The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-03-15
Selecting Corn for Seed.

Your older readers will remember the
cold summer Of 1916, when but very lit
tie corn got ripe in the New England
States. \ year or two afterWard my
father obtained 4 very small kind OF
elght-roWcd corn that was rccOmmcn-
dcd as sure to rlpcn. | do not know
what was its proper name, but remem-
Der 1T was called in this vicinity" tucked
cOm.n According to the best of my
recollection the cars would average
about Sin inches in length. 1t ripened
early. He selected for Seed the larrest
ears; and the result was, the ears con-
tinually increased in size and length,
and from eight rows he got ten rows,
then twelve, then fourteen, and ut last
there began to he u few ears within
sixteen rows. But as it gained in size
1t was later III rlpenlng, and in fifteen
or twenty years We had another short
summer and abundance of "DigcOm.1
The next spring | was told that a
tavern keeper at Haverhill, this State,
raised the season before Il small kind
of Canada corn that got thoroughly ripe
before the frost, and was advised to
try it. | have planted this corn ever
since; that is. some thirty-tive or forty
years. | have taken care, however, to
avoid my fathers mistake, and have
greatly increased the size of the ears
without materially lengthening the
period OF growth. For the first few
| years picked the earliest ears for seed,
taking them before cutting the corn.
But the growth, although larger than
at lrst, was too small, and it ripened
so ear y l concluded to profit by my
| larger kind without making it much
! less.
Any farmer, if he is keen observer,
will have noticed that the large and late
ears always have large cob, which is
indicated by a large stem when broken
Oft at lllsking. For the purpose Of in
crcaslng the size, | stopped picking my
seed i'll the field, and selected the larg-
est ears that had small stem. If I
found a large ear with small stem, and
especially if the stem was wilted and
tough to break, which indicated early
maturing, saved it for seed. In this
way | soon perceived an increase of
size, and fearing that in escaping Scylla
7 should run on Charybdis, as my faith
er did, | commenced, picking my seed
in the field. But noticing that m y corn
continued to ripen considerably earlier
than my neighbOrs', | ventured to try
the experiment of making it still larger.
Consequently. for a few years past,
have selected seed at husking, and
saved for seed handsome ears, having
ten or twelve rows, with the indiSDGn-
sable small stems. At first | found but
few ears Of this kind, but they have be-
come so numerous that this year have
saved only tWelve-T -TOwed ears, and
probably shall not venture to 90 be-
yOnd this, although find now and then
an ear with fourteen, and, this year
with sixteen rows.
This shows what can be done by
selecting seed corn. | have no dOubt
but any other grain can be improved il
the same way.-[Cor. The People.
How TO TRAP RATs.-The best ant
; cheapest way to catch rats that have
ever known, is to select the place mos
frequented by them, and take a common
post auger and bore q hole III tn
ground from six to eight inches il
diameter and three feet deep. RemOv'
all the earth that has been cXcavated
; and all straw or sticks entirely away
leaving the other surroundings as nea
as possible the way you found them
t If the weather is dry and it is hard TO
t the rats to get water, pour Il littl
> around the trap; if there is plenty o
water, put a very little wheat flOu
: around it. You now have one Of til
- best rat traps ever known. In thei
wandelings at night for food and water
many Of the rats not seeing the ira
\ will fall into it, and raising cry, other
D coming to their relief will fall in alsC
= | have seen as high as sixteen caught i
one night, among which were all sizet
4 from the common mouse to the fU
. grown rat. When they are once in,
q is impossible for them to escape, a
: they can neither dig, climb nor lea
out.
!, To get them out of the trap, take
e small stick and place on the end of it
f large wire with sharp point, made
;, the shape of an arrow head. Thi
f when stuck in them, will hold thel
: until you can carry them away som
d distance from the trap to kill then
e succeed in catching rats | shall nevt
say "rat trap" to you again.-[Centri
i Christian Advocate.
WHERE THE SUN DOES NOT Set
scene witnessed by some travellers
= the North Of Norway, from cliff OIL
y thousand feet above the sea, is thus d
Il sUribed: 49,
: "The ocean stretched away in silel
! vastness at our feet; the sound of wav,
u scarcely reached our airy lookout
- away in the North the huge old 81
y swung low along the horizon, like tt
y slow beat Of the pendulum in the ia
= clock of our grandfather's parlOr cOrne
N We all stood silent, looking at OF
'e watches. When both hands came t.
IL gether at twelve, midnight, the fl
vs. round orb hung triumphantly abO,
the waves, bridge of gold runnil
due North spanning the water betwet
,p us and him. There he shOne in sile
# majesty, which knew no setting, v
+ involuntarily took off our hats;
~ word was said. Combine, If you ca
Il the most brilliant sunrise and suns
pr Won ever saw and the beauties will pa
ee before the gorgeous c0lOring whit
~ now lit uD ocean, heaven and mOuntai
v In half an hour the sun had swung |
ar perceptibly on his beat, the colo
( changed to those of morning, fire
IL breeze rippled over the flood, one son
III ster after another piped up in the gro
ii behind lts-we had slid into anOth
le day"
- - COOP, SOUND ADVICE.-Never thrC
~ ~ Il stone at any one until You have look
u VI to see whether there is q window behiI
% % or you may have to pay rather deal
e. for your revenge. Never leave yO
y hat in the passage unless it is a bad OF
Never be executor to d will, as it is
i liability, great trouble, and no prot
hle Never quarrel with your wife, as Y
nt will only have to make it up and p
e aG for the reconciliation. Never menti
VI you have received n legacy, or some il
= pertinent fellow will he asking you
40 40 stand dinner. Never pay to see