Evening star., 1911-01-30

growers. the suggestion was along the
same line as the nationwide movement
on the part of rural schools, agricultural
nigh schools. collegiate short courses for
farmers and farmers extension depart
ments to teach the selection of seed corn.
To plant more than 100000 acres this
year required a storing Of tens OF mil
lions of bushels of seed corn. 1t is esti-
mated that 50O.OOO.OOO bushels of grain
will depend upon whether the seed Sc
lected was of good heredity and so pre-
served that each kernel will grow
X *
One Of the greatest gifts with which
nature has endowed corn is the ability
to enrich its
Rotation Of Crops own soil. In
Necessary to Success. ~ ro,st;on m De,t ~
crops on corn land is necessary at less
frequent intervals than almost any other
product. Indeed, some lands are not en-
tirely impoverished by yield of corn for
thirty successive years. And even on the
land where rotation is desirable at inter-
walls OF three or four years the crops
which restore the soil are those which are
fertilizer is thus supplied through these
One of the leading figures at the Column
bus exposition will be Eugene Funk.
president of the exposition company, and
the largest individual scientific corn
grower in the world. Mr. Funk is the
head Of a famous family Of corn growers
and breeders whose holdings comprise
more than 25.OOO acres in Illinois. 1900
acres of which are devoted to the culti-
walton Of corn. He and his brothers have
been interested for years in the work Of
propagating a harder and fuller grained
ear of corn. What he will have to say at
the exposition will be followed with the
keenest interest by his associate corn
growers.
An interesting contest between the two
great varieties of corn-the dent and the
fint-is apt to take place during the ex-
position in Columbus. Until the last year
the showing made by the dent corn was
invariably superior to the flint variety.
but at a New England corn show held in
Worcester, 41ass., in 1910 o movement to
have the corn tested by the dry substance
vention of the Department Of Agriculture
the percentage of water was determined
and deducted from the grain. After this
process IT was found that the flint corn
first victory for this variety in the history
Of agriculture in New England.
+ 4
The invention of the Department of
Agriculture for ascertaining the amount
of water in
Necessity the Mother the grain was
Of Useful Invention. the necessity
to determine the moisture in corn
designed for expectation. 1t was ex-
pedient to know how much water va
rioIs grades of cereals contained, and
whether it was SO great as to cause decay
during the long periods of transportation
across the seas. The process includes
boiling in Oil, drying and reweighing.
Efforts are being made to utilize corn
permaking has grown to be a very serious
proposition within the last five or ten
years, following the rapid exhaustion of
the supply of spruce and poplar forests.
Chemists are bending every EFFORT to dis
cover a means of adapting the great corn
seemingly insurmountable difficulty, how
ever, lies in the fact that the stalk is
made of two primary substances, one
fibrous and the other non-ffbrous cell
lulose. The chemical treatment necessary
to reduce the fiber properly is too severe
for the non-fbrous cellulose. which is
overlooked and partly dissolved, resulting
in low yields of weak paper.
The most practical use to which the
cornstalk has Deen put Is as a cellular
layer underneath the armor of battle
ships. When the armor is pierced and
the projectile goes through the cornstalk
layer the water causes the cellular parti-
cles to expand, thus closing the hole and
temporarily keeping out the water.
Tomorr0w-THE CONSULAR SERv.