The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1901-05-14
SEED CORN FOR NEXT YEAR.

we commend to our readers the fol-
lowing valuable editorial from the
current issue of Wallace's Farmer.
Read it carefully and we think you
will find in it suggestions which will
prove of value to you; though in the
South the corn should not be planted
so thickly as Editor Wallace recon-
mends to his Iowa readers. What
is to be done in this direction must
be done quickly. We quote:
We have had quite a number of
letters from farmers asking us if it
would be safe to buy seed corn from
the North, South, East or West. We
have always advised them that if
they could find variety of corn that
yields we'll and that has been Guilt
waited for some years in their neigh
borhood to plant the bulk of their
crop with that, hut to buy in addi-
tion half bushel of the best high
bred seed corn they can get and if it
should prove satisfactory, to begin
and develop their own seed corn on
their own land. farmers will be
needing seed corn next year and now
we advise every farmer to begin in
tellgently to breed up for himself
for next year.
Take an acre of land as far re-
moved from other corn as you can
get it. Select about forty ears of
the very best seed corn you can get.
Look at any sample you have of
selected seed and you may find, as
you often will by close inspection,
that there are two or three types.
Find out which type yields the larg-
est per cent. of corn per ear. All
that you need is pair of scales,
half hours time, and to keep your
eyes open. By picking out a grain
from each ear with your penknife
you can ascertain the type of grain.
You will very frequently find in the
same kind type of ear with deep
grains and another with broad
grains. Select a number of ears
from each type. Weigh, then shell,
then weigh the corn. Divide the
weight of the shelled corn by the
total weight and that gives you the
per cent. You will frequently find
that one type will give you two or
three per cent. more of corn than
the other Therefore, select that
type. You want only about forty
ears to SOW an acre.
Prepare the ground we'll for that
acre. Now if you take piece of
ground twelve rods square you can
mark it off in sections two rods
square, or nine hills each way, max
ing township of sections. A good
ear will more than plant one of these
squares. Take the remainder of the
seed after rejecting the butts and
tips and plant a strip two rods deep
around the plot, thus giving a plot
sixteen rods square. IF other corn
fields are on the north or east they
are not likely to interfere with you,
but you should have no corn near
the south or west side of this plot.
Another and easier way would be to
plant your thirty six ears in thirty
six rows, then take the remainder of
the seed, excluding the butts and
tips, and plant two rows around it
on each side. This will lessen the
danger of it being mixed with any
other kind of corn.
Cultivate the corn thoroughly and
when it begins to tassel out go
through and cut out all the barren
stalks and count them as you cut
them out. You will be surprised to
see how many barren stalks you
have. Cut out also any stalks that
are not likely to produce much of an
ear or that grow the ear too high or
that are otherwise Objectionable.
This will take trouble, but If you are
going to have first class corn, you
must go to some trouble if you keep
on in this way for five years you
will have variety of corn thatyour
neighbors if they are at all observ-
ing or wide awake will be wanting
to buy for seed.
If you will treat the improved seed
that you buy in this way you will
have, if you have made a wise selec-
ton, the same advantage that the
farmer who commences to grade up
with a thoroughbred bull and high
grade COWS has over farmer who