Charlevoix county herald., 1914-10-03
Autumn The Best Time
To Select Seed Corn

successful in that locality. OF course,
if community has an experienced
and honest corn breeder on whom i
may rely, the seed corn may be OBJ
tanned from him.
The corn breeder VINO has demon
strated year after year the superior
ity of his corn will demand a spe-
cial price for his superior seed. Such
corn breeders are improving corn as
cattle breeders have improved cat
tie. He has used special methods
that farmers generally have not time
to apply. Five dollars a bushel is not
200 much to pay and will be a profit
able bargain for both parties.
What Constitutes Good Seed Corn?
BY far too many consider seed good
simply because it will grow. To be
first class, seed must be:
CD Well adapted to the seasonal
and soil conditions where it is to be
planted
(2) Grown ON productive plants
of productive variety,
CD We'll matured, and preserved
from ripening time until planting
time i'm a manner that will retain its
full vigor.
The importance Of the three re-
Quircmcnts just enumerated has beer
demonstrated eXperimentally by the
departments office Of corn invcsti-
cations. The results given briefly, as
enumerated, are as follows:
G) For a series Of five years.
twelve well-bred varieties were test
ed i'm ten northern states, equivalent
lots Of seed being used in each state.
Varieties that produced most in some
states were among the poorest in
others.
(2) Seed ears taken from the
highest yielding rows Of ear-to-ear
breeding piats have repeatedly pro
duced better than seed ears taken
from poorer yielding rows. Seed ear.
from the best producing stalks found
in general field produced more than
seed ears taken without considering
the productivencss of the parent
stalks.
80 Four bushels Of ears were
divided into two equal parts, one part
being well taken care of and the
other placed in a barn as corn is
ordinarily cribhed. The wcll-pre-
served seed gave yield on poor soil
- per cent higher than the poorly
preserved and p per cent higher on
fertile soil. notwithstanding the fact
that both lots Of seed terminated
equally well,
Seed Corn Gathering Should BE
Special Task.
Al Ccrn-ripening time drop @'}
other business and select an abUnd-
ancc of seed corn. The process j. too
importan, to be conducted incident
ally while husking. When selecting
seed corn give the process your en-
tire attention. Get the very best tina.
is to he had and preserve it well, and
your increased yields will return you
more profit than any other work yoJ
can DO on your farm.
The oily proper way o select seed
cora - from the stalks standing
whore they grew, as soon a. ripe and
before the first hard freeze.
As soon as the crop ripens. go
through the field with seed-pickinE
bags and husk the ears from the
stalks that have produced the most
corn without having any special aG
fertility. Avoid the large ears on
stalks standing singly with an ur-
usual amount of space around them.
Preference should be given the plants
that have produced most heavily IN
competition with a full stand of less
productive plants.
In all localities the inherent tend
cncy of the plant to produce heavily
of sound. dry, shelled corn is of most
importance.
Late-maturing plants with ears
which are heavy because of an Excess
sive amount of sap should he ignored.
Sappiness greatly increases the
weight and is likely to destroy the
quality. In many sections this fact
is not sufficiently appreciated.
In the central and southern state,
all other things being equal. shoI'.,