VOL. LXII
INDIANAPOLIS, JUNE   22,   1907
NO. 25
%xptvienct §zpixvtmcnt
SELECTING SEED CORN.
Keep in a Dry Place.
1st Premium.—The selection and preservation of seed corn is a matter which is
sadly neglected by many of us. Its importance does not seem to be generally understood, and the method, or rather the
lack of method, which prevailed in pioneer
times, is still largely practiced. It is astonishing how many there are who pay
no attention whatever to the variety of
their seed eorn, and who plant anything
tbat is offered, regardless of what it is,
what time it ripens and whether or not it
N n good yielder. Often corn is taken
from the crib ami planted without being
t«sted, because it matured early and is
thought to have dried out before freezing
wenther. A good stand may sometimes
be secured in tliis way, but there is always uncertainty about it, and it is much
better to know before the corn is planted
whether it will grow. The selection,
preservation and testing of seed corn requires less time than replanting, to say
nothing of the loss occasioned by a poor
stand. With oora, as with wheat, pota
toes and other crops, there are certain
varieties which yield much better than
others, aud the one should be selected
which will yield the greatest amount of
good sound corn to the acre. The largest eared varieties usually require a longer
period to mature and are not always best
for a northern latitude. However, it
does not follow that all large eared varieties are late as we have found by experience. Sometimes the largeness is in
the grain, and we do not find the ears too
targe where the cob is small. But in
selecting the varieties one must be governed to some extent by local conditions.
The best time to select seed corn is before it is cut up. As soon as the corn
is sufficiently matured we go through the
field and seleet the most perfect ears,
whose husks are first to turn yellow. When
tliis method is practiced for several years
the period of maturity may be considerably shortened. We usually select the
largest ears that are well formed, have
straight rows that run the entire length
of the ear, and which are well filled out at
the ends. These are taken from stalks
of good average size which have good foliage and stand up well, and a preference
is given to those stalks that bear two
ears. We never select seed corn from a
stalk that has blown down. This method
of selection enables one to get the earliest
ears, gives an opportunity to observe the
stalk as well as the ears, and affords a
longer time for the corn to dry before
freezing weather. Care should be taken
to prevent mixing, and to preserve the
purity of the seed none should be selected
from near another variety.
Seed corn will not be injured by freezing when it is dry, but even after being
thoroughly dried out it will absorb much
moisture if kept in a damp place, when a
sudden change in the temperature may
greatly reduce its vitality. The object
is to have the ears thoroughly dried before freezing weather, and to keep them
dry   during  the   winter. Any   method
that accomplishes this is a success.
In separating the ears from the stalk,
we permit a small portion of the husk to
adhere to it. This is used to tie the
ears together, and they are hung up in a
dry, airy place, where they usually remain
till wanted the next spring. We prefer this method to placing it in racks, as
it gives a better opportunity for freo circulation of the air, and put it out of reach
of rats and mice. It is important
that the air be permitted to circulate
about it freely; for this reason the corn
should not be crowded. Under no circumstance should it be put in boxes, sacks
or barrels, and it should not be shelled till
planting time.
By selecting our seed early we seldom
find it necessary to take it into the house
at the approach of winter, but if there
should be any doubt about it being thoroughly dry, we do not hesitate to give it
a place in the kitchen or living room for
a few weeks till the drying process is completed. We much prefer, however, that
the corn be dried without artificial heat,
foliage, bearing a good ear or ears, at a
convenient height, is a desirable stalk
from which to select seed. While in the
field selecting seed ears, our success depends on a strict adherence from year to
year to the type we desire to attain.
High percentage of shelled corn to cob,
soundness of ears, uniformity in size and
shape, and purity in color, are points not
to be overlooked.
Ly those who take pains to select seed
in the fall, not many serious mistakes are
made regarding its keeping through the
winter. Any means that secures a thorough drying of the seed ears soon nfter
they ripen, before freezing weather, and
keeps them dry, until the seed is planted,
will be a success.       My own method is to
On the Farm of Ben    Smart,  Carroll County.
If taken into  the  house,  care  should  be
taken not to overheat it.
Before planting time a few grains should
be taken from near the middle of each ear
and tested. Only those ears should be
retained for seed which have long, deep
grains, whose color indicates purity, and
which   are  strongest  in   vitality. For
this reason more should be selected in the
fall than will be needed.
If every farmer would select a good
variety that is adapted to his locality, and
would judiciously select aud preserve his
seed, we believe the average yield could
be very materially increased. Shall we
begin this year? H.
Improving  a Variety.
