well as
Preparing and Selling field seeds Direct to You, all under one
management. This makes us wholly responsible for the char-
acter of the Seeds.
We have originated and introduced a few varieties of Corn,
Cotton, Oats and Wheat. We ask to be judged by the charac-
ter of our work. We have improved a few of the varieties
which we found most worthy of general planting by South-
western farmers. We are still at it. It is our life work.
Every year, we test out a great many varieties and strains
of these varieties — often having under test one to five thou-
sand varieties, strains and selections. We expect to continue
our work on this great problem of yours — the Seed problems
of Mr. Southwestern farmer.
It is strangely true, that in nothing that you purchase are
you so dependent on the intelligence, ability, reliability and
straightforward every-day honesty of the seller, as when you
buy Seeds. Pardon us if we appear vain. We only intend tc
be frank, and urge caution: Not one farmer in a thousand is
an intelligent, discriminating Seed Buyer.
Too often you figure Price against Quality, seemingly for-
getting that PRICE is merely what you pay, when QUAL-
ITY is what you really want. VALUE for the price you
Pay is found only in the unseen QUALITIES that are In-
herited in the CROPS, and cannot be seen, weighed or meas- j
ured, in the mere maturity of the Seeds you see and hold in
your hands.
Here is where Ferguson Seed Farms have rendered a
useful service to all the Southwest. We test out these unseen
qualities that put value in the Seeds. Nothing has so stimulated
the intelligence, imagination and hope of our farmers to se-
cure Better Bred Seeds than the work of intelligent, reliable
Seed Breeders. And again, nothing has so aroused your ire,
distrust and disgust as the horde of bootleg Seed-Breeders
that now abound.
Your Rule for Safety: Ferguson Seed Farms was the pio-
neer Seed-Breeding, Seed-Growing, Seed-Farm, Seed-Business
in the Southwest. Judge us by our Seeds. The best assurance
of the future is the reputation of our work and our Seeds in
the past.
If you want dependable, straight-forward Seed-Service, our
facilities are at your command. When we offer you “Fergu-
son's Certified, Pedigreed Seeds,” you know that Ferguson’s
reputation is back of them. We .ask for your confidence. We
^vY'e /o^sfflryg it — — •