The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1913-03-26
Seed Corn.

Seed Corn.
Now don't laugh. 1t has occurred
to us that it is quite likely that some
of our readers, who are sure their
seed corn is all right, have failed to
see it or to heed it by testing their
corn and ascertaining definitely
whether it is all right or not.
If you have not tested, do 1t now
and find out. 1t won't hurt you to
know the truth. We suspect it is all
right. We hope it is all right. We
believe that in most cases it is all
right; but neither hope nor expecta-
ton nor even belief will take the
place of definitely ascertained knowl-
edge. Therefore, test it.
Some of you may find that you
were mistaken; that while your corn
will terminate, it will terminate
weakly. The young plant will be born
tired and never make much progress.
You had better not waste your time
planting that. Convert it into pork
or dairy products or wool or horse
flesh or feed it to the chickens, but
don't plant it. Don't do this, however
until you are sure you can get some
thing that will grow better.
Some of you will be buying seed
corn. Permit us to repeat the advice
we have given for ten years past; and
that is: Buy corn adapted to your lat
itude. Corn is a queer plant. 1t is
adapted to a very wide range of Gull
tivation; grows anywhere from four
teen feet high down to two or three;
has ears weighing from a pound and
a half to four ounces. 1t has adapted
itself to a wide stretch of country, and
in doing so has made the notifications
above indicated; but it does not make
these changes suddenly nor quickly
The work of so-called acclimatiOn-
which is really not acclimation at all,
but adoption to conditions, is a grad
ual process
Corn brought from distance, no
matter how good the seed may be and
more particularly from distance
south, but even from the east or west,
least it has seemed so to us-during
the growing season. 1t is not at home
and is trying to find out just what
kind of a country it is in. Therefore,
if we could get good seed corn from
good corn growing neighbor, whose
land was similar to ours, we would
buy it in preference to CHANGING any
thing from a distance.
The Kansas Experiment station
worked this thing out very thor
oughly. 1t brought corn from differ
ent sections east in the same latitude,
but found that it never did as well
the first year as the corn grown in
Kansas; and we may safely express
the opinion that the corn grown near
est the station for number of years
did better than that grown either
east or west or south or north in that
state.
We have word to say to our
friends in northern Iowa. Don't try
to grow as big corn as you have been
doing ever since corn improvement
began. Any number of you have corn
that won't go more than No. or mo
grade" which has been disguised by
calling it sample" corn. This sam
pie" corn is not worth by 10 cents a
bushel as much as No. 2 or No. 3.
We find men here and there over
the country who have been wise
enough to quit trying to grow as big
corn as their neighbors, and have
planted a variety of corn that will
grow and certainly mature in that
latitude. Now these are the men to
get seed corn from, if you have to
buy it. If we should have a very hot,
dry season, with more rain in the
northern than in the center of the
corn belt, you will think you made a
mistake in getting this kind of corn:
but remember that you must plan for
normal seasons and not for abnormal,