Morris tribune., 1913-03-21
TEST YOUR SEED CORN
BY F. D. Hawk, Stevens Co.
Agricultural Agent.

going to plant will grow and grow
strongly.
There is no man that can tell
whether or not corn will grow strong
ly and vigorously bv the mere looking.
Com may look strong and healthy
but the only sure wsy of knowing
that those ears will grow strongly is
to test it out in some form of germ
ination tester where the kernels of
each ear may be kept separate for
reading.
An ordinary ear of corn has from
500 to 900 kernels. Each kernel when
planted tends to grow a stalk that
will prodcue an ear of corn. In other
words. "like produces like.
Did you ever stop to think that one
pad ear planted means a loss of
from 500 to 600 ears of corn in the
fall? That if two such ears are plant
ed per acre that the stand of corn
reduced IL per cent from the start.
That FIVE such ears planted in the
seed corn of an acre will reduce the
stand onee.fourth, so that with the
best of conditions and care no more
than three-fourths of a crop could
be produced.
Did you ever stop to think that
every ear Of good strong seed corn
produces. when well cared for, two
dollars worth of corn in the fall?
That for every bad ear of corn plant
. ed there is not only dead loss in the
corn itself but in time and labor ex-
pended during the year in care of
that corn as well as the price in in>
:terest on idle land.
Once We. thoroughly realize that
the average yield of corn per arce for
i. Stevens county is only 80 bushels and
at the same time we have farmers
raising 40 bushels. 80 bushels and
IN one case as high. as so bushels per
acre in field lots, We know that there
are many others who are raising less
than the average or less than 80 bus.
-hels per acre. In other words. the
less than 80 bushels per acre farmer
is raising little less than one.eighth
ounce ear Of corn to Che hill when
planted three feet. six inches apart
in the hill. If three good eight ounce
ears of corn were grown to the hill
our yield would be above ninety bus-
bells per acre. s&
At no time in the history of our
agriculture has it been SO necessary to
secure maximum returns from farming
operations as at the present time.
The successful farmer is now the 100
per cent farmer. There il no crop
the farmer raises that will give in
creased returns in proportion to care
in seed selection as does corn. Why
is this last statement true? Because
one grain or one ear or one bushel of
good corn will produce more corn than
a similar quantity of any other cereal
of its kind, will produce.
Logically. then. every farmer
should give more care to seed corn
than to any other like amount of seed.
as more depends upon it.
The only way to know that our seed
corn is strong and stands good chance
of growing is by testing. There are
a number of ways of testing seed
corn, the termination box, patent corn
testers, by the use of the rag doll and
where desired the incubator may be
used.
For the average farmer the germin-
alton box is probably the handiest
Of testers. In using this method,
take box of convenient size that
is FIVE or six inches deep. In this
box place about four inches of good
hard wood saw dust, if it can be OBJ
tanned. or any other sSwdust may be
used that has previously been soaked
for half hour in warm water and
drained. Pack this sawdust firmly
in the box making it smooth on top.
On the top of this sawdust place q
strip of bleached muslin that has
previously been marked off in two-inch
S9uafSS 0uA uu&lOSI6O COuSGCutlNOIy
1. 2, 3, A, etc. This marking may
be done with soft pencil such as the
red or blue pencils that may be OBJ
tanned at any drug store.
When the tester is ready for use
the ears of corn should be ready at the
same time. If one has seed corn
rack the ears may be numbered conse-
cutiyely the same as the squares in
the tester. l. 2. 8, 4. etc. If nc
rack is to be had. the ears may be
laid out on the floor and numbered in
the same manner. This done. take
six kernels from each ear. two kernels
from near the butt. say one and hall
inches. two kernels from the middle,
and two kernels from, the region oil
- -. q. e.