VOL. LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, JULY 29, 1905.
NO. 30
%xxxexizxxxz S^PixxXxxxzut.
Consider (be Entire Plant.
1st Premium.—The paying that "like
begets like" is ttlmost ns true of plant life
ns it is nf nnimal life. Ileucc the importance of selecting the very lest of seed
for the next year's planting. While this
is true of all kimls of seeds, it is especially so with corn. And, while one may go
to n crib of good sound corn and select
seed that has vital germs and will growoff
well, yet from such seed he will get nil
kinds of corn.
Some will he early, some late; some loree
eared, some small; some will have strong
stalks, some small nml iiisullicient to properly support the grown)-*; ears. Some
curs will he -.veil filled, lint mnch uot well
filled. Then will come the usual complaint in the fall, "the corn is not as well
tilled as it looked to he, and it has fallen
down awfully had, so that a large per
cent will rot Ix-fore it can dry enough to
lie erililied."
How are Fitch mishaps to be avoided
when no care has heen taken to prevent
them? In this selection of seed corn the
entire plant should be taken in consideration. One should gather it early, by going through that corn as soon- as it is matured sulliricutly to grow nnd tisually he-
fore it is dry enough to crib, and usually
before there is much frost and select only
si'ch cars as are properly developed. In
that way the earliest matured ears will be
selected, ns the late will be too sappy to
be gathered. Thus the early qualities of
the corn- will he maintained and the late
ones cut out. 'the ears should bo examined to see that they come up to the proper standard. They should be'large and
well developed and filled Gtit wel lat both
ends, having straight rows of deep grains.
If of the yellow variety the cob should
be red; if white then the cob should be
white, too. The husks should m>t cling
too tighty to the ear, or he too thick on
it. The stalk should lc strong but not
too high, and" well supported with spur
roots. Also, there should be no stalks
near by on which there is smut. After
the corn has been selected, it should be
put in racks, hung up, or spread out on
a floor where it can have plenty of
sir to thoroughly dry it out before any
freezing weather, and should not be allowed to remain in a pile very long before it
is well seasoned. Some of these ideas
were advanced to the writ«r several years
ego by the late Mr. Jas. Uiley of Thorntown, Ind., and whon- observed have proven of much benefit. If farmers, who have
already, a good variety of corn, would observe such points in their selection of
seed corn, they need not "semi off" for
r.ew kinds of corn, paying a hig price and
often receiving inferior seed, lint they
can bring up the standard of their own
corn instead ot letting it degenerate as
is too often done. In nothing is the old
adage, "wbat is worth doing, is worth
Coins well," more true than in the selection of seed corn.
Hamilton Co. J. J- B.
Select From  the Growing Crop.
2d Premium.—To get the best seed corn
I would plant a small lot as isolated as
possible from all other com, planting ten
rows and leaving two rows to be planted,
fight or ten days later to keep up polleni-
zation, and cut out all scrub ami unproductive stalks before the pollen is ready to
leave the tassel. But this is rather foreign to the subject. All we can do at this
period ia to make the best selection possi
ble from the growing cinp when it comes
to maturity.
We are often told that the best time
and way is to go into the field, ns soon
ns the lirst husks turn brown, and gather
the earliest  ears. I  have doubt of this
theory; it is not the liest stalks and ears
that ripen first, neither is it the best that
ripen last. We get the hest corn from that
idea! place is a room upstairs, or in the
nt lit*, where it has heat enough to keep
i*.    ry.
Many farmers think if their corn comes
up well that is all that is necessary, bnt
ihonld not In- salislied with that. Yon
should save nil Die vitality tiiat is in it,
or i>- p'ssil.l.- to get in it. A dwarly i-c.rn
t-talk is like dwarf pig, it is hard to bring
TIIK'  I-WUMEU HOV.
—Photogrsph br White. North Vernon, Ind.
The abore cut is one ot the clearest wo have seen, and does great credit to the
photographer, Mr. White, of Xorth Vernon, Indiana. What n perfect picture it
is! And what a perfect boy. What a wholesome, hearty independent, contented, happy look the boy has. He doesn't care whether school keeps or not. He's
all right, be has a job in Uie harvest field. Who   wouldn't  be  glad   to  have
such a boy?
that occupies as much of the season as
possible in its growth nnd ripening. I
think that I can get better seed corn from
early gathering, befcre fre(zing, by selecting as I gather. A boy on the rear of the
wagon is probably as handy as anything.
Go into your best torn and when you find
a perfect or nearly perfect car, look
well to *the stalk it grew on, and if you
know the proportions of a good stalk and
the points of a good ear and act thereon
you will have the best seed that it ia
possible to got from that crop. I would
cull this again when I got to the barn, and
would cull it again as I shelled it to plant,
select an amount large enough so that you
can cull it as nOar to perfection as possi-
be, and if you are not satisfied with the
corn you have, get from seme neighbor or
reliable seed corn miser, and as close to
home as possible.
