Middletown transcript., 1915-02-27
GOOD SEED-BIC CROP

good sCanos Oh CURL a SOVu
stand of corn is necessary to secure
good yields. There is always much
doubtful seed corn in the country, and
one cannot afford to plant corn without
testing. The single-ear method of test
ing seed corn is the only practical me-
thod.'' Exchange.
No farmer in this day of much light
should need to be told that great care
in seed selection is a matter whose i'm
portance can hardly be overstated. And
yet how few farmers give this first step
towards securing big corn crop even
one half the attention and care its i'm
portance demands!
Foundations are always vital. A lit
tle-nay, a miatte-error there, is of
vastly more consequence than big blum
ders later. So, too, haste or small
care in the choice of seed will result in
greater harm to the crop than poor cul-
tivation or a bad season. A few hours
spent in a careful selection and germin-
alton test of the seed is worth days of
after tillage.
Here is an illustration of how it pays
to be thus ''everlastingly particular"
in this matter of selecting and testing
seed corn. "Isaac S. Long, of Lebanon
County, who raises the largest crop of
corn on his magnificent Lebanon
County farms, and who is great au-
thority on growing corn, maintains
that corn intended for seed should be
kept ms a moderately warm place, at
least wIfgre it can't freeze. MIR. Longs
crop this year from 80 IL acres was
1O,7OO bushels of shelled corn"-North
American.
The Transcript is unwilling to admit
the inferiority of the soil of New Cas-
tie county to that of Lebanon County,
or the brains of its farmers to those Of
the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Therefore we believe what one lie.
banon County farmer has done hun
dreds of Delaware farmers can do. il
they will take the same pains that far
mer Long took in three things. l. Sc
lection and care of seed. 2. testing
seed. 8. developing seed-with, o.
course, the same careful tillage.
The average yield in some of the bes
Counties in Pennsylvania is from so tt
80 bushels per acre-which is mucl
better than the average national yielt
of only 27 bushels. But farmer Lonl
surpassed the best Pennsylvania stat
average almost two times, and the av
erage throughout the whole countr!
five times.
This feat of raising 10, 1000 bushel
of corn from 80 IL acres grows bigge
the more you examine it. One need
to analyse the thing to appreciate full.
the enormous advantage resulting from
the new scientific farming methods.
l. Farmer Long planted no NOR
eooI oo,-v, kbov, kba foVv,,av xuho rate Q
bushels where he got 1892 bushels t
the acre.
2. His preparation of the soil, plant
ing and tilling cost the same.
8. To get the same number of bus
hels of corn, the average farmer woul
have to prepare, plant and till 1886 l.
acres!
Therefore for one fifth the cost
seed, manure and labor farmer Lon
got as much corn from 80 1-2 acres g
the average farmer gets from 1896 1.
acresI
Sounds like a fairy tale, but is
''hard cash" fact just the same.
Yet farmer Long is no "superman
no agricultural genius born with two {
three faculties where the ordinary ia
has but one. "Then how did he do it?
some of the Transcript farmer reade
ask.
Here is his recipe; That of tt
painter Opie, who when asked how
got his famous colors replied: II m
my brains with my paints" So v
say here, if our Delaware farmers W
initiate farmer Long and mix the
brains with farming they too will get
wonderful crop returns.
NCREASE OF GRIMES