The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-11
AGRICULTURAL
BREEDING PLOTS.

| While believe in making my whole field
 breeding plot, so that I may go any
 where in the field and find ideal ears, 1 yet where farmer has allowed his 1 lands to become so run down that he can
 not build up all his acreage vat once, for
 producing pedigree seed corn, 1t would 1 be well for him to set apart a few acres 1 for growing his seed corn and give this 1 field special fertilization, and cultivation. ! Such fields should contain not less than i four acres and ten would be better as
 this would give us more corn 10 select
 from. Besides, small plots are likely not i to become properly fertilzed. Really, i when we come to apply this score card | to our corn, 1t is surprising how few
 or what a small per cent of ears measure ! up to the full standard. IT sarmcr | who has never tested this matter will 1 go out next fall in field of one hun dred acres and start out to find one 1 hundred ears that will measure ten inches | In length, eight inches in circumference
 one-third of the distance of the ear from
 the pit, and has twenty rows with sixty ! grains to the TOW, 1200 grains to the | ear six grains to the inch of cob with i cobs, rows and grains all perfect and l the ears weighing twenty ounces each after being dried out, he will simply | be surprised to find how much time it i will take and how much of the field 1 he will have to go over ro get his hundred | ears. There are hundreds of fields all | over the country where not even one such
 ear could be found, though 1t Is just
 such ears as these that we need for l mother ears.
 l In 1906 my seed field or plot of sx
 acres made eighty bushels of fine seed
 corn per acre or lS0 bushels, yet, with 1 all the care and selection there is not l over one hundred bushels of this corn i that I would want to plant. This corn 1 has been graded until we have the best l ten bushels of the crop carefully seleefei l and from this ten bushels a selection
 of seventy-five best ears Will be made;
 enough to plant mother six acres. 1 When we get into the breeding, grow
 ing and selecting Of hish-class corn we | find it an interesting business and one 1 that 1t pays well to look after. More | attention Will be given this before We i can bring our average up to fifty bushels
 of good corn per arsea
 There are. but few farms in this coun- 1 try where from four to ten acres can
 not be found which could be set apart
 for the growing Of pedigree seed corn Be- sides, there is time enouSi wasted on
 many farms for doing all the work reeded in preparing these seed plots for i producing the seed needed.
 | When a farmer once adopts the plan of
 growing and saving hia own seed he is 1 likely to follow it up end this applies Co all farm seed as well as corn. If there are any two things. above all others. 1 that the farmers of our country need
 educating about it is good seed corn and 1 the proper plant foods and how 10 best use each
 Let every reader start out this year. 1997,
 anew. by planting a field for seed corn.
 District or County Fairs
 There is no better place than good county or district fair for educating peo-
 pie on seed corn as well as on all other seed.
 | Each county should have an annual corn show, whe.e liberal premiums are of fered for the Fest corn A good score card should be arranged for the different l varieties to be grown and the score | cards should be published ahead so that each grower may know what he will l have to meet with in the contest. In connection with this every county should i have a boys corn growing contest. There are some of the means alluded to In | former pages. They have accomplished I n great deal of good and the plans should | be encouraged until we have well organ l ized corn growing efforts In every county. The winter season is the time to dis | cuss and formulate plans for carrying | on the work. The Farmers institute is doing much of late to encourage better | seed corn, but better crops and good | crops can only come from good seed planted in good soil. There should be an exhibit of corn at every Farmers insu l tute meeting. It would not require many | ears-say five good ears from each farmer. | To show what can be accomplished by such efforts I will give some experiences have had along this line of work.
 Early in the month of March, 1906. the ! merchants and business men of very