El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-09-03
Senior Dor1inguez, First Farmer Of1lexico
A Setting To thea
By MunP eddnt Texas Dr. Farming Congress-
By Martin, President Dry Farming Congress

, generate if piled in a barn Therefore.
! ST.. Dominguez gathers his seed corn
! before the frost and shucks it. Then
/ he fastens the ears together with a
| cord and hangs them up inside some
/ building so that there can be a free and
complete circulation of air In this
manner the ears are preserved in the
best possible manner for the spring
planting.
Testing the Seed.
Then before planting, every ear is
tested thoroughly. Sr. Dominguez con-
I tends that an ear of corn has three
growths-that is that the pollen feeds
the ear at three different stage-so
when 1t comes time to plant, he takes
each ear and removes six grains of
corn-two from the large end two from
about the center and two from the
small end. These grains of corn he
puts into small tin cup. made espe-
cialIy for the purpose and by means
OF spike in one side OF the cup,
fastens it TO the ear of corn. Over the
three grains in the cup he puts sand
and on this he pours water Then the
ear is hung up and if in five days all
six OF the grains have terminated and
show 2 healthy growth he selects the
ear for seed corn. If any of the grains
nave failed to come up or if any of
them do not show a healthy growth.
the ear TO which the cup is attached
goes into the hog pen
The process is not so very slow and
In this manner, the planter is able to
select only the very best ears for seed
corn This is a matter to which Ameri~
can planters give very little attention.
but it is worth their while, as the
senior explained, for, says he, do you
not have to cultivate every row of
ha
CARELESS Of the regularity of your
stand? Then why not test the seed and
be certain that the stand is going to
be perfect? From the very start. you
can guarantee yourself a third more
corn to the acre than in the old method
of planting the first ear of corn YOU
come to, perhaps after its terminating
qualities have been ruined by exposure
to the cold or heat"
Preventing Degeneration.
But this is not all ST. Domingue5
goes further and raises corn especially
for seed-and he tells you why he does
it and explains it in such a matter OF
fact way that you wonder why the
American farmer has not thought of II
long ago Says Senior Dominguez:
1T is a well known fact in the hui
man and animal race that interbreeding
causes degeneration. The law pro-
cattle breeders are very careful not to
allow any inbreeding-bu the farmer
does not give as much attention to his |
corn. 1t is deserving OF the same con- |
Now, when we plant an |
ear of corn, every stalk of that ear is |
from the same mother and therefore. /
the stalks should not be allowed to in /
terbreed if you would have the best re- /
suits and obtain the healthiest hardest |
Therefore, I of
corn in one row and another ear in an |
adjoining row; then I cut the tassels 1,
from the stalks in the first row and /
allow the tassels of the second row to
feed the ears on the first In doing
this, ! also leave the ears on the sec
ond row. but 1 never take seed corn
from that row; l feed it to the hogs
get the seed corn from the first row
the detasseled row-which has been fed
by the tasSels from the other row.
Thus. l prevent ''inbreeding' OF corn
and get the very best results in the
preparation of seed for the next year.
Prevents InbreedinE.
Even after this system. Senior Domin-
guez selects his seed corn by the tests
already referred to- He saws. in ex-
PLANTATION Of his system, that the silk of
he corn is the sister and the tasseI
& the brother" both springing from
the same HmOther"-originaly the grain
and later the stalk. BY allowing the
brother" tassel to feed the sister"
silk, he says the ear of corn is bound
% degenerate just as the human or
animal race would degenerate under
ike conditions. 1t is to avoid this
hat he detassels the stalk which he is
% use for seed corn and that he
hrows away the corn produced upon
he stalks where the tassels have been
eft OF course, he cannot treat his en-
ire fields Of corn in this manner and
lie permits inbreeding" in the fields