Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1915-12-15
circle Of moisture about the plant to
assist in its growth.

assist In Its growth.
Joe was we'll tired out when he cot
through fixing the corn and hired Link
to plow out the Mexican June corn,
give the cotton a dose of fertilizer and
throw some more dirt toward it and to
assist In cutting off lot Of sweet po-
tato vines. which were hauled to the
pig lot to give Mike and John L. some
green food. The rest of the vines were
thrown back without cutting on top of
their rows and final blowing and hill
ing given the potatoes.
In about a week the tiny ears of corn
on the stalks in the prize acre began to
show. The additional roots were now
striking into the fertilizer. One could
almost see the corn growing, and on a
still, quiet night person could actual
~ hear It, faint, gentle Whispering
rustic as the leaves gradually unfolded.
Here and there the tassels began to
show, and the pink and white silk of
the young ears was growing longer.
The time to use the nitrate of soda
had arrived, and it was applied pre-
c1sely as the fertilizer had been. except
that Joe took rake and merely abrad-
ed the crust Of ground on the hills so
the nitrate could be absorbed more rap
idly. In addition. this working would
not tear and break natures arrange
ment Of rootlets as deep blowing or
hoeing would do. Four days after the
nitrate was applied the field was in full
tassel.
Joe admired the beautiful pink silk
on the ends Of the corn ears greatly.
One day he was looking at tassel on
top of the stalk when one Of the manv
honeybees scrambling busily around
dew. and the motion and air from the
wings Of the insect caused faint puff
Of very fine yellow powder to drop
from the tassel and float downward in
the still air.
he looked the matter up in his book
that night and found that the real
blossom Of the corn is the tassel; that
the tassel Is composed of hundreds of
oblong little cups open at the outer
end. the other being attached to the
rib. or stem. which in turn grew from
the main stem Of the tassel.
He found that this yellow powder
was the pollen. This was shaken out
of the blooms by the wind, by bees
and other insects and fell of it's own
weight until some of it was caught by
the waving silk. which was slightly
damp and gummy to make it stick.
Each strand of silk he found con-
nected with grain of the embryo
or tiny corn. Each strand Of silk was
a sort Of above ground root formed for
the express purpose of catching bit
Of the pollen powder. When the pre-
cious grains fell upon the silk it was
absorbed, transmitted to the tiny grain.
which then grew into perfect one.
In this way the grain of corn was
pollinated. one of those mysterious
and wonderful requirements of nature
the exact secret Of which and precise
reasons for have never yet been re
vealed to man. Certain it is, however.
that II the pollep with fts hidden and
life giving element does not fall upon
the silk of the ears there will be no
corn except imperfect, dwarfed grains
of no vitality. After the beautiful silk
has performed its life work it turns
brown and blackens and finally dries
up completely.
One more application Of nitrate three
weeks later in order to give the plant
abundant. strength to mature the grain
and JOe's work with the corn was end
ed. Time and nature alone could do
the rest. e
Full Of: the idea Of breeding a better
variety. Joe provided himself with
some strips Of white cotton cloth about
foot long and an inch or two wide.
Then row by row he systematically ex.
amtned the cornstalks. hin by hill: In
the first row he found ten stalks with
three ears on the stalks. the third be
Ing unusually imperfect About the