The Sentinel=record., 1912-09-29
IN IS THE KING
 OF ALL CEREALS1
1lE INTERESTING FACTS OF $ THE GREAT AMERICAN
 CROP AND ITS USES.
l14&4oe of One Cent a Bushe Means |A $25, ,ooo, 900 to Farmers of
 United States.

<rt1 1ti athEs tfbt GtOnOIllit lUIDOti pf corn may be had by reali- S1fiQ4 that in the United States it ex- Hed9 in acreage, yield, and value ss oats. barley, flax, rye, buck 46t and potatoes combined
 S@H Increased value'of one cent per 0{I46el would mean an additional ln- come to the farmers of the United { &fafes of twenty-five million dollars, while an increased production of but one bushel per acre at fifty cents DOT bushe would add fifty million ao'lars annnallys to the national wealth.
 In addition to it's magnitude the <fop is important because of the wide sfange of industries in which some por- ton of the corn plant plays more or }ess important part. In fact, it may 4Imost be said that there is no indus zlfry into which some product or )y- product of the corn plant does not s|enter. Therefore, any conditions Swhich effect the production of this king of crops are of interest to every tcitizen of the United States.
 Each spring many farmers discover when if is too late-tIhat their seed corn either fails to germinate or pro- duces but weak growth. They must either pay high prices for viable seed, which may or may not be acclimated and adapted to their conditions. or by means of laborious tests they may pick out such of their seed as will at least come up.'
 The corn crop of 1912 is now prac- tically made and the time for select ing seed for 1913 has arrived in the southern sections and will reach even the latest sections of the United States some time in October. Unless sufficient seed corn is selected at the right time in the right way, there will be the same deplorable situation next spring-ag when it IA too lateas there has been at each pre- J yious planting time
 With very few exceptions the best possible aeed may be selected on the farm on which it is to be planted. and by carrying out the following instructions, issued by the office oi Corn investigations, of the United States Department of Agriculture. each farmer may provide himself with an abundance of seed of the highest productivity. for planting n 1913. X The process of seed selection is of too great imporantce to be conducted incidently while husking, and in many localities If selection is delayed until husking time,e the vitality of the seed will have already been injured by Il early freeze. As soon, therefore, as the crop ripens go through the fieid with bags and Ihusk the ears from those stalks which have produced best without having had any special advantages, such as space, moisture or fertility. Late maturing plants with ears which are heavy because of an excessive amount of sap should be egnored
 in the Central and Southern States, other things being equal, thick stalks are preferable These permit ot thicker planting, are not so easily blown down and are usually more pro- ductive than slender ones. The ten dency to sucker is hereditary. Other things being equal seed should De taken from stalks having no suckers
 The same day that the seed corn IS gathered, the husked ears should be nut in a dry place where there IS good circulation of air. and placed m snch a manner that the ears do not touch each other If no previous ar rangements for caring for the seed have been made the ears@may be sus' pended with binder twine, tying them about two inches apart The tWlne will support fifteen or twenty ears.
 If this method can not convenient be followed, tables may be impfoyiss, by placing boards across boxes or bar rels. These boards should be dry an' not too wide. and should be spaced one or one and half inches apar' The seed ears can be put on these ta bles using care to have them sprea' cut to insure good circulation air among them. Ii will be adyisani to move the ears a couple of times a intervals of about two days, when mrs put on the tables.
 Whichever method is used the see should be placed in a shed or puidlh having good circulation of ar, all where 1t will be protected from ra' and excessive cold, as well as irol rats and mice.
 Do not store the seed in celid The driest cellars are too damp an1a. not afford free circulation oi a' Do not store the seed in room
 which there will be yapor to col dense on 1t and prevent US drynl as in barn over stock, or in an ou house used for washing. etc.
 If seed corn is stored property
 should be thoroughly dry m IT.
 three weeks in the South to elg
 weeks in the north, and fl kept .
 1t will be safe from injury except
 insects and vermin. In the hol
 the ears may be left where they w
 dried In regions where seed corn
 damaged by weevils or grain mo.
 1t should be packed in boxes ,s .
 treated as described In Farmers ?
 lctin 415, entitled Seed Corn
 By the proper selection aud care
 seed corn, as outlined above, the yl