Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 February 1908 — FARMERS SHOULD TEST THEIR SEED CORN. [ARTICLE]

FARMERS SHOULD TEST THEIR SEED CORN.

During the past two months, members, of the Experiment Station have made a study of tbe seed corn of the state and find the vitality of much of it to be in a serious condition- The unusual cold, wet season of 1907 did not allow the oorn to mature and dry out before the time of frosts. In the early part of October, muoh of the oorn of the state was still in a very moist and immature condition and the series of hard freezes whioh came at that time materially injured the vitality. The result of these conditions is that those corn growers who depended on late selected seed, are now finding upon close examination many ears of questionable vitality. For these reasons all seed corn should be specially seleoted and thoroughly tested. A test of each individual ear should be made and all weak or dead ears should be discarded. This test oan be made in several ways. The following is suggested as a reliable and satisfactory one.

Take a box made of inch lumber and of any convenient size, say about 2 by 3 feet and three inches deep. Through the ends and sides, about 2£ inches from the botto'm, bore small hbles 2 inches apart. Through these holes string a light galvanized wire, which will divide The box into squares 2 inches to the side. Then fill the box with garden soil* or sand and it is ready for use. Tne ears should be • laid on the floor or racks in a row so they can be numbered. From ear No, 1 remove 5 kernels, each from a dis-

fereot part of the ear, and place these in square No. 1, remove 5 kernels from ear No. 2 and plaoe in square No. 2 and so on until all the ears have been tested After placing the kernels, moisten the material in the box thoroughly and cover with a glass or a rug, to keep the surface from drying. Plaoe the tester in a room of ordinary living room temperature, or about 70 degrees F. After five days examine tbe corn, and any ears that fail to show a strong germination of the kernels should be removed and discarded. This method of testing corn is simple, convenient and rapid, and means much in securing strong, germinable seed. Only 14 ears are required to plant an acre of ground. With an average yield each ear means 5 bushels in tbe fall. When a man oan test sto 8 bushels in a day and locate definitely all weak or bad ears, can he afford to neglect this important step in the preparation of his seed corn? G. I. Christie. Purdne Experiment Station.