The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-03-28

The feeding value of corn, white or yell low, depends largely upon the kind of soil the corn is grown on The corn plant is a species of grass and like other grasses its best qualities are brought out on good soils and on soils containing more or less lime. The feeding value of any corn depends largely upon the formation of the grain, and what per cent of pro- tein and oil the grain contains. To il- lustrate this, if we should take a pound of wedge shaped, yellow grains of corn, such as the grains of the Golden Beauty, and compare their feeding value with pound of grains of white of the Gourd seed or Shoe Peg variety, we would find the balance in favor of the yellow corn. The same would be true by reversing the experiment and using the wedge shaped grains of the white corn such as the Boone County White against the Gourd Seed or Shoe Peg grains of the yellow. We would find in this test the balance in favor of the white corn. Repeated eX- periments have shown that under like tests white corn will yield few bushels more per care than the yellow. This may be well for the farmer who is growing but five bushels per acre to consider However with such farmers it makes lit- tie or no difference what kind of seed they plant the result is generally the same. With me- find that the white conn will answer every purpose that the vel low will, and 1t makes good meal and hominy. which the yellow does not.
 Farmers as a rule are not particular enough in the selection of varieties suited for their soils and general conditions. They allow themselves to be imposed upon in such matters. I have had varied experience along this line. In passing seed store in one of our large cities one day last spring I stopped as 1 usually do to take a look at the stock. Setting outside of the door l noticed sack of seed corn, shelied, with four very nice large ears of corn stuck in the shelied corn. It was white corn and the ears were fine samples. On examining the ears and the sheled corn I found that no re- latonship whatever existed between the ears of corn and the shelled corn. The ears all had white cobs while the shelled corn came from red cobs. Any judge or corn could easily detect the difference. Besides this the grain of the two was en- tirely different in size and In general appearance Yet, the chances are that some farmer bought this corn, expecting, of course that he was buying seed that would produce a crop like the ears stuck in the sack. Similar instances, no doubt, are quite common.
 Method of Buying Seed Corn.
 me CIlN Sdle way iol tiic idihiSA Niio has to buy seed corn is to buy 1t in the ear. In this way he can know just what he Is getting. It may cost few cents more per bushel but 1t will pay in the end. There will always be farmers who will have to buy seed corn and it will pay such farmers to have some definite idea of the kind of corn that best serves their purposes or that is best suited for their soils and climate and with this idea before them they can easily determine when they see the ears of corn, whether or not it Is what they need. The question of varieties and how these are selected and kept pure will have much to do in determining the profits of our corn crop
 Cheap Seed Corn.
 Right in this connection I want to call the attention of the reader to the fact that nc cheap seed corn should ever be used It takes time and money to grow and save seed corn. Besides, it takes an immense amount of room to save seed corn. The price of labor and land is such that no farmer or seed grower can afford to do justice by his customers when he has to sell seed corn in the ear for less than s per bushei. Really our first class seed corn growers should have S5 per bushel for every bushel of pedigree seed corn that they sell in the ear This price would go far toward driving the elevator seed corn out of the market and besides this. it would be great factor in helping to bring up the average of our corn crop