Charlevoix county herald., 1915-10-02
We MUST STUDY THE STALK
Whom You Gather Seed Corn, Study
the Root System, Foliage, Stalk,
Husk and TasseI-Pick Ears Of Me-
dIum Hight on Stalk With Short
Shank.
BY p. G. HOLDEN, Agricultural Ex-
tension Department international
AaruAsAar Ha.ananu az Al

be considered In connection with the
stalk as have been discussed with re-
gard to the ear; though 1t will be i'm
possible to give to the subject the
space 1t deserves.
| There are the root system; the char
acter Of the foliage, and Its distribu-
ton on the stalk; the disposition to
sucker and to set several ears; the
length Of the shank, the time of pollen
alton as compared with silking; sus-
ceptibility to disease such as rust.
smut and mold; tendency to break
over at the roots, below the ear and
above the ear; premature ripening,
leaving the ear light and chaffy; the
position Of the ear on the stalk, high,
medium or low; erect or dropping;
the way the ear Is covered with the
husks and the comparative maturity
OF the different stalks and ears, etc.
The great majority of corn raisers
do not take these things into consid-
GRAFTON. They simply save the occa-
sional good ear throughout the husk-
ing season or pick them from the crib
at planting time.
We must know the stalk upon which
the ear grew, whether the stalk was
the only one in the hill or one of
three stalks.
How Is This to BE Done?
There is just one practical way to
do 1t, and that Is to go into the field
In the fall, before the nights are cold
enough to injure the vitality of the
corn, and select the best ears, pro-
vided they come from strong, healthy.
desirable stalks. We simply must come
to this method Of selecting our seed
corn.
Strong Stalks.
The stalk from which an ear is Sc
lected should be strong, vigorous and
healthy, indicating ability to win in
the competition and to overcome I'M
favorable conditions. We should dis
criminate against spindling stalks. es-
pec'ally those that are small from the
ear to the ground. Particularly should
we avoid those stalks which have
shown their weakness by breaking
over. The ear Is likely to rest on the
ground and gather moisture and mold.
Height Of Ear.
Select ears from as nearly the same
height and position on the stalk as pos
sible. The higher growing ears will
tend to make the corn later each year.
II we go to the other extreme we
will soon get an early, small, slim.
flinty ear, with shallow kernels and
open burrows between the rows and
the yield will be reduced.
Dropping or Erect Ears.
An ear that droops its nose slightly
as the husk begins to turn yellow and
open is preferable to one that stands
erect, allowing the water to run down
under the husks and stand at the butt
Of the ear, which of course is unde-
sirable. The dropping ears are gen,
orally little earlier than the erect
ones.
Short Shank Desirable.
The ear should be set on short
shank close to the stalk. Ears on long
shanks are more likely to be broken
OF and are nuisance to handle, espe-
cially II the corn is cut and shocked.
Freedom From Disease.
The stalks should be free from dis
ease such as smut, rust, mold, etc.
have seen cases where nearly every
stalk coming from a certain ear was
affected, and so badly affected that
there was not a good ear on any Of
the 500 stalks.
Foliage, it's Character and DlstrIbu-
tion.
A thin, sparse foliage Is never desir-
able. 1t carries with 1t nothing but
weakness. In the corn belt where the
ear is the most valuable part Of the
plant, we should secure the kind Of
stalk and foliage which will give the
greatest profit In grain. This will not
be secured by heavy foliage. The best
results will be between the two ex-
tYemes.
Two Ears to the Stalk Not Desirable.
Except possibly In the case of flint
varieties and the early northern dent
varieties, which are grown for the
fodder, 1t will be advisable to select
seed from one-ear stalks.
Covering Of the Ear With Husks.
A heavy mass of husks on an ear or
the projection of the husks beyond the
tip of the ear into a tight point are OBJ
jectionable; they prevent the corn
from drying and make It more difficult
to husk. The husks should Just fairly
cover the tip Of the ear and should
!. loosen or open at time of ripening. to
allow circulation Of air in order to dry
out the corn.
Lice.
Lice on the husks will cause the
shucks to turn yellow prematurely. In
selecting seed do not mistake this yell