Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1913-04-30
HIGH-YIELDrNG SEED CORN.
Methods of Cultivatsng and Harvest.
ing Fully OuHined.

clal: NO one knows the pedigree of
most Of the seed corr planted In
South Carolina and with an average
yield per acre of less than twenty
bushels, it e not appear to have
a very high-yielding quality.
To have good seed one may start
at the crib or in the field before the
corn crop is gathered, and, as 1t Is
best to start in the field, we will start
there.
A number of characters indicate
whether corn will yield we'll or not,
and also whether 1t will transmit it's
qualities u rs offspring or not. CYL
indical ears are better than tapering
ones. Deep wedge-shaped grains are
preferred above shallow, wide grains
and straight rows and well-filled tips
and butts are preferred. Pure bred
corn will transmit better than corn
Of mixed breeding. Stalks that make
good yields under normal conditions
are preferred to stalks with similar
yields, but with more space or other
especially favorable environment.
Good yields may be had both with
one-eared and with prolific varieties,
but Southern growers are partial to
a prolific sort, as an average OF two
ears to the stalk meets the demands
for prolificacy. This paper will deal
produce two ears to the stalk under
normal conditions.
The Field Work.
When the corn is mature and
shows fully what it's characters are,
go through the field selecting from
two rows at a time. One may select
from five to ten acres a day. Select
only from stalks having a normal
mount of space and other conditions
that influence the yield. Select only
from prolific, healthy stalks bearing
the desired number and type of ears.
Let the a be the right height
from the ground, as the height of
the ear has economic value. In the
same way consider all important
qualities, that car only be observed
in the field. The characters of the
ears themselves can be further stu
died at the barn, but the stalk char
acters must be studied in the field
before the ear is gathered. Select
about two hundred of the very best
ears from the very best stalks for a
competitive ear test and about thir-
ty ears for every acre that is to be
planted next season. One hundred
ears will be ample for the earliest
and fifteen ears will furnish enough
seed to plant an acre, so that the
field selected corn can be further
studied and only the best half of it
used for planting. Take the one
hundred best ears and number each /
so hat 1T may be identified at any
time. Plant only one-half of each
ear in a test plot so managed as to
give each ear an equal chance with
normal conditions for all. Let every
row have the same number as the
ear from which it was planted in or
der that it's yield may be credited !
to the right ear. If this test is pro-
perly made it will show the relative !
yielding power of the one hundred
ears used.
Carefully save and protect from all
harm the n hundreds half ears not
planted. The ear test will show
some of these half ears to be very
valuable. If these half ears are lost
the ear test will practically be with
out value.
In managing the earliest plot it is
best to have two rows for each ear
tested. one row being towards one
side Of the plot and the other row
towards the opposite side. The OBJ
ject being to give every a an equal
chance and the Irregularities OF the
soil on any plot may be better check
ed with two rows than with one.
So pillow, harrow, cultivate and fer
tilize as to give the entire plot a good
chance, but nothing more than this.
You want to know what these ears
will do under normal conditions and
whatever differences in yield that
may appear should be due to the
seed and not to any other factor.
From the termination Of the seed
to the matured crop note the behav-
ior Of the corn from each row, as the
object of the test is to determine the
best. Obtain the yields accurately.