Newell reclamation news. [volume] (Newell, Butte County, S.D.) 1910-19??, 1916-03-23
BY p. c. HOLDEN, Agricultural E


Harvester Company of N. J.
The character of the stalk should
be taken into consideration IL select
ing the seed
There are almost as many things to
be considered In connection with the
stalk as have been discussed with re-
gard TO the ear; though 1t will be i'm.
space 1t deserves.
There are the root system; the char
acter of the foliage, and its distribu
ton on the stalk; the disposition to
sucker and to set several ears; the
length OF the shank, the time of pollen.
alton as compared with silking; sus.
ceptibility TO disease such as rust,
smut and mold; tendency to break
over at the roots, below the ear and
above the ear; premature ripening,
| leaving the ear light and chafIy; the
| position OF the ear on the stalk, high.
medium or low; erect or dropping;
the way the ear is covered with the
husks and the comparative maturity
OF the different stalks and ears. etc.
| The great majority of corn raisers
do not take these things into consid
GRAFTON. They simply save the occa
sional good ear Throughout the husk
ing season or pick them from the crib
at planting time.
We must know the stalk upon which
the ear grew, whether the stalk was
| the only one in the hill or one OF
three stalks.
| How 10 This to Be Done2
There is Just one practical way to
do it, and that Is to go into the field
in the fall. before the nights are cold
enough to injure the vitality of the
| corn, and select the best ears. pro-
vided they come from strong. healthy.
desirable stalks We simply must come
to this method Of selecting our seed
corn.
| Strong Stalks.
The stalk from which an ear Is Sc
lected should be strong. vigorous and
healthy. indicating ability to win In
the competition and to overcome I'M
favorable conditions. We should dis
eliminate against spiudling stalks. es-
pe~'ally those that are snail from the
ear to the ground. Particularly should
we avoid those stalks which have
shown their weakness by breaking
over The ear is likely to rest on the
ground and gather moisture and mold.
Height Of Ear.
Select ears from as nearly the same
| .ctf ho ta1
sibIe The higher growing ears will
tend to make the corn later each year.
| II we 60 to the other extreme we
will soon get an early, small. slim.
fiinty ear. with shallow kernels and
| open burrows between the rows and
| the yield will be reduced.
Dropping or Erect Ears
An ear that droops Its nose slightly
az the husk begins to turn yellow and
open 10 preferable to one that stands
erect. allowing the water to run down
| under the husks and stand ar the butt
| Of the ear which of course ID unde-
sirable. The dropping ears are gen
orally q little earlier than toe erect
Onae.
| Short Shank Desirable,
| The ear should be set on short
| shank close to the stalk Ears on lont
| shanks are more likely to be broken
| of and are q nuisance to handle, espe-
cially II the corn II cut and shocked.
Freedom From Disease.
Tho stalks should be free from dis
| ease such as smut. rust. mold, etc
| have seen cases where nearly every
stalk coming from a certain ear was
| affected, and SO badly affected that
there was not good ear on any OF
| the 500 stalks.
Foliage, IT, Character and DIstribw
ton.
A thin. sparse foliage il never lestT.
able. It carries with 1t nothing but
weakness In the corn belt whore tn.
ear 10 the most valuable part Of the
plant, We should secure the kind Of
stalk and foliage which will give the
greatest profit in grain. This viii not
be secured by heavy foliage. The bet
results viii be between the two -
tremes.
| TWO 60TO % THO olatR ENOt 0vosFaU sU
| Except possibly in the case Of flint
varieties and the early northern dent
varieties, which are grown for the
fodder. II will be advisable TO selss'
seed from one-ear stalks.
Covering Of the Ear With Husks.
i "A heavy mass Of husks on an ear o.
the projection OF the husks beyond thu
tip o. the ear iltc tight point are OBJ
jectionabie; they prevent the corr
from drying and make It more difiicul
to husk. The husks should just fatril
cover the tip 0: the ear and SHOULD
loosen or open at time Of ripening. q
allow circulation Of air In order 70 dr.
out the corn.
III Lice.
81 Lice on the husl-s VIII cause -
ishucks to turn yellow prematuroly. I
teelectins seed 70 not mistake this ~
1su eep1ltion for oaziy dponlne