Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1899-01-05
possibilities in Corn Improvement.

That corn is the king OF American
grains admits OF no dispute Tha
Its composition is such that is fa
from perfect grain food for any o
the purposes for which grain ls fed il
recognized by most thoughtful feed
ers. That it's defective composition
may be, at least partly, corrected BY
intelligent selection Of seeds has pro
baby occurred to comparatively few
The composition of grain, or indeed
of any plant product, cannot, IS
rule, as inferred from any physical
signs. The selection of seed with q
view TO improvement is thus Limited
to a consideration Of yield chiefly,
though some physical characteristics
are given more or less attention by
the more thoughtful. Selection bas-
cd on composition requires the Coop
Grafton Of chemist as rule, at least
until his Investigations have discover
ed some physical accompaniment Of
certain composition The Experl-
ment Station at the Agricultural Col
lege has in progress an investigation
which has for its object the discovery
of the varieties Of corn which are rich
est 10 protein, and the production
from these Of new varlties still richer
in protein.
The protein Of feeds includes the
heterogeneous constituents. 1t is for
these that feeders purchase oil-cake,
gluten meal, wheat bran etc, at a
high price to balance the rations fed
their mich cows, their young stock,
or even their fattening animals in
some cases Corn is rich In starch
and other carbohydrates and In fat
but is correspondingly poor in pro-
tein, its average amount OF the last
being about 10 per cent. Wheat has
about IL per cent of protein, wheat
bran 16 per cent, and oil.meal 80 per
cent. While the average amount Of
protein in corn is 10 per cent, it may
fall IS low as s per cent or rise to over
IL per cent. If we could raise the !
average to the height of thu best il
would be equal to wheat, if Of equal
digestlbility. Analyses made by the
chemical department Of the Expert
msnt Station, of single ears Of thirty
three varieties Of corn, showed a vAri-
alton in protein from 878 to 1871
per cent
This doss net really make fair
showing in respect to the varieties, as
but one ear was used in each case as
the source Of the sample, and other
analyses OF additional ears of two Of
the varieties showed as great or great.
or variation in the composition of diff
ferent ears of the same variety One
of these varieties has been grown for
thirty years by the Same man without
Intermixture Of any other variety. 1t
would seem that, if possible, fixed
type should have been reached by
this time, but analyses of ten differ
eat ears showsd minimum of $50
and maximum Of 1875 per cent Of
protein. Such great variations indi-
cate the possibilities IN seed selection
If some means can be discovered by
which the rich in protein can be dis.
tlnguished from the poor. The de-
partment has gone further, and has
examined individual kernels from the
same ear. These showed q consider
able variation also, hut the difficulties
attending thu work are such as to
make any general statemen9, as yet,
premature
The station intends to continue it's
work until variety or varieties rich
in protein have been established, and
if possible q means has been discov-
cred whereby, thru simple observa-
tions or processes, the farmer may
select seed without the assistance Of a
chemist and get that which is of high
protein content. Ia the meantime at
tention is drawn to the fact that the
germ is richer in both protein and
fat than any Of the other parts of the
kernel, and by choosing ears for seed
in which large germ is found in the
kernels the chances are greatly in
favor of improving the quality of the
crop. Taking as basis the present
relative cost of carbohydrates and /!
and protein, could we increase the
latter from 10 per cent to IL per cent
at the expense of the former, the
actual cash value Of the average corn