The Elk Mountain pilot., 1915-03-04

grow and give some returns with lot of neglect
1T gets it.
In respect is the average farmer more
careless than in his choice of seed and this may
be said to be the prime essential. The farmer Is
plowing. manuring. performing all the operations
from planting time to harvest. year after year.
and with some of these he takes considerable
pride; for instance know farmers who are per
feet plowmen; they know 1t and are proud Of their
SKILL but these same farmers are hidebound in an
old custom of throwing their corn in their crib
Just as 1t Is husked. and when they want seed In
the springtme they go to the crib and pick out
sufficient likely ears from what are left to meet
their needs and let 1t go at that
1t is an enigma how a man can be skilled as
a workman in many respects. and yet absolutely
inert to OF the most vital phases OF securing
perfection in that work. 1t needs no argument.
for 1t has been demonstrated over and over again
that the breeding of plants can be followed with
much certainty to results as the breeding OF
animals. Then why not do 1t? The only added
equipment which nine out OF ten require is the
exercise OF more intelligent care and precision
in some of the details.
1t seems strange. but 1t is nevertheless fact.
that most farmers are aware OF what may be done
in plant breeding. and know the general prnci-
pies. but they will not wake up to practice OF
them in their own interests
II we to increase the corn yield we have got
get 1t in the breed 1t is not in the SOIL or fer
tilizer. the weather. or in any other factor,
important though each may be. The first essen
tal is to breed up corn for points with the same
care given to animals fowls Type. quality.
stamina, prodpctiveness etc. must be known. must
be sought for and improved with each season II
is not enough to pick out perfect ears or such as
may be attractive at harvest time. 1t is necessary
that one shall know the plant that produced the
ear. and all the conditions of its growth and en-
vironment.
There many mysteries to be solved in this
question of seed selection with the view to breed
Nf Nv
experiments in this direction will indicate some
of the difficulties to be met with In husking the
in the fall 1 came across Just one stalk con-
tanning two earsN 1t was the first had ever met
with, though upon inquiry find that farmers do
frequently come across such twoeared stalks.
though they never pay any attention to them. but
throw them in the crib with the others
1t occurred to me. however. that 1t would be
well to plant from these two ears and endeavor to
raise a twoeared crop. One was of good
size and the other about two-thirds as big. Weigh
ing them the large one weighed IA ounces and
the small one 91a ounces. The large ear was an
average such every stalk carried Ihus
this particular plant gave 9lt ounces Tore than
any other plant. This gain would mean almost
a ton more to the If the corn could be bred
to yield two 1t would mean even more II
the two ears could be made to attain a good size
instead of one being large and one small, as N
this case.
The corn was of variety called yellow flint.
obtained originally of nearby farmer. From
these two ears selected $50 kernels, discarding
the butts and tips. The field in which this was
planted was fall plowed and dressed during the
winter with a liberal application of high quality
of stable manure, as keep such in a cementbot-
toned pit. The two-eared seed was planted at
one end of the main field. 1t should of course
have had separate plot, and it may be that the
tendency to revert to one ear was due in part to
its contiguity to the ordinary corn
The $50 kernels made 21O hills. Fourteen failed
to come up probably being eaten by
mice The termination showed very strong vital
ity However, of the 616 stalks. all from the
two-eared seed, only 1876 stalks produced double
ear About one-hfth.