Jasper County Democrat, Volume 15, Number 41, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 August 1912 — BREEDING FOR PERFECTION IN CORN QUITE PROFITABLE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

BREEDING FOR PERFECTION IN CORN QUITE PROFITABLE

If Tour Seed Is Right, the Soli of Proper Character, the Crop Is Pretty Sure to Be of Value Far Above Ordinary Kind —Stable Manure Maltes V Best Kind of Fertilizer.

(By R. G. WEATHERSTONE.)

Breeding corn today has for its object more than the development of an increase in yield. It has been clearly proven that by proper selection, varieties of corn can be secured which have a feeding value far above the ordinary kind grown. This means an increase in oil content and more especially an increase in protein. It is possible and highly probable that in the future when corn will be more largely used for commercial purposes than at present, sales will be made on the basis of protein content, just as milk is sold today on the basis of fat content. In fact, some of the large glucose factories have already adopted this plan. It is evidently unfair to the man who produces corn with 12 per cent, protein to receive no more than the man who markets .an 8 per cent, article.

There has been much misunderstanding in regard to the importance of coloring matter in corn. Some farmers hold that yellow corn is the better feed, others maintaining the opposite. But in the light of recent investigations, these theories do not hold water.

Of course a yellow corn may be developed in feeding value above one of the white variety, but the difference

Showing how four hills of com from the same lot showed, after being in the ground two weeks.

will not be because of any difference in color, but protein and oil. The farmer o starts in to breed his own seed should have the seed plot entirely separate from other corn. This should be placed in a corner of the field at least 40 rods from any other corn, and if it could be surrounded with grass instead of other grain, so much the better. The preparation of the ground is, of course, very Important, and it must be put in the very best possible condition. It means deep plowing, thorough manuring and fining before planting. It has been found that very small increases come from the use of commercial fertilizers, particularly in the great com growing sections, and nothing has been found better for this purpose than stable manure. In certain sections where lime must be used, it should be applied in connection with a liberal use of stable manure, but lime should never be used for com except when it is positively known that the soil is in need of IL All clay soil should be plowed In the fall, in order that the frosts of winter may break up the hard ground and make it more easily worked in the spring.

Early plowing in the spring tends to conserve the soil moisture, both by preventing evaporation and increasing the amount of rainfall held, but if the

Champion ear, lowa corn show, raised by D. L. Pascal, sold for $l5O. The ear was inches long, 7% Inches in circumference, at a point 3 Inches from the butt, and 6% inches at a point 2 Inches fronli the tip. It weighed 19 ounces and carried 20 rows of kernels. It was raised on land that was In corn the fifth year. It io Reid’s Yellow Dent and has been grown on the same farm for a number of years.

land is sod or cover crop, early plowing decreases the amount of organic matter, which would be incorporated by late plowing. Late plowing also destroys the growth of many weeds, and is generally followed throughout the corn belt Subsoiling is not commonly practiced, and experiments show that it is profitable only in exceptional crises, particularly in the humid regions. Fall plowed land should be thoroughly pulverized in the spring by plowing or disking and harrowing and rolling. While it is desirable to have a loose seed bed without clods, it does not need to be as fine as for wheat The best time for planting, of course, must be judged by the fanner himself' according to the season. It is useless to plant corn while the ground is cold and wet, as| it will only lie ungerminated and too often rot. It is better practice to wait until the ground is warm, say about 60 degrees, at the depth of which the seed is to be planted. In Illinois and lowa, planting runs

from May 10 to June 10 at the latest. Indiana runs about a week earlier. In Kansas the planting usually begins about the last week in April, but it is ‘ sometimes continued up to the last of May. In the southern states planting begins of course two or three weeks earlier.

Testing the seed is the most 1m-

portant step before planting. There is no one thing which will do so much to increase the yield as in being absolutely sure that the seed planted is sound and possesses the vitality to germinate a strong, healthy plant. After the corn is tested, all mixed kernels should be removed, and then the tips and butts should be shelled off, in order to give uniform size to all the corn that goes into the planter. The planter should be tested and the proper place made for each grade. After the planter is tested and It Is known what grades are needed, the seeds should be shelled, put into sacks and labeled. All this work should be done before the rush of spring work begins.

The grading of the seed is essential, because it enables the farmer to drop exactly the right number of kernels in each hill, by adjusting the plates of his planter to fit the different grades. In no other way can a perfect stand be obtained than by the most careful seed selection, testing and grading. How often do we find in a single hill two or three different grades of corn? A good ear, perhaps, then a nubbin, and next a medium ear. Ten feet from this hill we find another which has produced two of three

Position of ears on stalks. Ear on first stalk, right height and position. On second stalk, ear is not too low, but shank is too long. Stalk No. 3 carries the ear about six feet from the ground and ear is held in upright position, which makes it undesirable. The fourth stalk has several suckers.

perfect ears—butts and tips filled out, grains plump, well placed, ears hanging downward from the stalk, and all just as we would like to have IL Why do not all hills in the same field, with soil and cultivation the same, produce similar results? Simply because we have neglected the work of selecting seed, germinating it and testing it. *

The corn in a 100-acre field may produce on the average a very good crop of corn, but when this entire field could be made to produce an almost perfect crop simply by the exercise of good judgment and a few days spent in the selection and preparation of seed, then we can begin to realize what this kind of work means and can figure out its advantages in dollars and cents.

A score card butt. A poor butt. A score card tip. A poor tip.