The Columbus journal., 1904-11-02
HARVESTING AND STORING OF
SEED CORN.

AAAs wv. "a ~
Of the Iowa Grain Dealers Assocla'
ton, has received the following letter
from Prof. Holden of the Department
of AgrOnomy of the Iowa State Agrl'
cultural College and We append the
following questions and the answers
that Mr.. Holden gives.
We deem this circular letter to
carry with it great weight as Mr.. Hol-
den is authority ON this subject, and
as we are now soOn to commence the
harvesting of one of the largest corr
crops that Iowa eve produced 1t is
quite timely that the subject of seed
corr harvesting and storing should be
discussed.
Replying to your questions OF
Where and how to select seed corn
and where and how to store it, will
say that owing to the cold season and
the extreme slOwness with which
corr has matured this fall, the great
est possible care should be exercised
by every farmer in the selecting and
storing of his seed corn.
The most essential thing is to
have the seed thoroughly dry before
the bitter cold weather of November.
"One of the safest methods is to
select the seed corn from the earliest
planted field, not later than Oct. 18th.
taking the most mature ears. Tie
eight or ten ears together in a string
with binding Irvine, or tie them in
pairs by the husks and hang on some
wires in an open shed where the sun
cannot shine on them but where the
wind a have the best possible op-
portunity to blow through the corn
and dry it out thoroughly.
LAS soon as dry and before any
hard freezes (about Nov. LIST to 5th)
store in some place where there is
good circulation of air and where it
will be somewhat protected from the
severe freezes during the months of
November and December, such as the
attic or furnace room. If you are
certain that the corn has thoroughly
dried out, it might remain where it
vas hung in the open shed all winter.
do not trouble it and there would be
no danger of injury from freezing.
But in slow cold seasons like the past
and the present. or where the corn
was not hung up before Oct. 18th. the
only safe thing to do is to take the
corn down and place it where it is
protected as stated above.
In a slow a the corn contains
much more moisture than is general
ly supposed. Last fall on Oct. 25th,
5000 pounds of corr we're placed in
a crib and have been weighed each
week since. 1t has now lost 1880
pounds or 3O.5 per cent. 1t is impOs-
sible for such corn to dry out sufi-
GENTLY to prevent it's being weak
ened or killed by the fall freezes"
Cautions.
Il. Do not store seed corn over
the stable as it will gather moisture.
20. Do not put freshly gathered
seed corn in a arm room. 1t will
either sprout or mold or both.
"3. For the same reason do not
leave it in barrels and boxes or on
the south porch where the sun can
shine on it.
II. During the first two weeks aft
er the seed corn is harvested, while
it is green and sappy, it should be
dried under as nearly normal cOndi-
tons of temperature as possible. Aft
er this the drying may be fastened
by placing in a warm but well ven
.ilated place.
IS. Do not take any chances with
the seed corn.
&c. Save two or three times what
you will need for your own use. Your
nelghbor may need it next spring.
u. Last spring thousands of far
mers planted weakened seed. This
together with the cold spring gave
poor stands and necessitated much re-
planting. Over a thousand samples
of corn we're sent to the station to
be tested last spring. The tests
showed an average of IS per cent
that would not grow and 10 per cent
more that gave a weak termination
and was not fit to plant, leaving only
GO per cent of strong seed.
Il would again emphasize the i'm
portance of harvesting the seed corn
o later than Oct. 18th, and hanging
where there is the freest circulation
Of air with a normal temperature.
Yours truly,
"P. G. HOLDEN"