The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1916-03-10

H
than others. Some corn plants
are stronger and more vigorous
than others, and the ears from
such stalks will give larger
yields. AS the SOW which gives
but small, weak litters of pigs
is gotten rid of, so should all
ears which do not show good
producing powers be done away
with. To do this, field selec-
tion and test of each ear Sc
lected must be done.
No corn should be gathered
for seed until it is mature. 1t
is a good plan to go through the
field before time to make the
selection and study the different
stalks and become familiar with
the type to be selected. By all
means decide on the type and
stick to it. The character of
stalk will be our first consider
alton. Then the environment of
that particular stalk. There is
danger of selecting from stalks
which have had a better chance
than others. This should not
be done. Select only from stalks
which have an even chance. Sc
lect from the average land and
not from the best. The stalks
should be strong, with wide rath-
er than narrow leaves, and ta-
pering gradually from the
ground to the tassel. The shank
should be of medium size and
Just long enough to permit the
ear to turn down as the ear ap-
proaches maturity. Tall, weak
stalks should be discarded, rs
the ears on such stalks are us
ually high up, making the corn
more difficult to pull, rs we'll rs
making the stalk more easily
blown down by the wind. An
attempt should be made TO Sc
ect stalks with ears not more
than shoulder high. One should
not overlook the suckers. They
produce no corn worth while
they merely use up food and
moisture which otherwise could
go to increasing the vigor or
the stalk and the size Of the ear.
At least twice as much corn
should be selected than will be
reeded. If the corn is to be cut
end shocked, or the fodder pull
ed, all selected stalks should be
marked and the corn pulled when
1T has matured.
After the selected corn has
been pulled and taken to the
barn, there is still much to be
done. Not only must we see
that it is taken care of through
the winter, but each ear must
be examined carefully for a fur
ther and closer selection. It
should be stored in dry. well
ventilated, room out of reach of
rats and mice, and watched
closely to see that the weevils
do it no damage. 1t is well to
put all the ears in a tight box
and fumigate them before put
ting them away, and at inter
walls, if necessary, to keep out
the weevils.
Before planting time each ear
must be closely studied and all
defective ones thrown out, only
the best saved. First select the
ear which most nearly repre-
sents the type wanted, as to
shape of ear and type of kernel,
and then with this ear in our
hand, compare all the others
with it, one at a time, until a
sufficient number have been Sc
lected. To make the work easy.
a long table, or a wide board. of |
sufficient length to spread the
cas- out in rows should be used. !
There will be a wide variation
between some of the ears, but
by no means vary from the chos-
EN- type more than possible.
In examining the ears more
closely there are several points
to be considered. First, true
ness to type, shape, length and
weight of the ear; size of the
cob; size and shape of the grain. |
The shape of the ear should be
a cylindrical and gently taper. !
ing from butt to tip. The rows
straight and with the least
amount of space between the
rows. The length should be of (
a good average or better Tho