Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-10-02
The Strawpile
Seed-Corn Selection,

ndouDtedly the only Wholly sdois-
factory way of selecting seed corn is
from the plant; whether standing OF
in shock makes little difference. Most
certainly we have raised good corn
from ears selected at random from the
crib II frequently so happens that not
quite enough seed corn is selected III
the field But from crib selected seed
we have never noted any results in
corn Improvement The common prac-
tice OF selecting in the field is for
tunata practice.
However. an exceedingly common
manner of field selection has no advan-
tage over crib selection other than that
corn picked especially for seed receives
letter care than does that in the crib.
The common plan consists in picking
from this stalk and that stalk a big
ear. or laying by during the husking a
big ear here and a big ear there. NOW,
the picking of big. neat-appearing ears
is only part of seed-corn selection.
Not the ear but the plant is the unit 70
be considered in the pTopa CATION ana
Improvement of corn. We look for the
largest grain yield possible, and that OF
a quality suitable to our purposes. The
plant yielding two ears of medium size
is better one from which to choose
seed than the plant growing one great
ear of less total grain yield. The mod
ern idea is to select plants promising
ones), weigh the total grain yield,
whether there be one ear or several,
and select seed from the best-perform-
ing plant. This idea involves the
ipl. &c oil no of
number of apparently heavy-yieiding
plants. knotting these together so there
will be no confusion. and weighing for
necessary accurate results the shelled
product of each plant. ItT1s we'll that
the corn of the largest ear of each
plant should be kept by itself Provid-
ed that ears filled in with kernels in
thorough style at both ends, is cylin-
drical enough to have lost no rows Of
kernels by tapering, and has. in gen.
eral. q satisfactory amount of corn to
weigh the cob, 1t is the ear, If the per-
Torrance of the plant be satisfactory,
to be favored in q selection.
Greater quantity Of corn is one thing;
quality better suited to individual
needs is another object toward which
to work In corn breeding-in ordinary
seed selection. If the farmer will cut
open kernels from various plants, he
will note some slight differences in the
proportion of white or starchy mater
ial to the darker or gluten matter. 1t
is fad now, and a very useful one.
among the stations to breed up one
strain of corn that will have high
percentage of protein or gluten mat
ter and another strain Of increased
starch content. The breeding ct more
protein is now receiving much atten-
ton. Corn with the common percent
age of protein is not now altogether
satisfactory for mich cows or young
animals of any kind. The corn ration
needs to be balanced with protein-
rick foods. Successes have already
been won, and these have not been
entirely confined to the stations
BY the pocket-knife method, any
farmer can discover plant whose
grain yield possesses slightly greater
percentage of protein than others. Lo-
cal chemists and stations are willing
to carry on the test and to tell ac-
curately which of the plants as repre-
scented by specimen ears Is the richest
in protein. With a small amount OF seed
selected in this way, the farmer finds
1t simple matter to start corn
breeding plant in the spring. He, of
course, pays attention to the yield of
his specimen plants. Striking results
are not achieved In one year; but by
accurate determinations of weight AMI
protein and starch content. material
achievements come within a few years