Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1906-04-12
.C|)VN|[ ON SEED CORN
State Board Of Control Member
Takes Issue With State Col
lege Professors
100 PER CENT TERMINATION
Says tho Fact That the Test Made at
State College Shows Only 81 Per Cent
termination Does Not Speak Well
for Methods Observation-Disclosures He
Has Better Method.
Special to Times-Republlcan

Des Moines, April 12.-Hon. John
Cownie of the state board OF control
invited into the rooms of the board all
the newspaper men Of the city to see
the tests of his seed corn for the
farms Of the state institutions and
severely criticised the newspapers and
the State Agricultural College for err
roneous teaching as to the proper
methods of testing and caring for seed
corn. Mr.. Cownie takes issue with the
teachings Of the state college at Ames
and refers to the bulletin of the insti-
tuition recently published which says
that of the corn tested as sent to the
college from 500 farmers of the state
there was but 81 per cent termination.
Mr.. Cownie says that the farmers who
have sent corn to the college at Ames
to be tested are the farmers who have
been following the state college meth
DDS of testing corn and of selecting
and preserving the seed corn and that
IL these farmers can get but 81 per
cent termination it speaks bad for the
state college methods as Mr.. Cow
ME claims to get 100 per cent germin-
alton on the state farms.
In his letter to the newspapers In
wiling them to come to the board of
control rooms and see the tests made
Of the seed corn of the state institu-
tons, Mr., Cownie says:
"Dear Sir: There has been pub
lished in the newspapers and agricul-
tllral journals Of Iowa during the last
few years many articles in regard to
seed corn, the greater part Of them
only misleading and erroneous, but
pernicious in the extreme. These ar
ticles have been written by people abb
solutely ignorant Of the subject, and
have done and are still doing incalcul-
able damage to the agricultural inter-
ests Of our state, as there are many
farmers giving heed to these erron-
eous teachings.
Having advocated for many years a
method of saving seed corn that is abb
solutely infallible, l would be pleased
to have you, call at the office Of the
board OF control Of state institutions in
the capitol on Wednesday. the 18th
inst. and see for yourself the result Of
test made Of seed corn from all state
Institutions under our control The
growing corn is now over six inches
high and must be seen Wednesday or
at latest Thursday of this week as 1t
is growing in earth in cigar boxes I'M
der natural conditions and the limited
quantity Of soil will not sustain the
plants longer.
Hoping you can accept this invi-
tation and see for yourself corn that
terminates 100 per cent, am, sim
cerely yours,
JOHN COWNIE."
Mr.. Cownie Is determined in his
contention that there is not the slight
est reason in the world why the farm
ers Of Iowa should not have 100 stalks
of corn grow from every 100 grains of
corn planted and that there is no rea-
son in the world why this corn should
not be healthy and produce good ears
OF corn. The fundamental principles
and methods for securing this per-
lection of growth ar I yield he declares
consist in selecting the corn in the fall
when the corn is properly matured by
going thru the fields where the best
corn grows and picking the select
ears. These he declares must then be
stored away in room that can be
artificially kept warm during the vim
ter and If this is done there will be no
need for testing the corn as every
gain will grow. He takes issue with
these agriculturaists who claim that
six grains from each ear should be
tested and declares that the one weak
point in most methods of testing corn
is that method Of testing the ge.min-
alton in wet paper. The only true
method he believes consists in testing
tic corn in dirt under conditions IN
which the corn must terminate in the
gleuDd when planted from Z earn
planter. Mr.. Cownie makes the state
n'ent that six or eight years will not
overcome the damage that has alcaa iy
seen 5cne in teaching the wrong ne;il-
DDS sf selecting seed corn.
- Agsu