The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-04
CORN BREEDING
THE IMPORTANCE OF DEVELOP
 ING THE FINEST SEED.
s' me Practical Suggestions Along a Line Too Little Thought of
 by Farmers.

IT. A. WdfHeT III SIiCdBO 1TlUune.
 If were to ask some of the stockmen which is the best breed of cattle would
 find immediate answer in the names: Shorthorns. Angus. Herefords, Galloways, Holsteins. Jerseys etc.. and if ask for the best breed of hogs I am presented im- mediately with the names of Berkshire. Poland China. Chester. White. Duroc, Jersey. Tamworth. etc. Each of these particular breeds of cattle and hogs has its distinctive characteristic of form. size, color and purpose. You know them in- stantly when you see them. These ani-
 mals are produced in large numbers. ag-
 gregating 50,0o0,O00 head of cattle and 60.- O0o,OOO head of hogs per year. In the pro-
 duction of so large a number 1t Is evident
 a large amount of feed Is consumed.
 Now what is their feed. A certain
 amount of what is termed rough feed is
 used, such as grasses and fodder. but the
 principal and vital element of feed de-
 pended upon to produce the full grown.
 finished animal fit for market Is corn. If
 we eoncede that corn Is such an import
 ant element in the production
 of beef and pork, and 1t can
 be proved that there is such
 difference in corn. as to make one kind
 more desirable than another for the spe-
 cific purpose in view, then I am sure you
 VII Do interested Tn corn .Dreedlng
 l think 1t will be proved to your satis-
 faction by the result of experiments at
 the Illinois Experiment Station that the
 several constituents of the corn kernel
 can, be increased or diminished by selec-
 tion. The chief constituents of a kernel
 Of corn consists of carbohydrates, pro-
 tein oil. and ash. Protein Is for the for
 nation of bone and muscle, hence to pro-
 mote growth of bone and muscle or frame
 1t Is more profitable to feed young anil
 mals corn having a high per centage of
 protein, and. having produced the frame
 by such proper feed, then feed the corn
 having larger percentage of carbohy-
 drates and oil. Thus far is the stock
 breeder and feeder interested. It is not an. easy matter to breed corn 1t is not as easy as breeding live stock; 1t takes more study, more korethopght. has more to encounter in the vicissitudes of the seasons. has greater risks. and, until the farmer understands 1t, is absolutely with out profit to the corn breeder to sell his pedigree corn for seed. To prepare the ground. lay 1t off properly. to register and plant the choice kernels of a single ear in each row, keeping enough grains on the cob to compare with product and label 1t, to thin to two plants to the hill and watch for barren stalks and to cut them, to be keenly observant of weak stalks. and defective tassels and remove them, and at the husking time go to each mll or each row, observe the ears and stalks. and count and mark them with the numbers; then husk and weigh all the ears of each row; then select and com pare with the original ear planted to choose the rows showing the greater num- Der of ears like the one planted; then rom those rows showing the greater pre- f@
 measure. and count rows and Kernels in the row and register for the next year.
 Up to this point with all the detail you will say that 1t can be done, but when west or south wind carries the corn pollen one-half of mile, and, even if no such wind should blow and the robins. sparrows, 7blackbirds and meadow larks light in the early morning hours upon the tassels of some fields of white corn and fly one-half of a mile and light upon the tassels of your yellow corn. and in the husking time you find white grains in your otherwise fine ear of yellow corn: and when drought burns up or exces. sive rains drown your breeding plats. then you begin to feel the weight of diff faculties. In spite of all these anti-breed- ing elements the Illinois seed corn breed CTS have made a fair measure of pro- gress. The following are some of the points of advances made:
 Uniformity of type of variety has been more firmly established; symmetry of the ear as to length and carrying circumfer- ence, nearer to the tip has been quite yield has been increased by se- lection of seed from rows showing great est weight of product: greater depth of grain and smaller cob has been improved by similar selection; high protein has been made higher and low protein lower by the assistance of chemical analysis made by the Agricultural Experiment Station at Urbana. The Illinois Seed Corn Breeders Association since it's orRaniza ton has stimulated a greater interest in the selection and the growing of seed corn and fixing the identity of varieties and has helped to open up a wide field for cooperation with the farmer in the se- lection of his seed corn, and mainly thereby increasing the yield
 On this latter point I might mention that if corn is planted 3 feet inches each way there are 3.556 hills insone acre. and if 1t Is planted feet 3 3-5 inches each way, there are 1000 hills in an acre, and if planted feet each way there will be 4S4O hills in an acre; if every hill had two stalks and one good sized ear to each stalk, and upon the supposition that each ear would weigh one pound and at bAiC AabC OA SSNGHiy -ilNt pOulluS or ear per bushel. the yield would be as follows;
 Planted 3 feet inches each way yields 94 bushels per acre.
 Planted 8 feet 3 S-5 inches each way yields 1O6 bushels per acre.
 Planted 3 feet each way yields 129 bushels per acre.
 If the ears weighed only three quarters of a pound each, the yield would be re- spectively 70, 80 and 97 bushels, and even If each ear weighed one-haif of a pound the yield would be 47. 53 and 64 bushels Ears of corn of three varities just as they come in from the row in the field thls year weigh ten ounces per ear as an average.
 Several varieties of corn were show eled up from the crib just as they came from the field and carefully weighed and counted. the result being that the lowest average had 134 ears and nuhbins and average nine ounces; the highest had 95 ears and nubbins and averaged l2ss ounces. Of the same variety. where the farmer selected his seed and grew the corn, the ears averaged 9h ounces and where selected seed was planted ac-