The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1916-01-13

morse IN tnere working havoc sent O.
cold chill down Toes back. Nj
The two stopped at the fence and
listened In the dead stiffness.
There was q cautious r,lstling,. faint
but plain. 1t was q sort OF whispered
rustic that a person could sense more
than he could hear.
q "Hear that! That's 1t! Some O.
them pesky calves in there!' excitedly
urged Mr.. Weston.
The sibilant rustic was heard again.
In fact, 1t never seemed to stop. Oc-
casionally there was a louder noise.
Joe laughed.
That's the first time / ever heard
corn grow! he said.
Heard it grow? That's the first /
ever heard Of that sort OF foolishness,''
snorted his father.
That's what l said-heard it grow.
That noise is just the unfolding Of the
leaves. The rain is furnishing plenty
of moisture and the sap Is rushing up,
and the leaves are simply opening fast
-tassels coming out, and all that"
"Ill believe mighty near anything my
son says about corn, but blame my cats
If l 60 that far as to say I heard corn
grow! said Mr.. Weston, with much
distrust in his tone.
"All right, then. What makes that
rustling in there?'' asked Joe.
"Pesky calf-or-or jay birds roostin'
in 1t, Or-Or wind" He ran out Of con-
lectures.
"You know it amt possible for q calf
to be in there because we been all
round the fence; it's tight, and the gate
is locked. Now, cut out the calf sug.
gested Joe.
"Well, how about jay birds or wind,
or varmints?" asked Mr.. Weston hope
FULLY. He was determined that 1t
should not be unfolding corn leaves
that he heard.
did you ever hear of jay birds roost.
ing in corn-honest, now? 2" insisted
Joe.
We'll, don't knows l ever did,"
All right; jay birds and calves are
out of the question. Do. you feel any
oASSAO " AuCtlC CAS GUILT
"N-no-b'lieve not" said Mr.. Weston.
He was being hemmed in and knew it.
There never was a calmer night-not'
a breath of air stirring. ~
Nov the wind is out of the question
too. Listen! Hear that?" They lis
tened again. .
Sounds like the whisperin' in that
Dig seashell when you hold it to your
ear" said Mr.. Weston.
"Ain't a thing in the world except the
corr growing-leaves unfolding and
rubbing against one another as they
open-that makes that noise. So YOU
can say that you've heard corn grow.
even if you never saw it grow" sug-
gested his son.
well, live an learn" his father re-
,,sponded.
Hope to goodness we won't have q
rain for about two or three weeks
said Joe. "That corn is fine, and if we
nave a nice, quiet, dry spell and no
Dig wind the pollen will fall plentiful
from the tassels to the silk, and the
ears will be seeded plumb to the end,
good fertile grains. Wet weather lust
at tasseling time is bad for corn. II
is always better if the weather is dry
and STILL"
I've heard old farmers say that. but
they didn't know the reason" said Mr.
Weston. 49,
, II there's much wet weather or
wind about tasseling time the pollen
from the tassels don't fall on the silk
evenly. That is necessary to make q
perfect grain. There's a strand of silk
Tor each grain. Unless that strand gets
pollen on it, no grain. Rain and wind
wash the pollen away before it gets
on all the silk"
That makes hubby corn?" INQUIRED
his father. Joe nodded.
It the weather had been ordered
especially for the corn it could not
have been any finer. It was exactly
three weeks until a gentle, slow rain
fell one night.
my crops made; it's made" re-
joiced Joe when he arose the next
morning. Grains all formed; now
plenty OF moisture to fill 'em out;
crops made, I tell you, and it's going
to be a whale of a crop, believe me"
Looks like the season come just
observed his mother.
Couldn't be BETTER" admitted Joe.
His effort at seed selection was bear.
ing fruit. He had saved the seed from
the stalks with the most ears on them,
and in the crop coming on there was
at least a third Of the crop with three
perfectly developed ears on each stalk,
probably fifty stalks with four well
developed ears and a half dozen which
showed four good ears and a rudimen-
tary ear which could In time be de-
reloped into a perfect ear.
Joe went through and marked all the
five cared stalks with q red calico
the four cared ones with a blue
strip and the three cared ones with q
white piece Of cloth.
I'm going to gather it all separate
w. he explained to his father. These
few stalks showing the five ear tend