The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1903-05-23

were grown under the same condition
of toil-fertility, cultivation and a
other treatments so that the differ
ence in yield must be accounted fc
by the difference in seed. Thousand
of practical instances could be give
to show the value of the improve
varieties. For instance, one souther
Illinois farmer, more progressive tha
the rest, was induced to secure enoug
improved seed to plant three hundre
acres as result of his study of corr
in the Illinois College of Agriculture
These three hundred acres outyielde,
all of the other fields on his farm
more than thirty bushels per acre
and, so far as could be determined
the fields of that entire section yield
ed about thirty bushels per acre
This increase in yield meant tota
gain of about nine thousand bushels
which represented a cash value o
about four thousand dollars for tha
season. As this increase did not rep
resent an increased cost of production
the gain was pure profit. In another
case, a farmer in Central Illinois be
came interested in improved seed
corn, through the school of corn
judging in the Illinois Agriculture
College. He secured enough seed
grown by corn-breeder, to plant
eighty acres. AS result, he raised
almost twenty-five bushels more pei
acre on his field than where the or.
binary seed was planted. The next
year, over one thousand acres were
planted with improved seed and last
year over seven thousand acres OF
improved corn, from the more care
fully selected seed, was grown on
this farm. In addition, there were
thirty breeding-felds laid out for the
purpose of systematic and scientific
improvement of the varieties grown
at this place. In northern Illinois
the manager of large farm became
interested in the benefits of improved
seed-corn, with the result that last
year nearly three thousand acres of
improved corn were grown, and sew
eral breeding fields were established.
The result from planting improved
seed have been so beneficial that the
corn growers in the Mississippi Val
ley have been thoroughly awakened
to the Importance and necessity for
more careful production of seed-corn.
This interest in good seed has been
thing of slow growth. For years un-
scrupulous seed-dealers praised buy
ing cheap corn from grain dealers or
farmers, shelling the good ears, poor
ears and nubbins without selection,
and giving such seed fancy name
and price. Through expensive and
beautiful catalogues, widely advertis-
ing such varieties, many farmers were
induced to buy the seed. After a
trial, the corn-grower, disgusted with
results, would denounce corn-im-
provement as fraud. One instance
will illustrate this ey,iciars r,ractise
amount of southern corn, at a remark
ably low figure, and shelled it indis-
criminately. He gave it fancy
name, and advertised that he had dis
covered the original seed in an Indian
mound, where it had lain buried for
thousands of years. He claimed to
have taken this seed from the mound,
planted it and obtained a wonderful
variety which would produce an enor-
nous yield per acre. In Illinois alone,
he sold thousands of bushels of this
worthless seed. 1t grew with very
long, coarse stalk, and when stalk
bore an ear, it was usually small
nubbin. In no case was the yield
more than one-quarter of that of the
ordinary corn in the vicinity in which
it was grown.
In the first place, it is impossible to
know anything about the character of
seed from the shelled corn. All seed
corn should be bought in the ear, so
that, if the buyer, is not satisfied with
the type, it need not be planted.
There is no escape from the fact that
ears will be produced like those of
the seed. IF the seed-ears are not
satisfactory, it should be known be-
fore planting, in order to prevent the
loss of a years work and the expense
of raising the crop. Moreover, seed
corn shelled several weeks before
planting is likely to have the vitality
of the germ injured. In some in
stances, such seed has not grown when
planted, although ears ofthe same seed
shelled Immediately before planting
produced perfect stand. The gen.
eral characteristics of corn cannot be
seen except in the ear. Therefore,
in order to intelligently buy seed, it
should be bought on the ear.
The Illinois Seed Corn Breeders
Association was organized in June,
1000, by the corn breeders of Illinois,
for the purpose of furnishing we'll
bred seed to the corn growers, and to
prevent the loss from poor seed sent
out by seed-dea1ers. So successful
has been the work of this association
that the legislature has appropriated
ten thousand dollars per annum for
experimental work with corn along
the lines laid down by the Associa-
tion.
Indiana, Iowa and Kansas have
formed similar associations, following
the plan of the Illinois Association.
One important feature of this work is
the establishing of a corn-register,
similar in character to the live stock
pedigree. In this register is recorded
the measurements and other charac-
teristics of the parent ear and its per-
formance, so that when farmer buys
seed he may be able to look up the
record of the strain for any length oi
time. The members of the Associa-
ton have not been able to produce
enough seed for the demand, and the
inquiries for such seed are increasing
enormously. The field for such work