The times-herald. [volume] (Burns, Harney County, Or.) 1896-1929, 1912-09-28
SSyny seed Corn
In The Northwest


ing on seed corn should not be
forgotten. The difficulty of get
ting seed corn and its cost in the
spring of 1912 should be remem.
bered. II would be interesting
to know, could it be known, how
much the Northwest lost the past
season because of the poor quail
ty of the seed corn. The first
cause of this condition was the
large amount of rain and damp
ness in the Northwest but that
was only one cause.
The other cause was that the
farmers did not save the seed
that was sufficiently mature and
dry it as it might and ought to
have been dried before the cold
weather came. While much Of
the crop was immature, enough
Of it was ample mature to have
furnished a sufficient supply of
good seed for the crop of 1912
had it been properly saved.
Three things call for attention
when saving seed corn. The
first is to select the good ears of
the first ripe corn, the second is
to dry the corn thoroughly in an
airy place, and the third is to
have it thoroughly dried before
freezing weather comes.
BY selecting the first ripe good
ears; the maturing of the corn is
FASTENED up to a certain limit.
Corn thus saved will also mature
earlier than corn of the same va
riety that has grown further
southwark and that has had a
longer time in which to mature.
Such seed will also be more rug
ged than seed grown further
south. Saving seed thus has an
important bearing on the success
of growing corn in the future.
Seed corn must be dried where |
the air can circulate freely around /
1t. Hung up in an attic in a way
that prevents the ears from
touching is a good way. 1t is
better if they are suspended so
they will not touch any object.
various ways of doing this will
suggest themselves, as by the
aid of racks or by contrivances
for suspension underneath the
ceiling. The air circulation
around the cob carries away the
moisture. The corn thus may or
ought to become thoroughly dried
before the winter sets in. Should {
t not be quite dry when cold
comes, artificial heat
ihould be provided. .
1t is not easy in all instances
o tell when the corn is sufficient Il
y dried and therefore, the aim p
hould be to keep it in place II
through the winter not subject p
extremely cold weather. This 81
important and should never be
verlooked. An ample supply
hould be saved, as it may be
ecessary to discard some ears
hen the test is done in the
bring.
These remarks are intended to
d the individual farmer who is OF
wing his own seed. The saving
seed for the market is more pl
aborate process. 1t involves
e use of a drying house and TO
tificial heat where a large guam IN
y is to be saved. Nothing,
Iwever, should hinder the farm 40
from saving his seed corn.
is then independent of the oti
arket. When it is considered Gel
at only small amount relative
is wanted for each farm, the Ro
ne should not be grudged that
spent in saving the seed. are
Corn may be plucked for seed 10
er it has become thoroughly
.zed. The outer covering of gre
ear. that is the husks, will be OF
uming a yellow tint. Should toV
st strike the crop before it is n
ture, then the aim should be Dao
get it from some neighbor's cha
d, if this plan is feasible. On Il
account should the farmer neg ior
to give attention to this work. lai
action taken this fallin saving II
will largely determine what Dull
corn crop shall be next year. gro