Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1902-12-17
Seed Corn for the Soft Corn Country.


From letters which we are receiving
from week to week, we fear that some
of our readers in the northern part OF
our territory are liable to make mis-.
take in selecting seed corn tor next
year. During the last three or four
years, perhaps more, they have been
aiming to get too large variety of corn
for that latitude, buying great deal of
the seeds from sections too far south,
and aiming to get too large yield
without keeping weather eye out as
to the probability of its maturing. To
this must be attributed good deal of
the loss from soft corn this year.
Early last spring we urged our readers
to grow few acres of such varieties as
Sibley's Pride of the North, Longfel-
lows Yellow Dent, and Earliest Wis
consin, aud corn of that type, simply to
have some early feed for hogs and thus
save them from buying old corn at the
high prices prevailing. These varieties
of corn all matured this year and the
danger is that farmers will go to the
other extreme and get varieties of corn
that will mature too early next year and
lose two OF three weeks time. This
would be mistake in the other direc.
ton.
For example, Clay county, Iowa,
subscriber bou !ht LoDgfellow's Dent
from Des Moines last year which ma.
tured away ahead of anything he had
and he now wants to know If he had
better plant of that variety next year.
He tells us that some of his neighbors
have contracted with an Iowa county.
Wisconsin, grower to furnish kiln dried
seed and wants to know If it would be
safe to plant that.
Covering this entire line of INQUIRE.
permit US to say that the farmer should
grow as large variety of corn as will
mature in his latitude in the ordinary
year and every year plant, some of the
varieties that will mature in any sea.
son, for the purpose of getting early
feed. These early varieties will fall
| short OF the larger ones some ten or tif-
teen bushels per acre, but even then it
pays to grow few acres. 1t is alWays
best to get seed corn as nearly as possi-
BILE on the same latitude, or, to be more
correct, on the same isOthermal lines.
or lines of equal heat, which do not al
ways correspond to latitude, elevation,
or the height OF the country above the
/ sea level being q determining factor.
There will be some difficulty in get
ting good seed in this northern section
next year, There will be no difficulty,
whatever, In procuring all the seed corn
man wants in the latitude of the
southern half of Iowa. 1t is we'll. there
fore, that farmers are thinking over this
matter now. If they have corn of the
usual varieties grown on their own
farms which has been selected in the
usual way and fire dried, not kiln dried
they should not think of buying else.
where unless they are sure of Getting
something better. That northern conn.
try, and by this we mean northern
Iowa, northern Illinois, Wisconsin, and
Minnesota is In great need of thorough.
ly scientific, up-to.date seed corn breed.
ers and the farmer who will turn his
attention to growing seed corn. proper.
ly caring for 1t, and selling it In the ear
can make plenty of money in the next
three OF four years. for rest assured that
there will be more improvement In seed
corn 10 the next four or five wears ali
over the west than there has been in the
last fifty. >
The corn breeders of Illinois hav,
, aroused public attention as to the tynt
OF corn that can be grown most profit.
, ably. That is one question. "A closel,
related oneis the varieties of corn an
proximating this general type as close.
ly as possible that should be grown In {
particular elevation. Wew would advis,
: oHr readers to get the best bred corr
they can OF the dent types as nearly a
possible on their own latitudes,-Wa,
lIace's Farmer,