Devils Lake world. (Devils Lake, N.D.) 1914-1915, 1914-09-10

w
tumn is the best time to prepare for a
profitable o crop for the next year.
At this tim ethe SEED is most abun-
dant and the very best a be OBJ
tanned before it has been in any way
reduced in vitality. Many let the op-
portunity pass, expecting to purchase
their seed corn in the spring, but the
Department of Agriculture's SPECIAL
list in charge of corn Investigations
advises that the autumn is the best
time to select seed.
The best place for the farmer to
obtain seed corn is from fields on his
own farm or in his neighborhood, that
were planted with a variety which has
generally proved most successful in
that locality. Of course, if a commun-
ity has an experienced and honest corn
breeder on whom they can rely, the
seed corn may be obtained from him.
The corn breeder who has demon
strated for year after year the super
iority of his corn will demand a spe-
cial price for his superior seed. Such
corr breeders r improving corn as
cattle breeders improve cattle. He
has used special methods that farmers
generally have not time to apply.
Five dollars a bushel is not too much
to pay and will be a profitable bar
gain for both parties.
By far too many consider seed
good just because it will grow. To
be first class, seed must be
(1) Well adapted to seasonal and
soil conditions.
(2) Grown on productive plants
of a productive variety.
(3) Well matured, and preserved
from ripening time till planting time
in a manner that will retain it's full
vigor.
The Importance of the three requir-
ments just enumerated has been DEM
onstrated experimentally by the De-
partment's Office of Corn Investiga-
lions. The results given briefly, as
enumerated are as follows
(1) For a series of five years, IL
well-bred varieties were tested in 10
northern states, equivalent ,ots of
seed being used in each state. Varie-
ties that produced most in same states
were among the poorest in others.
(2( Seed ears taken from the
highest yielding rows of ear-to-row
breeding plats have repeatedly pro-
duced better than seed ears taken
from poorer yielding rows. Seed ears
from the best producing stalks found
in a general field produced more than
seed ears taken without considering
the productiveness of the parent stalk.
(4) Four bushels of ears were d.
vided into two equal parts, one part
being well taken care of and the other
placed in a barn as corn is ordinarily
cribbed. The well-preserved seed
gave a yield on poor soil of ~ per
cent higher than the poorly preserved
and 81 per cent higher on fertile soil:
Notwithstanding the fact that both OF
the seeds terminated equally well.
At corr ripening time drop all other
business and select an abundance OF
seed corn. The process is too import
ant 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 it well, and your increas-
ed yields will 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 az the crop ripens, go thru
the field with seed picking bags and
husk the ears from the stalks that
have produced the most cqrn with the
same advantages, such as space, mois-
ture, or fertility. Avoid the large
ears on stalks standing 'singly with
an unusually large amount Of space
around them. Preference should be
given the plants that have produced
most heavily in competition with q