Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1905-04-13
HOW TO SELECT SEED CORN
Careful Selection Means Large
Increase Of the Crop for the
Farmer.

The "corn special" over the W. M.
Railroad arrived at this place on SEIZED.
ule time, Friday evening last, bringing
with it the following persons:
DR.. II. ]. Weber; Capt. R. w. Svl-
yester, president OF the Maryland Ag-
ricutural College; W. II. L. Taliaferro;
w. L. Amoss, J. p. Patterson and E. P.
Walls, professors at the school; Jadeta
Harris and Oswald; c. H. Evans and
E. G. Merryman. Of the executive COM
mittee of the trustees of the Agricult-
ural College; O. B. Littig, Of the Cham.
Der of Commerce; s. T. Moreland, prln-
cipal of McDonough Institute; Charles
L, Galloway and Chas. A. Councilman.
The party was taken to the Miller
House for supper, where they also spent
the night. Meanwhile, arrangements
were being made for a meeting in Town
Hall, to which place charts and corn
samples were taken from the tram.
At s o'clock the meeting was opened;
DR.. H. ]. Weber, head of the plant
breeding laboratory of the Department
of Agriculture, and Prof. w. T. L. Tai
iaferro, of the Maryland Agricultural
College, addressing the audience alter
nately.
The speakers confined themselves ex
clusivelv to the discussion of how the
farmer may Increase his corn crop by
applying a simple but scientifically
proven test to his seed corn. DR.. Web
Der is, by his early training in the west,
thoroughly acquainted with corn rails
ing, and he was one of the first men to
experiment upon the practical seed
corn test. This, he SAYS, must be made
as follows:
"Iwelve ears Of corn will plant one
acre. Select double this number for
each acre which YOU intend to plant,
and lay them in a row upon the floor
where they will not be disturbed. Take
knife ard pick out six grains from
each ear and place these in II little pile
by the side Of the ears from which they
were taken. The best ears to select
from are the cylindrical shaped ones
with deep grains and which haye no
spaces between the face of the grains.
Then take a shallow wooden box about
four feet by three, fill this with moist
sawdust or sand and cover this dust or
soil with white cloth upon which are
marked, in pencil, numbered SOU ares
about one and a half inches square.
Place the little piles of six grains each
in these squares, numbering the squares
to correspond to the ears of corn upon
the Aoor. Cover the whole thing with
another cloth to keep the grains in place
and fill the whole in with another layer
of sawdust.
I'm about week or ten days the corn
will have sprouted. You then remove
the cloth carefully and note how strong.
" the grains have terminated. Those
which have not shown high vitality
compare with the ear from which they
came, and remove that ear from the lot.
Now, it may be noticed that when grains
of corn of unequal size are put in the
drill good results are not obtained; con-
sequently. when you are Smelling your
selected ears divide the grains into three
divisions-.large, medium and small.
These will drop better and your corn
will grow.
Lastly. 10 raise your own seed, take
so of your best ears and plant them in
four acre lot on the south or west side
Of YOU farm. Before the corn comes
to tassell cut cut the barren stalks, to
prevent the pollen from tertilizing the
good ears, and you will find that you
will obtain selected seed"
The meeting was we'll attended bv
our town people and farmers of this and
adjacent districts who manifested deep
;,toro.t in tba odd raooaa