Daily capital journal. (Salem, Oregon) 1903-1919, 1914-09-26

following season. At this time
the seed Is most abundant and the
very bost can be obtained before it
has been in any way reduced in vital.
tty' Many let the opportunity pass, ex-
Pecting to purchase their seed corn in
the spring, but the Department of
Agriculture's specialist in charge of
corn investigations advises that the
autumn is the best time to select good
seed.
The best place for the farmer to OBJ
tain seed corn is from fields on his
own farm, or in his neighborhood, that
were planted with variety which
has generally proved most successful
in that locality. Of course, if a com
munity has an experienced and honest
corn breeder on whom it may rely, the
seed corn may be obtained from him,
The corn breeder who has demon
Btrated year after year the superiority
Of his corn will demand a special
price for his superior seed. Such corn
breeders are improving corn as cattle
breeders have improved cattle. He has
used special methods that farmers gen.
orally have not time TO apply. Five
dollars a bushel is not too much to
pay and will be a profitable bargain
for both parties.
What Is Good Seed Corn7
By far too many consider seed good
simply because it viii grow. To be
first class, seed must be:
Q) Well adapted to the seasonal
and soil conditions where it is to be
planted.
(9) Grown on productive plants of
productive variety.
(3) Well matured, and preserved
from ripening time till planting time
in a manner that will retain its full
Yigor.
The Importance of the three require
ments just enumerated has been demon
Btrated experimentally by the Depart
ment's Office Of Corn Investigations.
The results given briefly, as enumer-
ated, are as follows:
Q) For series of five years, IL
well-bred varieties were tested in 10
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 high
est yielding rows of ear-to-row breed
ing plats have repeatedly produced bet
ter than seed ears taken from poorer
yielding rows. Seed ears from the best
producing stalks found in a general
field produced moro than seed ears
taken without considering the pro
duetiveness of the parent stalks.
(3) Four bushels Of ears were di-
vided into two equal parts, one part
being well taken care of and the other
placed in barn as corn is ordinarily
sribbed. The well-preserved seed gave
q yield ON poor soil 12 per cent high
er than the poorly preserved and 27
per cent higher on fertile soil, notwith-
standing the fact that both lots of
seed gorminated equally well.
Seed Gathering Special Task.
At corn-ripening time drop all other
business and select an abundance of
seed corn. The process is too impor-
tant to be conducted incidentally while
husking. When selecting seed corn give
the process your entire attention. Get
the very best that is to be had and
preserve II well, and your increased
yields viii return you more profit than
any other work you can do on your
farm.
The only proper way to select seed
corn Is from the stalks standing where
they grew, as soon as ripe and before
the first hard freeze.
As soon as the crop ripens, 60
through the field with seed-picking
bags and husk the ears from the stalks
that have produced the most corn with
out having any special advantages,
such as space, moisture or fertility.
Avoid the large ears on stalks standing
singly with an unusual amount Of space
around them. Preference should be
oivan the plants that have produced