2d Premium.—"Like begets like" everywhere, even in the case of seed corn;
therefore it stands us in hand to observe
very carefully the stalk as it grows in the
field. Seed corn transmits the character
of the stalk from which it is gathered and
also of the seed ear. I have a variety of
corn that my parents have bred for 20
years, and I have kept on trying to make
it better for 10 years, and am glad to
think it is several weeks earlier (caused
by selecting the first ripened ears from
the field) and considerably larger than it
was a few years ago; we also consider
this our best yielder. Since the kind
of crop harvested depends so much upon
the kind of plants from which the seed is
selected, it is of vital importance to
give great attention to these points.
Corn should be selected to fit the purpose for which it is grown, but a few
points might be given that would suit all.
A large stalk at the ground and tapering
gradually to the    tassel,    with    sufficient
place a large barrel with both heads out
(a large meat barrel or hogshead) over the
register, just above the kitchen stove. In
a very short time the ears get like sticks
of wood from the heat passing up through
them. I then remove to small cracker
barrels and refill, until I have my seed all
thoroughly dried and put away for winter. Following this method I have not
been compelled to replant for years.
S.
Keeps Vitality Intact.
3d Premium.—Corn must have life to reproduce itself, and the more abundantly it
has tliis life the stronger and more vigorous will be the new life. Then the object of selecting and caring for seed corn
is to select that which nature has given
the most vitality, and care for it so this
life will be unimpaired and in the best
shape at planting time to produce the best
results. I select the variety that does
best on my farm and vicinity as soon as
it is matured enough so it will not shrink
from  its   natural   size   when  dried. I
take a sack and put around my shoulder,
as if going to sow grain, and go through
the corn field. When I see an ear that
looks like it would suit me, I look at the
stalk. If it stands up straight, if it is
strong and vigorous, with heavy foliage
and no defects, I strip the husk on one
side of the ear. If a good type of its
variety, rather rough, with straight rows
of deep, wedge-shaped kernels, I take it.
I continue in this way until the desired
amount is gathered. Then I take it to
the barn, take the husk all off but a few,
tie two ears together, and hang them on
slats nailed on under side of joists of haymow,    where rats and mice can't molest.
Leave  the  windows  open,    so  the  wind
can  blow through  aud  thoroughly  dry it.
Later when it begins to get cold I shut up
the    wiudows,      and    when it gets    cold
enough so there is danger of freezing  I
take it down,    take off the husk, throw
out undesirable  ears,  if  any;  the rest  I
store away in my cellar where it    won't
freeze.        Cellar  is cemented  on  bottom
and sides,    and plastered overhead, and is
usually dry.        I place it on a platform
one foot from the floor,    and rick it up
so the air can get through it.       I leave it
here until the danger from freezing is over
in the spring,    then I take it back to the
barn and rick it up in the driveway; open
it up and let the wind blow through, and
in a short time all the moisture it got in
the cellar will be gone.        The corn will
l.e dry and solid and have all the vitality
nature gave it unimpaired, as it was well
dried,    never froze,   aud was not exposed
to atmospheric changes during the winter.
It will all germinate and make a vigorous
growth, and will produce more corn  per
acre than seed  that is allowed to freeze
and is affected by the many  changes of
the weather from fall to spring.      I have
tried many ways of caring for seed corn
and this has proved the most successful of
any. Farmer.
No. 590, June 29.—Show how a good
county or district fair benefits a community-
No. 591, July 6.—What are the principles to be observed in building a silo. Give
brief instructions for building and filing.
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 50 cents
are given for the best, second and third
best articles for the Experiment Department each week. Manuscript should ba
sent direct to the Indiana Farmer Company and should be gent one weak before
date of publication.
In our issue of June 8 we stated, in
answer to a correspondent, that the road
drag described in the Farmer some time
ago was not patented. We had in mind
a drag made of split logs, which we described a few months ago, but we now
learn that some of our readers have understood us to refer to the Great Western
road drag, manufactured by W. L. Baker
& Co., this city, which was advertised
in the Farmer of February 23. The
Great Western is patented, as stated in
the advertisement, and of course cannot
be made by anyone but the patentees or
their agents.
The meat trust has put up prices to
sueh an extent, in New York and the
other large cities, that meat is almost beyond the reach of the laboring classes, and
it will soon be as great a rarity in this
country as in England, France and Germany, where a large proportion of the
people can indulge in it not oftener than
once a week. The farmers get no more
for beef cattle than formerly, but consumers have to pay from two to three times as
much. Here is a matter for President
Hoosevelt to look after.
Altho the autoists in this State have
complied with the letter of the recent law
in numbering their machines properly,
many of the chauffeurs drive machines
whose numbers cannot be read by a person, even with good eyesight, at a distance of ten feet. The reason of this is
that the numbers are bespattered with
mud. The numbers in some cases are
completely covered so as to be indistinguishable to a passer-by.