The progressive farmer and the cotton plant., 1905-08-29
Weekly-sl a Year.

1ne corn may all nave come from beautifully
shaped ears, and may have been of perfect quail
lty so far growing is concerned. But it was
evident, we think, badly bred. Selecting pretty
ears in the field or in the crib will never improve
the seed corn to any extent That is what our
people have been doing all their lives and the re-
suit IS long-legged corn that has to be planted
VIDE apart, single ears the stalk that wide
planting can never make large crop, and barren
stalks all around it to furnish the pollen for the
ear For the ear on any stalk is seldom if ever
made by the pollen from the same stalk and
should not be, if we are able to keep up the sta
nina in the plant. But these barren stalks while
making no ears, are abundantly supplied with the
male element, the pollen, and the corn inherits
from them the same barren character. We have
advised friend, and we advise all others to
get the best corn to be had in their neighborhood
or in the same climate. Do not take seed from
the field that is full of barren stalks but
get some that has been better bred in the eli
mate. Plant patch solely for seed on the best
OF land, and give it the ideal cultivation as you
have this crop. Watch it closely at tasseling
time, and take out the tasels while green from
every barren stalk, and from every stalk that tend
to grow long-legged and to produce but one ear
Let no plants bear pollen but those that come
nearest to what you would have the ideal plant
and which show greater productiveness than a
single ear. Take seed for your next crop and
seed patch from these prolific plants and everv
year plant seed patch in the same way. In
short, breed at first for corn, in quantity per
stalk and per ear, and when you have established
a hereditary habit Of prolifcacy it will be time
enough to pick out the finest ears. If the ears
grow too high from the ground, try platning the
lower ears by themselves and note the difference
Breed the corn to stature that will enable you
to plant as close closer than you have planted
and If you give attention to improvement of your
soil you will soon have no reason to complain of
poor crops. Get more peas that land and use
acid phosphate and potash literally the peas and
you may depend their doing the rest The
peas that you grew before the little wheat crop
left you some nitrogen in the soil, but you took
off in the peas large part of the phosphoric acid
and potash that the needed, and aside from
badly bred seed this helped to make the poor
corn. for phosphoric acid and potash are both
needed in the perfection of the grain. Then
practice a good rotation and occasionally use
some lime your land, and it will enable you to
get the potash that is usually plentiful in red clay
land, but in insoluble state. But no matter
what rotation you use, you will never get the
best returns in the crop till you breed your seed
right. 1t is not enough that the seed corn be
sound and vital, it must have an inheritance be-
hind it of good sires just as much as an animal
must have. No breeder of cattle thinks of
using scrub bull, but thousands of farmers are
using scrub males to produce their seed corn,
and the result is scrub crops strong land.
W. F. MASSEY,
North Carolina Experiment Station.