Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1916-02-25
TEST SEED CORN.

trictS the last corn crop from Wn1cn
seed for the coming planting will be
taken was late in maturing or so moist
when harvested as to call for special
precautions. A high moisture content
makes seed corn particularly suscepti-
BILE to damage from freezing or heat
ing. Farmers in the sections where
corn failed to ripen normally VINO do
not tsso their seed early enough to be
able to replace their own bad seed with
good seed secured from other sources
will be taking an unnecessary risk. 1t
is also especially important for hold
ers of seed in such districts to take
unusual care during the remainder of
the winter to protect it from freezing.
While complete testing for germ'na-
ton should take place shortly before
the seed is planted, the specialists OF
the department believe that it will be
simple forehandedness for farmers who
have any reason to be doubtful about
the viability q their seed to make
preliminary terminating test with
few typical ears taken at random from
the rack. If these reliminary tests
show that the seed is good, the owner
then can continue his precautions to
guard it from weather damage. Ii,
however, this test with few ears in
dictate that the seed is of low vitality,
the farmer should at once make fur
Their tests to satisfy himself as to
whether his seed corn generally is
good or bad.
If a farmer finds his seed is bad he
should take steps at once to meet the
difficulty. The purchase of seed should
not be delayed till spring, especially
when so much corn in varions sections
has been damaged. The farmer should
secure his seed from well known
sources, buy it upon a terminating
guaranty basis, and get his seed or
typical samples early enough to make
his own terminating tests. 1t is pro-
bable this year that many farmers
who have not followed the wise prac-
tice of selecting enough special seed
from good crops to last them In an
emergency for two or three years will
have to buy seed. In buying seed,
farmers should try to secure corn OF
varieties known to prosper in their
section. The safest seed would be that
carefully selected from good corn
grown in the immediate neighborhood,
but at any rate effort should be made
to obtain seed grown in districts
where climate, soil and farming con-
ditions in general are similar to those
at home.
If the farmer happens to have
stock of seed left over from the 1914
crop and doubts the seed saved from
his 1915 crop, he would do we'll to
test the older seed also and then use
whichever shows the greater vitality.
Seed corn if properly cared for will
retain it's vitality for several years.
Many farmers knowing this always
select an extra amount ofseed from an
unusually good harvest.
The following method of testing
seed corn is taken from Farmers Bull
letin 7O4. The corn is placed on dry
ing racks made by driving wire finish
ing nails about 4 inches apart on four
sides of stick. A number rs placed
over the nail and the butts of the ears
are put on the nails. If wire fencing
or other seed racks are used, the ears
can be mum bered in other ways.
In single ear testing, two kernels
from opposite sides of the ear on the
top, two from the middle, and two
from the butt are put in umbered
squares or portions of terminating
boxes or other testers. The kernels
are kept moist at a room temperature
not above 90 degrees F. nor below
so degrees F. After six or seven days
the seed should begin to sprout. Only
those ears from which all the kernels
give strong sprouts should be reserved
for planting,
Under ordinary circumstances, it
may not be absolutely necessary to
test every individual ear. If large
of typical ears show germinat-
tests as high as 81 per cent, the seed
in general may be considered good.
Under the unusual conditions prevail
ing this year, especially in neighbor-
hoods where the corn did not mature
it should well repay corn
grower to test every ear that he in
tends to use for seed. If he has any
reason to doubt the quality of his indi-
vidual stock, the ear-by-ear testing is
simply a form of labor and crop in
surance.
Before testing termination, the
farmer should examine each ear and |
throw out all the ears which do not
look right or which have several
or damaged kernels. He
shorld strive 10 make up his seed from |
ears which in size and appearance |