Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-09-28
improvement In Corn.

In wheat mechanical means have to
he used to produce cross, but in corn
mechanical means have to be used to
prevent crossing. There is no limit to
the changes that can be made upon
corn. Mr.. Blount, of Colorado, in his
paper on the improvement of cereals,
read before the convention of agricul.
turists, furnished valuable information
on the subject of improvement OF corn,
which is here given in brief:
BY selection, as in wheat, corn-stalks
can be made shorter or taller and more
uniform, the blade more symmetrical
and regular, the shanks less objectiona-
BILE, the husk wider and longer, the cob
smaller and sitter, the grain more regu-
lar and uniform and the habits of the
corn much better in adapting itself to
soils and localities.
By crossing one upon another kind,
the color, texture, form, quality and the
whole individual can be changed by the
experimenter. For instance, should q
mongrel be wanted, four kernelslm diff
ferent varieties can be planted near to-
gether, one kernel white dent, one yell
low dent, one kernel popcorn and one
sugar. Should all these four kinds tas-
sci and silk at the same time, each would
be fortified by the pollen of its three
neighbors, but not by its own, making
thereby the offspring a mixture in pro-
portion to the amount and strength of
pollen received from the other three.
On neither kind would there be found
single kernel exactly like either of the
four planted, from the fact that corn
does not generally fertilize itself. No
xyor of ba To oil L.
calities, on account of its habits. The
further north corn is raised the shorter
the stalk and the more f1inty the grain,
while the further south the taller the
corn and the softer the grain. Should
these two extremes be united the means
would include New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois,
Missouri, Iowa and so on to the east
line of the Great American Desert. This
belt constitutes the section in which corn
can be raised to the best advantage,
at the least cost and at the greatest
profit. Corn can be improved in many
ways. First, by making use of seed
properly selected.
All seed corn should be selected in the
field, because there and there only is it
possible to obtain the seed true to name,
and possessed of the desired character
ist:cs. Only in the field can perfected
ears and perfected stalks be found
together. Seed corn should be taken
from different parts of the field, to make
the relation as remote as possible. Seed
corn should be picked from the stalks
that bear the greatest number of ears,
to make it more prolific.
Seed corn should be selected from the
ton oar of those Stalts that haar tho
largest number, because on the top ear
is always found the genuine typical
grain, the other ears below not having
developed sufficiently to produce good
seed on account ofinsufficiency of pollen.
Seed corn should always be saved from
those stalks that ripen earliest, to make
the season OF its maturity as short as
possible.
Seed corn should be taken from we'll
formed ears, tapering uniformly, with
straight rows, because these are more
easily and better protected by the husk.
In breeding corn in and in every ear
designed for the propagation of the
species intact should be protected by
covering of thin muslin before the silk
appears to keep insects and the pollen
of foreign and barren stalks away. A
hundred per cent. in favor of selected
seed has been reported in hundreds Of
cases.
In every corn field is found an enemy
too little noticed by farmers. 1t comes
in the shape of corn itself and is ruinous
in the extreme. This enemy is seen in
all parts of the crop, in the shape of
thrifty stalks without ears-barren stalks
they are called. The pollen, which is
very abundant, degrades every ear it
fertilizes. Beng so abundant it is dis
tributed far and wide, and its deterio-
rating effects are plainly seen year after
year more and more. The careful and
vigilant husbandman is aware Of the
deleteriOds effects of these intruders and
at an early stage cuts them AWAY.
y. World.