Buchanan County bulletin. [volume] (Independence, Iowa) 1869-1891, 1877-11-30
Seed COrn..What is it Worth!


AS | passed Hans Rasmussen in the
road, near his cornfeld the other day,
observed that on good land he had but
about half the yield which his land and
labor should have given him. By in
quiring about the quality of the seed
planted it was found that it was of the
usual kind, that is, picked up at the
time of planting. Hans is not an idle
fellow, and not more careless than very
many of his neighbors. He may be ia
ken as fair average of the Western
farmer; not the very best, but by no
means the worst. His loss appeared to
be unnecessary, and the more | thought
of it the more it impressed me, and l
am now impelled to ask the readers of
the Journal What is the value of seed
corn?"
l asked Hans, but he was not posted
on the markets, and sent back the que
ry. | thought it could be approximate
ed by careful examination of his field,
but, being in some haste, | glanced along
the rows as [ passed on, and calculated
about as follows:
He has twenty bushels to the acre.
Such land with fair crop would give
forty bushels; it should be sixty with
all the conditions favorable; it can be
made to produce eighty bushels with
great certainty. 1t is safe to set down
loss of ten bushels per acre to the ac-
count Of inferior seed. Itcosts as much
to pillow the land for part of crop as it
does for full crop. 1t costs as much
to drag, and work, and plant the land
for part of crop as for full crop. 1t
costs as much to cultivate the land for
part of crop as for full crop. 1t
costs a tritle more, perhaps, to gather
and crib the full crop, but the differ
ence is made up in the cost of replant-
ings and other labors incident to the
failure Of the seed to come strong and
regular, and in good time. If the loss
is not as much as ten bushels, on an av-
erage, throughout Iowa, where seed is
selected in the spring, will some one
give us the reasons for putting it at
less?
One bushel of good seed will plant
about eight acres. An increase of ten
bushels per acre will thus give eighty
bushels as the increased yield from one
bushel Of the best seed. Eighty bush
els, at twenty-five cents per bushel,
bring twenty dollars to the farmer S
purse. What is the value of seed corn?
But the capital invested in the farm,
and in teams and implements, the
amount paid for taxes, the support of
the family, all these are the same
whether the ten bushels per acre are
lost or gained. If lost it may mean
debt, privation, discomfort, all the evils
| that attend SO closely upon lack of
thrift, and that are felt by every mem
Der of the family every day in the year,
fifty-two Sundays included, and leave
it's sad impress for years, and even for
generations. If gained, it may mean
that plenty and progress that attend
thrift; it may give ease, rest, comfort; 1t
it may give education to the children,
an advance in the social scale to the
family, gratifed ambition to the faith
err, honor and happiness to all. What is
the value of seed corn?
Shall we consider the question in its
relations to the State? Shall we fol
low it to it's proper conclusions and dis
cuss it's relations to society? Shall we
60 into the schools and churches that
ten bushels of corn per acre would
build? Shall we drive on the improved
roads, ride in the steam cars, stroll in
the green meadows, sit under the fine
trees, eat the choice fruits, gaze on the
fatted herds and flocks, and dwell in the
pleasant homes that ten bushels of corn
per acre would give us? Not at all
We have no time for such bootless spec
ulations. 1t is the corn harvest now
and we are too busy gathering what we
have and hauling it off the farm to have
any time in which to consider these
things, or to arrange for selected and
thoroughly dried seed for the coming
year. Shall we ever learn the value of
seed corn? JOHN SCOTT.
Nevada, Iowa.