Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-05-04
Growing Impression That Prof.
Holden's System Is Compli-
Gated, a Wrong One
THE PRINCIPLE OF HEREDlTY
Applies as Much to Corn as 1t Does to
Cattle and the Present Agitation Is
Simple plea For WeIlBred Corn
Statistics of Both Value and inter-
est-iowa News.
oecial to Times Republican.

/ Special to Times Republican.
4, Ames, May $50 much has beeh
/ said and written about Professor 4. u.
Holden,s seed corn gospel that the aV-
erage mind is becoming confused as to
what he is trying to accomplish. There
| is a growing impression that his sys-
! TEN for the selecting and testing OF
corn is complicated and requires a
| great deal of preparation in the way OF
study and experiment.
! Professor Holden is simply pleading
| for well-bred corn: he wants as high
| bred corn in Iowa fields as the live
stock IN Iowa pastures. All l ask OF
the farmer is to put as good a strain In
his cornstalks as he puts in his steers,
says Professor Holden. The farmer
will go to great expense and trouble to
put the bluest of blood in his cattle and
then will dump into his corn field the
first seed that comes to his hand.
All that Professor Holden wants the
farmer to do is to learn the difference
between a live seed and a dead seed.
and then see that the dead seed is not
Put In the ground; and, finally, to see
that the right number of seeds go into
each hill.
After years Of experimenting it has
been found that an average OF nun
dred live kernels to thirty hills produce
the largest possible yield. To find how
much Iowa was losing by simple fall
ure to put the right number OF grains
of corn in the ground, Professor Holden
wrote to thousand farmers last year
in all parts Of the state. He found that
the stand was just sc per cent Of what
it should have been. In other words,
Iowa last year had only two-thirds OF
the possible corn crop. An average OF
an ear weighing pound to each hill
would mean fifty bushels to the acre.
and yet Iowa's average yield IS but
thirty-two bushels
The principle of heredity applies as
Nmuch to corn as 1t does to cattle or to
human beings" says Professor Holden.
Just in proportion to the health and
vigor of the seed will be the health and
vigor of the cornstalk and the new ears.
One stalk in every seven now produces
nothing because 1t grows from barren
seed. What is more. if one grain of
corn is worthless. the chances are most
of those on the same ear are also. So
each ear of poor corn means whole
colony of poor ears for the next year.
Further the grade Of Il field of corn is
it's average grade. his becomes app
parent when point out the fact that
there are 49,O00000 or 50,000.000 pollen
grains on each tassel. II the tassel is
the product of a poor grain of corn,
every ear fortified by the pollen will
be injured"
Professor Holden has conducted ex-
periments for ears in the proper
planting of proper seed corn, and
in no year has the yield in the fields
under his supervision been less than
seventy three bushels. One of the
converts TO his idea last week was
Joseph Allen of Pocahontas. He will
put in $4,000 acres of corn this year,
and he has given orders that every
ear Of corn be sorted for terminating
powers and for size This he expects
to add 10000 bushels to his crop
When 1t is remembered that fourteen
ears will plant an acre, the results
lining each ear.
bJOIoSU COVtUOlNs
Here is the formula given by Pro-
fessor Holden for the right way of
planting corn:
First, the type and size of ear
wanted should be chosen. and then all
ears should be discarded that do not
conform to it in size. shape. color and
of kernels. Then two or
three kernels should be taken from
each ear and each ear showing faulty
kernels should be thrown out. Then
butts and tips should be shelled off
by hand and the grains rejected. The
corn is now ready to be shelled and
this should be done an ear at time,
so that any effects can be seen and
poor seed thrown away. 1t Is best
to separate the seed into three sizes.
and then three sets of planter plates
should be filed so as to drop the right
number of grains in each hill ninety
five times out of hundred. The
tests should be made with the planter
before 1t is taken into the field. When
these requirements have been fulfilled
the farmer. according 10 Professor
Holden, is assured of fifty bushels to
an acre as an average crop.
The acreage of corn In the seven
big corn states. Illinois, Iowa, Ne
branka, Kansas, Missouri, Indiana, and
Ohio, is approximately 100000
acres. Professor Holden's experiments
indicate that If his advice We're taken
by every farmer in these seven states
a half billion bushels of corn would
be added to the crop.
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