The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1904-04-30
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M Pcshing North the Corn Belt.
"A communication from the Mime.
sofa station says: Owing to the cold,
wet season, the corn crop in Mime
sofa and surrounding states is ripen.
Ing SO late that a very serious short
age is threatened in homegrown seed
TOT next years planting: The expert
ence or last year should be taken as a
valuable lesson, and every bushel Of
the best ears Of the best yielding
varieties which ripen this season
should be selected, thoroughly dried
and carefully stored for use or sale
1or planting. The ears Of first quality
should be saved to grow in hills, or
tnlnly IN drills to produce grain; and
tnose OF second quality should be
saved to plant thickly in drills for fod-
der or silage. There is always a good
market for the second quality of Min.
nesota dent varieties to plant thickly
Tor fodder corn, though at less price
than for corn suitable to grow for
ears
| Inere is growing appreciation Of
the small varieties o. northern dent
corn to plant thickly for fodder. It is
useful for wintering horses cpd sheep,
as well as for cattle. It is very easily
grown, cleans the land of weeds for
grain crops, and yields enormous
quantities of food per acre. When
grown thickly, corn does not bear
ears, but the substance of the grain
is largely distributed throughout the
stems and leaves. 1t is much more
valuable per ton as dry fodder or as
ensilage than slower from which ears
have been husked, or than fodder corn
grown from the seed of tie larger
varieties. Fodder of these small vari-
cites of dent corn is strong CON-
petitor of the hay crop.
Where the corn is husked into the
wagon from the standing stalks, the
best ears may be thrown into box on
one end or side of the wagon, or they
may be picked out as the corn is being
unloaded into the crib. Seed corn is
often injured in ways not fully under
stood when stored in bins or cribs,
even though it. is well protected from
outdoor weather. The moisture from
live stock which collects on seed corn
stored above stables, is generally fatal
to good seed. The grain should re-
main on the cobs until nearly corn
planting time, and purchasers should
prefer to buy seed corn on the ear to
be grown for grain.
Minnesota has rapidly Increased the
area devoted to corn in the past twen-
ty-tive years, but it is not sufficient to
| let it rest as it is. There is need for
| a much more rapid increase in order to
supply the demand within the state.
Last year and this year have been ex-
ceptionally adverse to the production
IF corn. but with the varieties now Sc
| cured and improved the corn acreage
may profitably be increased to more
than double or treble the present area.
These adverse short seasons will help
| to eliminate all the undesirable and
poor varieties. Those varieties which
ripened this year and last and yielded
| well in the various localities: are of
| very great value to Minnesota. From
| these varieties every bushel of good
| ears should be saved for seed, and
farmers can well afford to pay high
prices for such seed, if properly saved.
Allowing this opportunity of selecting
and properly curing large quantities Of
choice seed to pass will be misfor-
tune which will be felt by the entire
! state.
| The varieties which have been found
to ripen during these two very short
| seasons in northern Minnesota should
be preserved and used as basis in
| breeding more hardy and better yield
ing varieties. The dent varieties
which ripen this season in the south
ern portion of the state are worth
| millions of dollars and should interest
breeders in every county. The state
is large and the amount Of seed used
annually (about 100000 bushels of
field corn alone) is great, SO there is
little danger of over-estimating this
important work. Seed corn for field
grain should be taken southwark
rather than northward. Bringing the
larger yielding varieties northward
| and adapting them to the new condi-
tons should be left mainly to men who
have experience in corn breeding. The
corn belt has been and is now being
pushed northward by the introduction
and acclimating of varieties and espe
cially by carefully breeding varieties
already introduced. Corn breeders
should use mostly those varieties al
ready adapted to their locality. This
good work should be continued, but in
a conservative way, by those who are
prepared for the work.