Carolina watchman. [volume] (Salisbury, N.C.) 1871-1937, 1909-01-26
SEED SELECTION.
Much Depends on the Care Given This
Important Matter.

Much Depends on the Care Given This
Important Matter.
The time for selecting seed corn is
before the harvest. If one wishes to
have his own corn ripen earlier he
should go through the field and mark
those that are the first to ripen. If he
wants a more prolific corn let him
mark those stalks which have two or
more perfect. ears and those that pro-
duce the longest ears well filled to the
end. Save these at husking time and
later on go over them again to choose
the most perfect ears, those that have
large kernels and small cobs, as such
cure most quickly without molding and
produce the most grain to a bushel of
ears. Put the best Of these where they
will dry perfectly and be safe from
dalnpness and from rats and mice. If
one cannot get enough such ars to
plant all he desires to grow let him
plant the best of these in a field apart
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seed in the same. way from that field.
If given good cultivation these seed
plots will show such improvement over
the others in n or two years as to
make a larger proportion of stalks that
yield two III or more, and from the
ears that are large and ripen early he
will largely increase his percentage of
perfect seed ears. This is as true Of
seed corn as of field corn.
Seed potatoes should be selected at
the time Of digging, taking them from
those hills most productive Of mer-
charitable potatoes and selecting those
that are perfect in shape and true to
the type of the variety. They need not
be the largest in the hill. Most expe-
rienced growers prefer medium sized
tubers for seed rather than the very
large, but they should be well ripened.
All roots for seed stock should be kept
in a dry and cool place. better if e
ly down to the freezing point, until
nearly time for planting out.
Such crops as beans and peas are
often saved for seed by planting rows
for that purpose, from which none are
taken for family use or market, and
this is much better than saving such
as may be left after the main crop has
been picked. which soon causes them
to run out, but if from these special
paintings only those that ripened ear
Hest were taken earlier maturity might
be expected, while if the longer and
better filled pods were taken a larger
crop for market would be the result.
The seeds Of squashes, melons and
pumpkins / usually saved from the
best used in the family, but many
times the best are sent to market and
smaller or inferior ones saved to be
eaten at home, and in this way no
Improvement is made in the future
crops. The cucumbers to select seed
from should be the first perfect ones
to set on the vine or as near the hill
as may be.
Such roots as produce seed only in
the second year, as beets, turnips, cab
bages, onions, celery, lettuce, etc.
should be selected as perfect speci
mems as car be found and kept as di
rected above. Tomatoes also should
be selected from the very best and
earliest that ripen on the most prolific
vines. The same general rules will
apply to almost all crops, saving the
best for seed, and if not enough of il
is obtained for planting or sowing put
that separately where it can furnish
more seed another year.