The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1870-10-20

An Illinois correspondent Of the Coun-
try Gentleman writes as follows:
Az to saving seed corn, ! intend to do
it in the following manner, and recon-
mend others to do the like: As soon As
the outer husks of corn ears have attained
a pale straw color, / shall send or 60
myself through the field and select the
largest and earliest ears In sufficient
quantity for seed for my own use next
year. These ears will be spread in the
sun, say one or two days, until the husks
are toughened so they will stick to the
cob. The corn will then be husked,
taking care to leave enough of the husks
on each ear to handle and hang them up
by. The ears will then be tied together,
tive and two, and strung over poles In
dry and hot loft or garnet, where they
viii remain until the corn is thoroughly
dry and the cob seasoned through. Then,
in course of the fall, the corn will be
carried to the smoke-house and smoked
as brown as berry, and there be suffered
to stay until wanted in the spring, and
of course get second smoking with the
meat Care must be taken that the tenn
perature of the smoke-house never ex-
ceeds 1902 or 1902 Fair, else the vital
ity of the germ will be endangered. Seed
corn so gathered, saved and smoked,
may be planted in any ordinary soil, as
soon as the frost is out, and provided it
is not wholly in the water, will retain its
vitality up to the time the degree of heat
has accumulated in the soil necessary to
push the germ.
AS for saving other seeds, it is an ex-
cellent plan to save everything, but the
seeds of all kinds of vegetables which
grow better farther north than in Central
Illinois, / would never recommend to
save with the intention of planting. The
truck-patch men of The South renew their
vegetable seeds every year, and though
the deterioration is not so swift in Central
Illinois as in Louisiana and Texas, it is
so considerable that believe nothing
pays better than an annual renewal of
of seed from the North.
As to grains, oats and rye are Northern
In their origin, and corn, wheat and bar
ley Southern. That is we conclude so,
because better oats and rye are grown
north Of 400 than south of it; while
south of that parallel, the other grains
named yield richer and stronger food,
-four, and malt. For the first we should
improve our seed by going North for it
for the second we should 90 South, but
not too far South, because there is more
danger to the crop in taking seed of long
summer or a seasons growth to short
one, than in the reversal of thai method.
1t is noticeable that seeds transferred
from the North to the South, say not
more than ten degrees of latitude, never
do better than in the first season, while,
on the other hand, seeds transferred from
the South to the North, that distance, do
better in three or FIVE years after than in
the first year. Thus, the best wheat we
ever grew in Central Illinois, was the red
Alabama, so much in fashion ten years
ago. When it was first tried it was any
thing but success, and its second and
third trial was rather the result of acct
dent than design, but in course of the
succeeding five years it had driven all
competitors out of the field.