The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-03-14
or breeding.

say it is the only day 10 op'aln 80
stock. Some people detassel onns .be
tain rows. while others de-.ass .assaI
.no,a Mot. Now, if | should de1a,'5
Whoie ~ eald from ". nee WouIu
= cnrn pct anW pollen, when = 80
: for the making OF Tue
have always been tausn.c that
Won are wrong in suppua e all :
any one advises the $50 could
49, corn for in that case theio ,na
corn made. 1t has beeh 49,
- where plants OF the same SUI.
-. 4bare is an invigoratlon " 49,
nrogeny. and the eaf-fo~ - in
heen devised for the pufpos aa+aa
surine the crossing. AioT tier
nana aach ear selected. Lacn
lloih 80 e called the sire row., ana Is
a,5o,xod TO ripen pollen. The al'eihaee
49,. y tho dam rows, and THESE a.
da-ta sselled so that the poiIen me-
come from the sire rows .an
cod IS Ia ken from the rows de-.os
cd For a time this IS q Socu -
but if kept up with the saIne win
,.orn for any length OF tune you VIZ
no ;n-hreeding in the closest sort u
a To keep it up, it IS necessary
- cot the sire seed ANNUALLY iioN1
corn grown Inc ps,
has been to study the results N CO.
dam row, selecting seed from the lonS
tba+ have made the greatest yleiu-
XIII 1t NOhll ne -
and study the individual plants ana
no eco which particular plant IN the
row, had by it's greater proililcaSs
made the difference. for every gran -
The SEED ear may have had q oliieien'
sire and inherited different chaiac1ei
istics. for the ear is a great assiesa
ton Of individuals, and not ltseI
merely an individual. The great
error in breeding, I think, has peen
from considering the ear as an lnui-
yidral and neglecting to study the re-
suits from each grain on the eaI, ioi
these are the individuals. lhen'
again. as to insuring the cross. IN
anv plantation Of corn general cioss-
ing is the rule rather than the eN-
cention. If YOU plant a single stalk
Of corn away from any other Stalk
Won will get little corn. tor the W3nd
blows the pollen away and 1t does no.
fall down on the pistils. the silks anu
if each silk does not get pohen az eiie
right stage in its growth. it VIII 10.
make a grain or fru't' 1or cor. ; n.y.
merely a seed, but the ripe fruit OF an
individual flower. Now, in the corn
field the wind blows q shower OF poi
len in every direction. and the SILKS
are pretty certain to get fertlllzeu. !
have had just as good results from
planting q seed patch. and Simply
watching it and removing the green
ldSStiS tIo1h eN>AS i
show silks. and from every plant tina
does not come somewhere near the
Ideal plant that | am trying to bfeeO
to as a type. Then, for further seed
plot planting, 1 AXE the stalks that
come nearest my ideal as an entire
plant, taking into consldefatlon tnt
prolificacv of the plant. its stature ane
general character. In fact, l breed e
ideal plants rather tina simply idea
ears. l breed four bushels Of corn pc,
acre, borne on plants OF the best stat
ure, short jointed and leafy, with ear
nearly half way betWeen tasseI an
ground. I want to develop first
prolific character and a good style o
plant, and having established thu
heredity. l can pay attention to tn
style of the ears.
A good medium length of ear
desirable, but an abnormaiiy long ed
is a rogue. and / would not use 1t 10
seed. / would rather have a Wei
filed ear with a little snout at tn
tip than one with grains all over IN
tip, for that will tend to make tn
z shorter and shorter. I wan
a medium-siZed cob, large enough I
carry at least sixteen rows. rathe
than a very small one that IAN ni
carry eight rows, or an extra lars
one hat makes shallow grains.
want deep grains, not too pointed +;
the cob, but fitting Well between til
rows all the way down. and deep.
want a white cob for White corn an
a red cob for yellow corn.
Now, / will get more crossing
taking sire and dam from diffcTel
parts of the seed patch than by breet
inc so closely as the ear-roW methc
will soon make. In fact, as l ha
often said, in breeding corn we nlu
study the whole plant and its cha
acter, rather than ears alone and N;
is the fault of al 1.-The ear-corn show
the prizes so merely to the best eaI
and the judges know nothing aboi
the heredity of the corn. nor the sly
of plant tina produced it. It Won
be great Improvement to have shos
Of corn plants entire. We could tn
learn something of it's character tn
We can not learn in an ear-ShoW.