The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-03-09
The SffDCORN SPECIAL
Prof. HoIden's Seed Corn Special
Train Visited Leon and Garden
Grove Last Friday Morning.

lrdln visited Leon ana Udrden
Grove Last Friday Morning.
The special seed corn train which is
being carried over the branch lines of
the Burlington system in Iowa visited
Leon last Friday morning and although
the hour was pretty early, 8 o'clock,
which prevented many farmers from
distance from attending, there was a
good sized crowd at the depot to hear
the lectures, the two lecture cars not
being large enough to accommodate the
crowd although every foot of space was
utilized. During the thirty minute
stop here addresses were made in each
of the cars at the same time, Prof.
Holden talking in one and Prof. Shanel,
of the United States Department of Ag-
riculture at Washington in the other
one.
On board the train which was COM
posed Of two private and lecture cars
were the following gentlemen:
W. II. Manss, G.. B. s. Q. Industrial
commissioner, Chicago, in charge of the
train.
Prof. P. G. Holden, professor of agro-
nomy, Ames.
Prof. M. L. Moshier, assistant profess
sor of agronomy, Ames.
Prof. j. w. Jones, superintendent of
field experiments, Ames.
Prof. A. D. Shamel, US. department.
Of agriculture, Washington.
Col. G. W. Waters, member state board
of agriculture, Canton, Mo.
Prof. J. r. Sage, chief of Iowa wealth
er and crop bureau, Des Moincs.
H. S. Jones, Iowa passenger agent,
Burlington.
T.G. Roehm, chief clerk passenger
department, Chicago.
j. c. johnson, travelling agent, Bur-
lington.
j. W. Hood, travelling freight agent,
Keokuk.
j. A. somerville, general ageut,
Keokuk.
]. B. Hungerford, chairman board of
trustees of state agricultural college at
Ames, Carroll.
Joe S. Trigg, editor Des Moines Reg
lister.
Dennis O'Leary, Nonpareil, Council
Bluffs.
E.E. Faville, Farmers Tribune, Sioux
City.
W. H. Powell, Courier, Ottumwa.
In his address Prof. Holden spoke in
part rs follows:
Now do not come before you think
ing that know more than you for none
of us need be proud of our knowledge.
II hope to present some important points
which will, if carried out, make an adj
vance in farming and produce an in
creasing yield of corn per acre. First
wish to say that the corn crop is the
greatest crop as 10 ,000, 900 bushels were
produced last year and it was Sc per
cent Of the total value of all the crops
produced. Some people seem to think
that anything grows so long as it is
corn, when the corn crop is more inn
portant than anything else. The aver
age yield has been but 33 bushels per
acre-some being fortunate enough to
raise so, 55, go, 70 and even 80 bushels
per acre, but as l said the average for
Iowa has been but 33 bushels. If the
average farmer would test his seed corn
as we'll as he does other farm work he
would raise better crops and get in the
habit of doing things, as we teach pu-
pills to do at the Agricultural College
all they can. We tested some seed from
k this region recently having received
1900 specimens. Yesterday 800 speci-
mems had been tested before left-two
kernels from each ear Of 100 specimen
ears-and the result was 40 per cent
were fertile; 80 per cent were what we
callmedium or weak; and the remainder
We're not fertile. Last spring was cold
and damp. Some corn fields was called
upon to examine showed kernels 4, s.,
and even 6 inches deep in the soil.
Twenty-eight fields out of 68 failed to
grow at all in some cases 1S hills out
of every 100 refused to grow. The
result was that 10 per cent of the
100000 acres produced only 63 per
cent corn. The same amount of corn, if
properly selected and cultivated, could
have been successfully grown on one
third as much ground and produced bet
ter crops. OF the 1000 fields tested 10
out of every 100 failed because of poor
cultivation and 33 out of 100 because OF
poor stock. If we fail with corn it is a
complete loss. A failure with oats or
wheat is not so severe. On one farm of
100 acres of corn 80 per cent of the best
ears were poorer than any of these SAM
Piles show you. Now if he had taken
his two boys and had them test the corn
it would have made him $1,000. A day
in testing is worth month in the ma
turing or even two months. The causes
of poor yield may be summed up as
uESU, pCOF SCduet VI GOTH, poor S6eu, poor
planters, and not grading the corn;
second in not having better handling
during growing season. The method we
employ is to lay the ears of corn in rows,
tins all pointing in the same direction.
We divide them into punches of 10 and
fasten them in place after first taking a
kernel from the tip, butt and sides until
we secure to 10 kernels. These we
place at the butt, until the entire lot
has been gone over. Then we prepare
box by placing damp sawdust in it and
pounding it down until it is solid. Then
we divide it into squares corresponding
to the number OF. ears of sample and
place the kernels from the ears, which
are numbered consecutively 1, 2, 8, etc.,
in the squares of same number. Then
take a gunny sack, fill it with damp saw
dust just damp enough to not drip
and place this on the seed. If you have
a good room in the house and no room
is too good to test seed corn in--place
the box there. Ii your wife has house