Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-03-04

ooS" ~ 10y oiSSNAhS p'oO SHS Ao'io'
ing ear l have kept this work up
every year since, and to this l attri-
butte much Of my success in orngrow-
ing. l have bred up a variety that
is so much superior to what / started
with seven years ago that there is no
com p~arison. In recent years L have
managed my breeding plot a little
different from the method described
above, that is, instead of letting the
~ rows grow to maturity in the usual
manner | have been detasSeling every
other row and from the six de-
tasseled rowsI now select the II best
ears from the two highest vie lding
ones So much for my corn breeding.
The next important thing is the
testing of the seed. l use the Holden
Ideal tester, made by the National
Seed Tester Co., DeS MOines, Ia. The
kernels to be tested for termination
are put in small galvanized cups prop
erly numbered and immersed in
water for from "a to 36 hours. The
water is then removed and the kernels
allowed to sprout in a room maintain
eG at Il temperature of from 60 to Is
degrees f. That is to say l don't
allow the temperature to go below GO
degrees at night nor above IS degrees
in the day time. | prefer this kind
Of tester for the reason that it inSureS
a more uniform test. Kernels with a
high percentage Of protein and fat,
when put in soil or between two
layers Of moist Sawdust, do not sprOut
so quickly as do kernels containing a
smaller percentage Of protein and fat
but a higher percentage OF starch.
Hence with the latter form Of testers
one is apt to conclude that the high
protein or high fat kernels which do
not sprout as rapidly as the high
starch kernels aredeticient in germina-
ting power. l select six kernels from
each ear of corn intended for seed
purposes -two from the center, and
two from near the butt Of the ear,
picking each kernel from a different
row of kernels SO as to have the sample
fully represent the entire ear. Unless
every kernel of the sample l test
produces at least four vigorous sprouts
l feed the ear from which the sample
was taken to the hogs. 1 aim lot to
plant a single kernel that l am not
reasonably sure will produce a strong,
vigorous plant.
To sum up the principal features
that enabled me to get this high yield
1 call attention to the following: First,
the land was in a good state of cultiva-
tion to begin with and was fertile and
capable Of producing a larger crop
than was secured; second, the land
vas plowed deeply in the fall, and
thoroughly disced and narrowed in
the spring before planting; third, the
corn was planted thicker than usual,
one stalk to the hill, which 1 believe,
from the standpoint of high yields,
gives the best results. 1t would not
be practicable with a large acreage
to plant the rows as close together as
l did. On the other hand, with the
rows farther apart the stalks in the
rows might we'll be placed closer
together. With m stalk to the hill
there is opportunity for the feeding
area of the roots the root hairs-to
come in close contact with a greater
amount of soil than where three or
four stalks to the hill are planted,
and this in my opinion Is a matter of
great Importance. Fourth, the crop
was narrowed twice after planting
and cultivating seven times. In other
words, all weeds were kept out of the
corn until July 1st when the last
cultivation was given. Weeds not
only take up food from the soil, but
they also evaporate water that can be
used to better advantage by the corn.
Fifth, 1 practiced shallow cultivation.
l stirred the soil to a depth of only
two inches. This, under my condi-
tions, gave a dust mulch sufficiently
thick to conserve the moisture. At
the same time the c%ultivator shovels
never injured the corn roots. / be-
lieve that much damage is annually
done TO corn by too deep cultivation.
Sixth, continuous breeding by selec-
tion for a term of seven years has
increased the yielding capacity Of my
corn very materially: hence the seed
1 used had agreat advantage to begin
with as compared with corn that has
not received such care and attention
in this respect. The majority of our
farmers overlook the Importance Of
continuous selection, for high yield
and other desirable qualities such as
leainess OF stalk, a low percentage Of
barren stalks, and uniformity of type,
especially with reference to the ears.
Seventh. 1 paid special attention to
the testing of the seed. Not only
were my seed ears carefully selected,
but in addition each a was given a
thorough termination test; every ear
was discarded from which six kernels
did not show four vigorous sprouts.
The fact that corn will sprout is not
-,o,op<oo that r. wil1 Mi