The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-11-04

advantage to quick strong germination if planted with good seed.
 Stockmen do not hesitate to pay $oVo or even thousands of dollars for leader for a herd; the increase of size. shape, hardness, and capacity to put on nesn and quality of flesh when marketable re- sulting from the purchase of the herd leader juetifies the expenditure. Coming back again to corn: One bushel of seed
 corn will plant seven acres of land in hills at 3 feet Inches each way. Really good seed corn on the ear can be bought at g. 50 per busheI. costing per acre for seed S5 cents Seed for 80 acres would cost $2S.SS. If the same eighty acres were sown to oats out of the farmer s own granary the seed for the 80 acres would cost at 30 cents per bushel. S2, yet he does not hesitate to SOW three bushels of seed oats per acre. There is certainly a false economy in this favor itism shown to the seed oats. AS the ordinary farmer plans and works now. he wants seed corn for $1 per bushel. IA cents per acre, yet without complaint he puts three bushels, or 90 cents worth of oats on an acre. He does not want to pay more than $1 per bushel for seed corn, and just as long as he wants 1t at that price. shelled ready for planting. he can get it if he still wants to run in the old rut. One dollar seed corn oc- cupies the same relative position to the corn farmer that $25 bill would as herd leader to the live stock breeder. Cheap seed brings inferior product. with the same labor expended and In our judgment is as much an Insult to the land as the cheap bull would De 10 the herd.
 The S,O000O0 acres of Illinois lands de- voted to corn produced on the average of the last five years 2960O0,000 bushels of corn; if by a more careful preparation and cultivation. and. better yet the planting of seed of higher vitality we could increase the yield even five bush els per acre, 1t would mean to the far mers of this State 100000 bushels more of corn. and at 40 cents per bushel would mean $16.OOO, GOO more profit. To do this means that each farmer should have his own seed corn plat and grow his own seed corn He will find 1t interesting, instructive. and profitable. Should he, however, purchase his seed corn, by all means buy of a reliable seedman' ana insist upon having it shipped to him on the ear; he will know then what he Is getting and what sort of product to ex- pect
 I do not see any objection to reducing the space between the rows of corn and growing two stalks per hill, and by us ing seed of strong vitality produce larger yield of better ears WltH the sahle labor. It can scarcely be expected to have every hill of corn in a field two stalks and two ears of one pound each, but if the farmer will become a student of corn breeding, he will most certainly increase the yield for himself over the average yield of the last five years. It is well known that seasons will vary, and oftentmes greatly shorten the yleld hy exigencies beyond the control or the farmer but if the farmer will properly prepare the ground and plant 1t with a standard variety of corn of well known strong vitality and potency produced by breeding from selection according to the plans outlined by the Illinois Seed Corn Breeders Association, and will follow he will nut more corn in his crib, more size and strength. and fat on his cattle and hogs. and consequently more money in his pocket.