The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1910-04-21

fore, to plan on having the rows
16 rods long, or better still, two
rows eight rods long for each ear to
be tested. If 100 ears are selected
and eight-rod rows are made there
will ne 200 rows in all, or with 200
esrs and the rows 16 rods in length
there will also be 200 rows. In these
check rows corn of which is a null
tple of five should be a check row.
In these check rows corn of some uni
form variety should be planted for
comparison with the regular breed
ing rows to determine any variation
that may exist in the soil. 1t is self
evident that as uniform a piece OF
land as can be secured should be Sc.
lected for this purpose; otherwise the
yields from the dilIerent rows will
not be comparable. Similarly, the
rows should all be planted on the
same day, the soil prepared in the
same manner, and cultivation of the
different rows should, of course, also
be done on the same days. At harvest
time each row, or each two rows as
the case may be. must be husked and
weighed separately. Twenty-Five per
cent of the highest yielding rows
should then be selected That ac.
complished, the original seed ears
corresponding to them which still
contain half of the kernels on each
ear, are to be kept for the second
years breeding lot.
''All the ears of the first years
seed plot may be used as seed for
the general crop the following year.
~
first years test it is evident that
there will be 25 rows for the second
years test. or if 200 ears were used
the first year there will be so rows
for the second test. The remaining
kernels of the % to SO original ears
corresponding to the highest yielding
rows OF the first year should be plant
ed the second year in breeding plot
similar to that of the first year. At
harvest time these rows should again
be husked and weighed separately.
1t will be found that during the sec.
ond years test not all the ears that
produced high yields the first year
will produce high yields the second
1t will be found, however. that some
of the ears that produced high yields
the first year will also yield well the
second year, and they are the ones
that should be used the third year as
increase ears for the future"
Prof. Bowman Talks.
Il believe the possibilities of this
seed patch plan are immense" de.
clared Professor M. l.. Bowman, sec.
rotary Of the Iowa State Corn Grow
ers' Association. Heretofore, we
have paid no attention to corn breed.
ing. Farmers have thought little or
nothing of paying 5000 or $500, or
even $1,000, for good live stock, in or
der to build up the standard and the
type of their herds, but they have
thought so, or So, or SIS for a bushel
of seed corn was outrageous.
1--WE must learn to breed corn just
as we do animals The silk is the fe.
male and the tassel is the male There
is silk produced for every kernel on
the ear of corn, and there are between
forty and fifty million pollen grains
on each tassel. One pollen grain is
sufficient to fertilize one silk Now,
in this seed patch, we must see to it
that no sici1ly, puny stalk of corn
is allowed to grow up to produce tas.
sells to pollenate a good, strong and
vigorous mother plant. The sins OF
the fathers are visited on the children
to the third and fourth generations
in corn as we'll as in human beings
Along early in the summer the farm.
er should take a sharp knife and GO
out into this seed patch and cut down
every stalk of corn that does not
give evidence of bearing a good ear
This will keep some strong, vigorous
mother plant from being pollenated
by worthless stalk, and will dis.
pense with the runty ears of corn
which bring down the state average