Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 129, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 December 1909 — Indiana Is the Banner Corn State of the Union. [ARTICLE]

Indiana Is the Banner Corn State of the Union.

Indiana is the banner corn state of the union. It has been proven time and again, and as additional evidence all thie big prizes at the national corn exposition at Omaha came to Indiana. Fred C. Palen, of Newton, who acted as Judge at the recent corn show held in Kentland, was awarded the Kellogg trophy, worth $1,006, for the best ear 'of corn; J. R. Overstreet, of Franklin, won the SI,OOO silver trophy offered by the Indiana Corn Growers Association for the best ten ears, and G. L. Kerlin won the prize offered for the best bushel of corn in the world. In addition to these trophies each received handsome cash prizes from the exposition. When Mr. Palin was judging the exhibits at the Kentland show some criticism was made on his decisions, but it seems he knows enough about corn to grow and pick out the best ear of corn in the world. Speaking of the ear Mr. Palen is quoted as saying: “I was seven years at work on that ear,” he said, "My parent stock consisted of Reed’s Yellow Dent seed as the male plant and the mother plant was from the Alexander Gold Standard variety. The corn was planted two rows of Yellow Dent and then two rows of Gold Standard. The two rows of standard were detasseled the first two years. This produced the seed from which the world’s best ear of corn has been produced. i "My system of farming is to rotate wheaft, oats and corn and I used some commercial Farming 280 acres of land, the yield in the field from which this ear was selected, Was about ninety bushels to the acre. “The ear came from among those selected by my men for seed and as soon as we examined it carefully we decided it was a prize winner. The credit is due to my wife or hired men for selecting the ear. I don’t take any credit for it.”

According to L. B. £lore, also of Indiana, superintendent of judges, the Palin ear is not only the best ear of corn this year, but it is a filler specimen than the famous Pascal ear, which sold for $550 two years ago. “It is the best ear the world has ever produced,” says Prof. G. I. Christie, oMPurdue university, who was one of the judges. "It is all corn—very little cob. The kernels are thVeefourths of an inch deep and in perfect rows. There is no way of telling its worth, no way of estimating the influence the seed from t/he ear will have on the corn crop of our state, and it is to be hoped some Indiana man will buy it.” At the close of the exposition, Dec. 18th, the Palin ear will he sold to the highest bidder. Judging by the prices paid for other famous ears of corn, it is expected the ear will sell for more than SSOO.