The Wahpeton times. [volume] (Wahpeton, Richland County, Dakota [N.D.]) 1879-1919, 1916-01-13
1915 SEED CORN
WILL Be PROBLEM
Rtohland County Farmers Are
Learning That 8eed Corn
% Sure 70 10 8oaroo
PRICE CERTAIN TO Be high
Many Dealers Already Say That It
Will De Impossible to supply
Tho Demand

Richland County farmers are
learning that it is going to be
hard matter to get seed corn for
the 1915 crop. II had been sup
posed that enough had been saw
ed in this immediate vicinity to
supply local needs, but it now ap-
pears that corn will have to be
imported to supply farmers in
this vicinity. Where to get it is
becoming a question.
Local dealers say they can now
furnish a limited amount, and the
price, which now stands at from
81 to $3.50 per bushel, is slated to
go much higher. The big seed
houses in the larger cities admit
that the supply is short and pre-
dict that the scarcity will grow
more apparent from day to day.
Some of them are already finding
it difficult to get enough to supply
orders already in hand.
TO the farmer readers of the
Times, the following extracts
from an article by Prof. Holden,
corn expert with the International
Harvester company. may prove Of
interest. showing. as they do. the
best practice to follow in select
ing seed corn. Prof. Holden says:
Select the best ears. if you
have not already done so, and
string them on binder Irvine and
hang up.
''Do not store seed corn in
barrels or boxes. 1t will gather
moisture and mold or freeze. Do
not store over the laundry or over
the stable. DO not put immature
or freshly gathered seed corn in
a warm room, on the floor. or in
|piles. 1t will either sprout, or
Pnould, or both. IT should be hung
Ipp at once. and the windows open
ed to allow the frost circulation
of air. DO not depend OH the crib
for seed corn.
"Onc day devoted to the seed
corn. at the proper time, hlay be
worth more than an entire month
of hard work next summer put on
a poor stand of corn.
''The attic is a good place to
hang up The seed corn. There
should be IL circulation of air
through the rOotn. \ space three
by eight feet will hold 200 strings
of corn, twcIv" Io fifteen ears to
each string. or about enough to
plant 200 acres.
"lIrrc- ruurtl> of his corn
may he discarded after testing,
but there will still hr enough seed
to plant fifty acres. more Than
/ he average acreage on each farm
There are several INFECTIONS TO
hr avrra"" cellar. II is apt to b.
too damp, and the corn must be
we'll dried before putting in the
cellar. and it must be corded up
"r put i'm pile. but hung up.
1T is only good business to
know that the seed THAT We put
into the ground will grow: and
the only way We can tell good
seed is by testing it. We can't tell
by merely looking al it. ii we
want profitable yields we must
plant good seed.
'TIr ten million acres Of corn
planted i'm Iowa every year, are
grown on 2l7,OOO farms, am ave.
age of about forty-siX acres to
the farm. IL will take about 600
ears to plant forty acres. Twenty
four hours time of one man, two
days work. will test six kernels
from each ear TO plant forty
acres. Yet. because il is ''too much
bother we pick out GOO ears, look
at them, guess that they will grow
and plant them. As a consequence
more than twelve acres out of
each forty acres of corn planted
in Iowa produce nothing. This
is worse than useless, because
we must plow. plant and culti-
vate these twelve acres and get
nothing in return.
''By testing we get rid Of the
bad. weak and moldy ears. Test
ing does not hurt the corn. It
costs but little work, and can be
done at a. time of the year when
other farm work is not pressing.
BY testing we have everything to
gain and nothing to lose.
''In the winter, during a slack
season or in the early spring,
from February goth to March Goth
select the best ears from the corn
you have stored in the fall and
get ready to put them through
the test.
1.-The sawdust termination box
is no doubt, the best method for
testing seed corn. It costs MOTH