Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1910-02-25
Another South Dakota Corn
Breeder.

Breeder.
The following sketch Of the life anC
work of another man who does things
we choose to give in his own words:
I'm replying to your request for q
sketch of my life, and some accoun,
of work done in the line of effort tc
improve corn by breeding, will say
that l was born in Freeport, Ill.
October 3d. 1862. Came to Iowa in
the year 1876 and to Lincoln county
in 1895, and have resided on a farm all
my life, and engaged in farming until
the past year.
In 1902 l organized the first Corn
Growers Association in this state
here in Lincoln county. Have been
president of the association during
this time. In 1905 had bill intro
duced in our state legislature to
raise money to promote Farmers
County Institutes, which became a
law and is in force at this time. This
law provides for the election of a
Board of Directors, consis ting Of five
members whose duty consists of caus-
ing educational instruction to be
given at each annual meeting, in
Agriculture, Horticulture, and allied
subjects, to audit all bills incurred in
holding such institute before present
ing total bill to Board of Commits
sioners, and when such bill has been
presented, accompanied by affidavit
Of the president and secretary of the
Board, then it is mandatory, on the
part of such Board to allow the bill
in sums not to exceed two hundred
dollars, same to be paid out of funds
in the county general fund"
TO promote interest in corn con-
tests, the merchants of Canton pur-
chased a silver cup valued at one
hundred dollars, and presented it to
the Corn Growers Association of Lin
coin County to be contested for by
the different townships in the county
at each annual meeting.
In the year 1902, first began the
breeding of corn, using as founda-
tion stock corn previously grown here
in Lincoln county. In my efforts
along this line l found each year
opened up new fields Cor thought and
study. and it began to dawn on me
that in order to do this work success
fully and intelligently, it would be
necessary to have some knowledge of
the anatomy and habits of the corn
plant to be used as basis for my ex-
periments and Investigations, with
the idea in view as to how best to i'm
prove the quality of the corn as we'll
as the yield per acre on the average
field. I will here outline few Of the
subjects 1 wish to determine by in
vestigation and experiment:
1st. Why do not all stalks produce
an ear Of corn?
End. Does the amount of the fer
tility of the soil increase or decrease
the number of barren stalks in a field?
3rd. Will the pollen from barren
plant when allowed to pollenate other
plants increase the ratio of barren
plants?
4th. Why do some plants produce
a large ear of corn and others small
one? Is this condition hereditary or
is it caused by climate conditions?
5th. Why do some plants start the
growth Of two or more ears Of corn
and mature but one?
9Th. Why do not all the ear organs
or joints in plant produce an ear of
corn?
7th. Do these ear organs share
equally in the food supplied from the
soil1
Sth. Why do ears of corn always
have an even number of rows?
9th. How does the food supplied
by plant, reach the kernels?
10th. OF what use are the joints on
the shank and the short leaves cover
ing the ear of corn?
l1th. Is it possible to grow corn
plants each of which will mature
two or more ears of corn, and IL so,
would this increase the yield per acre?
While my Investigations and exper-
iments have included the foregoing
subjects, owing to the limited time
for experiments, l have not as yet
demonstrated by experiments the cor
rectnesS of some of the theories in
volved in part of these subjects In
others the experiments appear to
have demonstrated their correctness,
so will therefore in this article con-
fine myself to one certain line Of ex-
periments and give the result Of the
same.
In the fall Of 1907 l gathered three
ears Of corn grown by one plant. In
the spring of 1908 l planted these
three ears in my breeding plot in rows
by themselves. The other part of the
field was planted with corn from
plants that matured but one ear each.
The idea was TO find out by actual
test whether the plants grown from
the three ears would produce a great
er average of plants that would ma.
ture two or more ears each than
plants grown from the other seed
And whothpr tho nlaDf, that, maturaC1