Corn that is brought from a different
latitude has to adjust itself to climate and
soil before it can do its best, and if you
bring it from the south it will keep growing until the frost catches it. Your wed
corn- should lio thoroughly dried liefore
freezing weather, and if well dried it will
keep well most nnywhere in small bulk.
Put the better plan Is to put on some
lath in- the top of ycur crib, buggy-house,
or elsewhere, where it will keep dry.    An
it  out.
The editor has used the word selection,
anil if you have a mongrel or inferior corn
I would advise you to select your seed for
in xt j ear at least from a good need corn
raiser, even at two dollars per bushel, for
raising scrub corn is as unprofitable as
raising scrub stock, and most far.-.iers
l.ave learned that scrub stock does not
pay, and if we persevere in the line that
we started on in the selection of scc.l com
and its pollenization wo shall both increase th? quantity ami quality of our
corn. I. N. C.
Marion Co.
Important  Bearing  Upon   Both  Quantify
and Quality.
3  Premium.—The    question-     of     the
selection of seed corn, al
though often disregarded na nn important bearing not only upon the immediate crop but frequently upon many subsequent ones. Experience has shown that
all seed should be thoroughly examined
for its purity and vitality before planting.
A moio gerrer.il adoption in practice of
scientific methods of judging and selection
of seediorn throughout the corn-growing
aicas of the country would soon show
marked reeults in the improvement of corn
end the maintenance of variety standards.
The great differences in the yields of varieties grown under the same conditions;
the fact that the acreage yield of corn itl
the United States is only nbout -7 bushels
Pc i- acre: the possibility of changing the
composition of llie grain; the tendency of
of the crop to vary and give rise to new
varieties and otlier similar points indicate
the  value and    pos.-ililities of    corn im-
pioVCllK'l-t.
The higher success in corn growing de-
pciuls on three factors: First, fertility;
second, cultivation; third, selection of seed;
and the third factor—selection—is by far
the most important oue.
Corn should be selected from the field
-.-.hen it has fully matured, this method
is preferable, because the work is better
performed when its special and only pur-
pc se is the selection of the seed, and when
the entire plant and not simply tlie car
can be taken into account. The principal object in view in the selection is tho
production of well tilled, uniformly shaped
cars with a small cob. The kernels should
be uniform in size in order to secure a
pc rfect stand.
Corn should be grown and bred for
special purposes—i, «>,, corn- for feeding
I should have •*, high protein content; corn
used in the manufacture of starch and
) g'ueose- should be rich in starch, and corn
for the prcvliiction of oil should contain-
ii high percentage of that substance.
Good seed corn has the qualities which
tend to produco a perfect stand of vigorous plants which will produce fully matured, well shaped, souud standard ears,
typical of their variety. The vitality
csf the seed after the selection i the way
ler and should be thoroughly tested, .bo-
cause the stand, and consequently the
>iold, depends so largely upon this factor. Seed corn with a percentage of
germination bi!o.v'!)5 can not be recommended for planting. Improper care
of the seel after tne selection in the way
of drying and manner of storing very
often impairs the vitality, but ifi the
ears nre well cured and kept dry in storage -luring the winter no injury is likely
lo result in tin's iino. G. Is. O.
Hendricks Co.
N'o. 401, Aug. 5.—Tell how to make nml
how to rare Tor a beautiful lawn.
No. 402, Aug. 12.—Give your method of
making good cider vinegar, and tell how
to put up  fruit butters.
No. I'Xl, s\ug. 19.—Explain how you
manage to have plenty of good fall pasture.
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 50
cents are given for the best, second and
third best articles for the Experience Pe-
p.tr-me.'it e-ich week. Manuscript ghould
be sent direct to tbe Indiana Farmer Company and should reach us one week before
date of publication.
A SPLENDID YIELD.
Editors  Indlsns   farmer:
Will A. Davidson, of Whitesville, Montgomery Co. Ind., reports the following
yiled of Ued Itudy wheatt
On twenty-two acres, the production
was 750 busbels, machine measure. .Tost
by weight makes actual yiem SOO bushcla
an average of ?,t'*\f* bushels per acre.
On thirteen ncres of corn ground, ho
had 3S!) bnshels by weight, an average of
nlmost "0 bushels per acre and a general
average on crop of 34 one-seventh bushels
per acre.
It was all on fertilized ground nnd is of
fine quality. ,T. D. W.
Several large wheat yields are reported
to us too late to appear in this number.