The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-03-04


1857, he will find the following para
graph in report on Farms" by a
committee of the Essex Agricultural
Society.
eve have heard of a singular expert
ment in the choice of seed. A farmer
planted only corn from the small end of
the ears, choosing such as were well
| filled out; then only from the middle of
the ears; then only from the big ends.
After ten years he found that in seven
years of the ten the crop from the small
ends was the largest and best"
DIR. Sturtevant's results, from expert
ments made in 1882, are reported as
showing that
1. The tip kernels were the most pro-
life of good corn.
2. The butt kernels were more pro-
life of good corn than the central
| kernels.
3. The tip kernels bore longer ears
than the other kernels, the butt kerr
nels next, and the central kernels the
shortest. This fact was apparent to
the sight as the different lots lay on the
| STOuuu dllcI lluSkluS.
4. The merchantable ears from the
butt were distinctly heavier than those
from the central kernels. In corn, or
corn and cob together?
5. The butt kernels furnished more
understandable corn than did the
central kernels, and the central kernels
more than did the top kernels.
The same year another plat was
planted, one-half with perfect seed
from selected seed ears, the other half
with good kernels from very inferior
looking ears, the yield in both expert
ments being so nearly uniform that no
conclusion could be drawn in favor of
the selected ears over those which we're
crooked and twisted. From expert
ments continued in 1888, it seems
reasonable to conclude that seed corn is
equally good from either portion of the
ear, certainly that the tip kernels are
fully equal to other kernels for planting.
Certainly, a series of ten annual test
ings ought to furnish better basis for
conclusions than two years. Any one
who has experimental much in the
thorough-breeding of plants Cor ami
mals), knows by experience that the
results of the first few years alone may
be very misleading. Small potatoes
will, under favorable circumstances,
produce just as large and good a crop
as medium or large seed. This may be
repeated from the same lot a second
and even a third year, with but little
perceptible change. But, after that,
deterioration is plain and rapid. We
have found it the same in our long-con-
tinued experiments with corn. 1t takes
a long time to get marked change
started, but when the break is made,
wonderful Emergencies often show
themselves. We consider these corn
experiments of DR.. Sturtevant as prov
ing absolutely nothing, yet. The ex-
periments of the anonymous party al
luded to by the Essex committee may
show something, and they may not. If
he kept on using tip seed from ears
groUn from tip seed, continuously for
ten years (and the same with base and
middle seed), and found results as re-
ported (the party being careful ex-
perimenter and truthful reporter), his
experiment is an important one. Other
wise it is worth nothing.
This fact is indicated by DR.. Sturte-
wants experiment with seed from infe-
rior ears. 1t is said that the very pro-
ductive " Compton Corn - was started
from seed taken from one of the little
ears found on the tassel. In both cases
the results reported might occur, but
they are worthless as the basis of con-
illusions, until followed up on the same
line for series of years. We have
found, by perseverance in selecting seed
potatoes, that after number of years a
rough, knobby variety may be made
smooth, poor yielder may be made
productive, an early potato made late.
or late one made early. Thus from
one variety as many varieties can be
produced in time, by selection as by
SlOWllS llOIi ScCu, CllIcI CIOSScu, VI
self-fertilized. We have also got SINH
lar results with peas. Corn of fixed
strain is one of the most stubborn
plants to make a " break in, by mere
selection, that we have experimental
with. Let anybody try to produce g
sort with uniform number of rows
from sort in which. for many years
the ears have varied in this respect, anG
he will have long stint before him
if he depends upon selection alone. II
he is trying to get a uniform eight
rowed strain from an eight, ten and
twelve-rowed kind, and at the same
time is manuring to get large crops, he
will find that the high manuring will
overcome the force of seed-selection en-
tirely. We have to say emphatically
that the man who carefully experiments
in these lines will find that the rea
knowledge he gains, in ten or twenty
years, is very much less than the ''knowl
edge " which he may base upon more
or less " reasonable assumptions, OF
on congratulations from slight data
There are so many things that you dom