The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1912-08-15
OUR TEACHERS DEPARTMENT
Edited by Prof. Charles ID. Lewis
The Seed Ears Story

cannot see my body anywhere except
at the end where iS grew fast to the
stalk. In most cases a little of the
Cob Mans body shows at the tip,
hut mine is covered with nice fat
grains. In that way l could hold much
more corn"
my rows are ell straight, too,
and run my whole length. This, also
enables me TO hold more grains"
"If you will take me up and try TO
bend or twist me, you will find an
other good thing about me-
/ did as he suggested, and found
that the whole ear was almost as SOL
Id as a stone.
do you know why am so solid?
II is because my grains are packed
so full of food fer the babies wrapped
in them, that they are pressed tight
ly together. II you will notice. their
shape you will see that they are
like little wedges, wide at the top
and narrow at the bottom. That
makes them fit close all along. All
fine ears have their grain like that.
See how long they are, too. ! have
more corn on me than many ears
that are larger than am.
Another reason why the farmer
selected me was because ] grew
close to the stalk on short shank"
ayes" | replied. Il noticed that,
and also that there was another ear
on the stalk, almost as large as you
are"
my people all do that way when
they arc well fed" he answered.
only a few used to do it, but for
years this farmer has been going
through his fields each fall as ne
did to-day and taking the finest ears
from the best stalk that had two
ears on them. or course children are
like their parents, so from year 10
year we have become more and more
like the corn he wants us to be. 4
pays him well to do this, for we now
give him ten to fifteer bushels more
corn to each acre than we did when
he began to care for us in this way"
"All Of the corn babies in my
grains are not of the same kind ex-
actly. Some arc better than others.
| suppose IL is that way with all
children. II you plaIt them you should
go through the field and take your
seed from only the best Of them
again next fall. Some may make ears
that are real Scrubs" for mother
still has little bad blood in her."
"Our farmer treats US well in
other ways. too. Did you notice how
soft and fine the soil is? And there
is not a weed anywhere. He plows
the ground deep and breaks all of
the clods up before he puts the seed
In. Then he only stirs the top Of
the soil enough to kill the weeds
and keep the Watorboys from flying
away, so that our roots are never
harmed. They scarcely ever strike
a clod, so that they can go as deep
as they like hunting for food.
Besides this he never plants us
twice in the same field without grow
ing some other crop in it for two or
three years. One Of these crops IS
always Glover or some one of the
Glover family, and they take food
from the air for US, you know. Then
he always feeds every bit OF our
stalks and leaveE end grain to his
animals, and they make great
loads Of manure which he puts on the
land for u.s."
l do not know how much longer
he might have talked, had not the
farmers dog barked at this point.
The noise seemed to brighten my Lit
lie Cob Man friend, for his face dis
appeared and I never saw him again.
Though he was gone. I have never
forgotten his story or the vision Of
his happy little face. I often think
OF him as l see fields Of corn grow
ing or loads OF It taken to market
always remember the work Of the
Cob men. bearing upon their bodies
the Corn babies with the food that
Mother Corn nroviies for them