Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1912-04-03
SELECTING SEED CORN
Expert Gives Advice Upon Important
Topic.
HOW TO MAKE A SIMPLE TEST.
Editor of Iowa Homestead Gives
Method Employed by Him
in Thousands of
Cases.

Seed corn and where to obtain a
supply is the topic of the day, and
the discussions on this subject are
not confined to those who expect to
grow a crop of corn this year. Merch-
ants in towns and cities are showing
serious concern about the matter,
and well they may, because in the
grain belt agriculture is the basic
industry, and corn is it's chief corner
stone. We have no fault to find with
the preacher when he importunes the
members of his rural flock to test
their seed corn because the saving of
seed may be included in the plan of
salvation as well as the saving of
souls. When the railroads spend
large sums of money in operating
special trains, run for the purpose of
generating enthusiasm among farm
ers on the matter of seed corn test
ing, they but pay a compliment to
those engaged in the great primal
industry, knowing we'll that their
own prosperity depends wholly upon
the farmers success.
Under the circumstances, there
fore, no apology need be offered
when the subject of seed corn testing
is approached by one who has tested
thousands and tens of thousands of
ears with his own hands. We come
with no salt to rub into the bleeding
wounds of those who have been chas-
tised for their 'carelessness in not
saving the seed early last fall Our
plan is 10 help the man on an eighty
acre farm or the quarter or half sec
ton, or what ever the case may be,
to find enough good seed to plant his
acreage this spring. and if We are to
take the word of those who have had
experience in handling seed corn on
a commercial scale we must conclude
that the supply of seed must actually
come very largely from the cribs The
manager of one seed house that
probably handles more seed corn
than any other firm in the world,
says that his representatives have
been in every state in the corn belt,
and, after making a thorough exam
ination, frankly confess that where
the supply is to come from is a ques-
ton and it would appear that many
farmers will be obliged to plant corn
which does not come up to the actual
requirements" He further states
that his firm has less than one-third
of the usual supply.
This means that it is useless for
the great majority of farmers to ex-
pect to be able to purchase seed from
any source whatever, and realizing
this the task should be taken up at
once of finding vital seed by employ
ing a rigorous system of testing
We do not have any pet scheme
for testing corn. The matter is so
simple that we have always claimed
that every farmer possessed ingenu-
ity enough to plan out a system of
testing his corn in the ear that would
result in the elimination of every
thing weak or dead, and the saving
OF only the vital seed. Possibly the
simplest of all methods involves the
use of shallow box filled with
earth or sawdust, and the placing of
the kernels in a systematic order to
correspond with the ears from which
they have been taken. The box shown
in the accompanying illustration is
four inches deep and thirty inches
wide, and 1t may be any length de-
sired. Two or three inches of soil is
placed in this box, after which it is
blocked out by the use of marker.
This simple device stamps the sur
face OF the soil full of holes, one inch
deep. These holes are one inch
square, and they are two and one
half inches from center to center.
This means that each row across the
box will take care of the kernels
from ten ears. If no racks are avail
able in which to place the corn, it is
a simple matter to begin In one cor
ner of the room in which the testing
is done, and place ten ears side by
side. The kernels from these would
occupy the first row in the box of
soil Then place ten more ears on
the floor and from each of these take
six kernels and drop them into the
space in the second row in the box.
This process may be carried out until
the box is full, after which cover the
kernels with soil, place it in a room
where the temperature does not get
lower than fifty or sixty degrees, and
where it reaches a temperature of at
least seventy during most Of the day,
and in very few days you will be
able to determine accurately just
where your good ears are. as we'll as
the location of the weak and dead