The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1907-05-24
'rss1lNe TIE SEED CORN.

There are three chief requisites to
&ge yield of corn good seed, good
sou and proper care. Furthermore, ii
isfclear that even with the best of soil
and care full crop of corn cannot be
harvested where there Is only half
stand. TO secure the proper stand the
seed must be the best possible, and 1t
Is at this point that scientific testing
Of every ear from which seed is taken
comes in. For the benefit of those
readers who may not be fortunate
enough to hear lecture on the ''gos-
per' Of good seed corn as delivered by
from different state experiment, sta
lions we give below the method of
testing recommended by him and Illus
trated in his lectures. A prime fea-
ture of this test is that it not only re-
veals those ears in the kernels of which
the germ is dead, but also those in
which there is weak vitality-kernels
which may sprout weakly, but which
never produce an ear, yet in many
cases do produce q tassel which scat
tiers its facilitating pollen for rods
around. The advantage of the Holden
test is that it enables one to spot the
dead and weak germed ear, a thing
which cannot be done if the corn is
tested after 1t Is shelled and the kerr
nels from such ears are scattered
through that which is good The meth
oil of testing the corn is as follows:
The termination box is simple a
fair and can be made by any one
an hours tine. Any box about si?>
inches deep and by 3 feet in size
may be used. Fill the box about hall
full Of moist sand, dirt or sawdust,
well pressed down, so that 1t will leave
smooth, even surface. In case saw
dust is used 1t should be put In a gun
ny sack and set in a tub of warm wa
ter for half an hour, so that 1t will be
thoroughly moistened before using
Take q white cloth about the size of
the box and rule it off checkerboard
fashion enc and half inches each
way. Number the checks ], 2, 3, and SO
on, and place it over the sawdust and
tack to the box at the corners and
edges. Lay out the ears to be tested
side by side on the floor; remove one
kernel from near the butt, middle and
tip of the ear; turn the ear over and
remove three kernels from the opposite
side in like manner, making six kerr
nels in all, thus securing q sample
from the entire ear. Place the six ker-
nels at the end of the ear from which
they were taken. Use care that. the
kernels do not get mixed with the ker-
nels from the ear next to It, After the
kernels are removed boards may be
laid over the rows of corn to keep
them in place until the termination is
known. Place the kernels from ear of
| corn No. ! in square No. of the ger
| mination box, from ear No. in square
No. ., and so on with all the ears.
Then place over this a cloth considera-
bly, larger than the box. Cover with
about two inches of moist sand, dirt
or sawdust and keep in warm phce
so that it will not freeze. The sitting
room will perhaps be the most suitable
place. The kernels will terminate in
eight to nine days. Then remove the
cover carefully to avoid misplacing the
kernels in the squares. A piece of thin
cloth placed over the kernels before
! the covering is put on will prevent the
kernels from sticking to the upper
cover. Examine the kernels in the ger
! miaatlon box. For example, the ker-
! ncls III squares Nos. /. IL ana 20 have
ltfailel to GROW. and some of the ker-
nels IL squares Nos. 2. 3, 4, o. j and
10 have refused to grow or show weak
termination. The corresponding ears
/ should be rejected. The ears showing
| weak termination should be treated
| the same as worthless ears.