The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1911-09-06

'c VI Hieu-uHl size, ABOUT one half
the diameter Of the ear at dis
lance Of one-third from the base.
and the length Of the ear should be
about FOR times It's diameter Extra
large or extra long ears should be
avoided as much as small ears.
The grains Of the ear should be
of uniform size and should fit snug
y. They shoulc be fairly long, near
~ faj on the sides and slightly
tapering on both edges. The dent
should be only slight and the outer
ends should be We'll filed out and not
chaffy
The Seed Patch.
When ready to plant, select from
this lot as many ears as are necessary
for the seed patch, of as nearly uni
form color, shape, and size as pos
sible. Remove the imperfect and ir-
regular grains at tip and butt and
plant the remainder in carefully pre-
pared ground. Have the seed patch
as far removed from other cornfelds
as can be, so as to avoid mixing.
Give this patch special care and cul-
tivation, and practice the same care
in selection each year. The patch
should not be too large; one-fourth to
one-half acre is ample for the aver
age farm. After making final selec-
ton for the seed patch. the remand
er Of the selected corn can be used
for the main crop. BY keeping I'D
this practice of selection from year
to year a wonderful Improvement can
be made in the yield and quality of
corn.
It has been demonstrated that. all
other conditions being equal. an
average increase in the yield over
common corn of from three to five
bushels per acre can easily be made
the first year. AS the whole crop is
improved, Of course this rate of in
crease will not be so rapid. but if
persisted in from year to year the
careful selection Of seed will have an
ultimate marked effect upon the corn
yield.
How the Farmer May Profit by Seed
Selection.
The farmer who follows this prac-
tice of seed selection persistently will
not only be repaid in the increased
yield of his corn, but he will soon
find that he can command quite a
premium for it from his less pro-
gressive neighbors by selling it to
them for seed at a price much great
er than ordinary seed corn COM
mands. The satisfaction of know
ing that he has a better corn for his
conditions than can be purchased
at any prce will be an additional
compensation.
The South is in greater need Of
improved varieties of corn than is
the case with any Of her other crops.
Cotton has received fairly good at
tention, but the corn crop has been
sadly neglected. Our people are be-
ginning to realize its Importance, and
quite a remunsrative field of indus
try awaits the farmer who will make
a business of raising reliable seed
corn. Owing to the fact that corn is
so easily influenced by a change Of
climate and soil, the field for this in
dustry is very broad and is not likely
10 become crowded.
termination Test For Seed Corn.
great amount Of trouble in Sc
curing stands from all purchased
seed, and especially that Of corn. is
due to the fact that much seed so OBJ
tanned is of low vitality When it is
necessary to purchase seed corn. the
seller should always be required to
guarantee a termination of 100 per
cent. Always buy seed corn upon
the ear; then you can form some idea
of what is being purchased. After
wards test its germinative powers as
follows:
Have an ordinary box about IL
inches wide, Is inches long, and IL
inches deep. Put into the bottom s
inches of horse dung, wetting it we'll
and packing it into the box On top
of this place 2 inches Of well damp
ened sandy soil and fit a piece Of
muslin or thin cloth into the box on
top of this. The muslin should pre-
Viously have been marked into /
inch squares with a pencil or
ink. these squares being numbered.
Now number the ears to be tested to
correspond with the squares. Take
three grains Of corn from each ear.
one near the butt one at the mid