Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1907-01-18

esting study Of an ear OF corn, COZ
( tains information which has never
been discussed by corn experts, ano
/ no ext books treat OF the subject,
hence TO Mr.. J. w. Bremen of Can
ton township, belongs the honor OF
giving to corr breeders the anatomy
of an ear of corn. Mr.. Bremen is a
corn breeder himself and in his study
Of the plant he began to investigate
circulation, then he wanted TO know
how kernels are supplied with o
and in this connection he was anxious
to determine the question OF sex, and
from this desire comes information OF
first Importance to every corn grower
in the nation. He clearly explains
the function of the corn silk and the
leaves and their connection with the
kernel. 1t is the most important
contribution to the knowledge OF an
ear of corn ever published and the
Leader is pleased to give it to corn
growers everywhere:
Editor Farmers Leader: In com-
plying with your request to give the
results of my investigation in an at
tempt to, if possible, discover the
circulation in an ear of corn, the
manner in which the kernels receive
their food, and to distinguish and de-
fine the difference in the sex Of the
corn plant, l submit the following as
the results of my investigations:
At the time I began making the
Investigations, it was not apparent to
me from what point to begin in max
ing this research. We had been told
that the pollen falling upon the silk
lin some mi pollinated the kerr
mel cell. This implied a circulation,
but we could trace the silk no farther
than the kernel cell and came to be-
lieve it had its origin there, but Cir
culation could not be had without a
complete veinous system. This we
could not find in the silk, neither
could we find it in the kernel cell. If
it were circulation that carried the
pollen to the kernel cell it would be
necessary to connect these silks with
some veinous system, but how or
where was the question.
1t occurred to me at this time that
there might be some connection be-
tween the leaves growing from the
butt end of the ear and the kernels
on the ear, and with this idea in view
by the aid of a magnifying glass, /
counted the veins running lengthwise
on all these leaves, then counted the
kernels on the cob and as a result of
these counts there appeared to be
|about as many veins as there were
kernels. Here then l thought exist
ed an apparent relationship but how
to cross the gap lying between the
ends Of these veins and the silk in
the kernel cell was a mystery. II it
could be shown that these silks in
che kernel cell were a continuation of
these veins then we could connect
the veinous system of these leaves
with the kernels. / looked long for
this proof and was finally successful
in finding what / call a freak a i.
This ear grew from the butt end OF
another and was found underneath
the leaf first covering the ear. The
leaves on this ear were about one and
one half inches long and were partly
wrapped in a fold. The cob vas
about one inch long, it had no kerr
nels on it and was found lying upon
the surface of the other ear. The
cob was f1attened to about the thick
ness of a knife blade and had kernel
cells on it. The silks we're found
lying upon its surface but had no
connection with the-cob. l unfolded
these leaves and Strengthened the
silks and found / had before me a
complete demonstration OF the fact
that the silks are a continuation Of
the veins running %leDgthwise through
the leaves. Since this discovery /
have found other ears that were not
freaks that clearly demonstrated this
to be a fact.
There are from two to four COM
plete circles Of these leaves growing
out from the butt end of each ear.
The leaf that I shall describe is the
counterpart of all other leaves, except
as to the width of leaf. Some are
narrow while others are broad. This
particular leaf was the n lying next
to the ear and comprised nearly half
the circle Of the ear. On this leaf
the silks came out In groups and be-
tween these groups there is a broader
and heavier shaded line running
lengthwise through the leaf. This
shaded line appears to someway con-
meet these groups. il so, it would ac-
count for the fact that all rows Of
kernels run in pairs and the silks in
these groups vary in number. In the
specimens examined / find them to run
from six to twenty and the silks in
each group follow a single line of
kernel cells. These silks enter the
cob at the outer rim Of the pith and
in their forward passage each silk
passes upward through separate kerr
mel cells. When there are but six
silks in a group they pass through
the first six kernel cells. and when
there are twenty, the first twenty
kernel cells in the same row. 1t will
thus be seen that each leaf CONTROLS
| n <xro,,r ~ Lor,o1c tho S3zo ~ thn