The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1916-02-17
Tested Seed Corn Will
Make South Dakota Millions
Loss Of Over $S, ,0o0,0 900 Threatens
1916 Crop in State If Farmers
Neglect Testing Seed Corn

Carefully conducted termination
tests of seed corn in the state of
South Dakota this year will, if pro.
perly conducted and ears of weak
vitality discarded, make and in
crease of the corn produced that
will exceed a value of So 900, ,OOO'for
the 1916 crop. This statement
may sound phenomenal to the av-
erage farmer and corn raiser, but
it is by no means an exaggerated
statement. 1t is a matter of un-
disputed knowledge that the GER
mination test alone, if properly
conducted and it's results needed,
increase the yield of each acre of
corn planted from an IS per cent
stand to an approximately perfect
one, or increase the yield from Is
to 25 bushels to the acre.
The danger of poor seed corn be-
ing used this year is much greater
than usual, following the excessive
wet sea son of 1915. All corn ma
ture d slowly and much was cribbed
before it was ripe enough to pro.
duce vital sprout. Very little of
the corn was firm and properly
matured and a great deal was SO
wet when cribbed that it is almost
sufe it has heated and a no small
portion nodded if it were mature
enough when gathered. The South
Dakota farmer who gathered his
seed corn properly, if he has SUR
plus of such seed, has a vertible
gold mine, as it is fact a large
percentage OF our farmers winked
at the extra labor necessary in such
selecting and wintering of seed
corn.
At first thought the task of test
ing seed corn for South Dakota's
more than 100000 acres seems
gigantic, but it is not so great
when it is remembered that the
work falls on the shoulders of some
forty to sixty thous and farmers.
This means that to plant the aver
age mans forty acres only eight or
nine bushels OF tested seed are
needed. It usually takes little
less than two hours to test bushel
of seed corn, hence only some eigh.
teen hours is required to make the
test for the eight or nine bushels
required. This may be most pro-
titably done right now, while there
is somewhat of a dearth of other
duties, and when it IS considered
that this simple process alone will
add more than $50 to his annual
income, or more than $3.50 per
acre, 1t appeals to the thinking and
progressive farmer as being worth
while.
The sand box. or sawdust germi-
nator, is probably the easiest and
most satisfactory termination pro-
cess available. For this a box
about four inches deep and thirty
inches square is the most practical.
Some two inches of sand or saw.
dust should be put in the bottom
to hold the moisture and keep wa
ter from standing aronnd the corn.
A piece of Canton flannel or old
sheeting should be stretched over
the surface after being marked off
in two inch squares and the squares
numbered. Put six kernels from
each ear, take,, from various places
on the ear, in a square. Thoroly
dampen and cover, first with two
layers of cloth, then with glass or
oilcloth to prevedt evaporation.
Keep at about 60 degrees for six
days then open and cast away all
ears, the six grains of which failed
to produce vital spsout.-Grover
G. Allen, Professor of Agriculture
and Biology, State Normal School,
Springfield, s. D.
John B. Planning. resident