St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-03-08
NORTHERN SEED CORN
Suggestions for Relieving Present Sit
uation and Guarding Against Flu
ture SHORTAGES of Supply.


Suggestions for Relieving Present Sit
uation and Guarding Against Flu
ture Shortages of Supply.
The frequent shortages of seed corn
in the Northern States are becoming /
more serious as the Importance of the /
crop in this area increases says the |
Weekly News Letter Of the Depart
ment of Agriculture. In 1908 the
acreage of corn in the northern tier of
States-New England. New York, |
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, the
Dakotas. Montana, Idaho, and Wash
ington-was 6,716,152 acres. Last
year it was 11.121 900. If the industry
is to continue to grow, say specialists
in the department. more attention
must be paid to the seed supply. and
the attempt to grow varieties which
require long season in which to ma
ture must be abandoned.
Varieties must be found or bred
which will make a rapid growth and
mature in the short period between
the last killing spring frost and the
first killing fall frost When man aids
nature by selecting and preserving
seed only from individuals which show
promise, in several years the habits
and characteristics can be changed
considerably. and perhaps a variety
which at first failed to mature may
be SO changed that it becomes suit
able.
Even when a variety has been thus
adapted to locality, so that it win
mature under ordinary conditions,
there will come seasons so unfavorable
that it will not mature. If only one
years seed supply is gathered each
year, all the work of adoption is lost.
The proper way is to gather enough
from a good crop to supply seed for
two or three years hereafter. Good
seed will keep without depreciation
this long.
Go out into the cornfield before the
first killing frost, gather good supply
of the best ears to be found on stalks
growing in competition with others;
hang these ears up. in some place
where they will be protected, but at
the same time have a good chance to
dry out quickly; when dry enough to
shell, do so, and put the seed away
where it will not be exposed to too
great changes in temperature and
moisture. Any man can follow the
simple directions here given and plant
his fields every year with good, vigor-
Gus growing seed which he knows is
adapted to his farm.
case of avoiding trouble, rather than
trying to remedy the trouble after it
has arrived. If no seed of the 1914
crop is available, the farmer is in bad
shape. He must purchase his seed,
and in doing this he is in grave dan
ger of obtaining either poor seed or
seed of late-maturing varieties.
Homegrown seed that has been
well cared for, even though it was not
thoroughly mature. is almost certain
to give better results than imported
seed. BY homegrown seed is meant
seed grown on the farm, or in the
same county, or where the same gen.
eral conditions affected the crop. The
point to be emphasized is that the
farmer in Minnesota or North Dakota,
should not send for seed grown in
southern South Dakota or Iowa. If
this is done, the crop resulting will
almost certainly be immature next fall
when it is necessary to harvest.
An exception to this may be the dry
land portion of the more southern
States The corn growers there are
confronted nearly every year with
drought. In order to grow corn at
all, it is necessary to grow early-ma-
turing varieties which will make"
before the drought occurs. Some ex-
cellent crops were secured in 1915;
but in some instances good crops were
secured from varieties which are not
early maturing and therefore not well
adapted for northern planting. Too
much care can not be exercised in
learning the facts before purchasing
seed corn there. This seed will be
widely offered for sale this year.
There are certain localities, even in
the most northern States. where corn
did mature sufficiently to provide seed
for 1916. 1t is possible that the 1e-
partment may be able to assist farm
ers in obtaining seed from these
sources. In this connection IN ap-
peal is made for every grower of
northern seed corn, having good seed
to sell, to furnish the Office of Corn
Investigations of the department with
his name, address, name of variety
price, and amount of seed for sale. A
generous response will aid the depart
ment in relieving the present critical
situation.
Surprising results have been obtain
ed by the Office of Corn Investigations
with seed which was very immature
when gathered. Even if your seed
was in the soft dough- stage when
gathered last fall, if it was promptly
dried and well cared for, it will germ
mate and reproduce well enough to
make, it preferable to southern seed.
Attention also is called to Farmers
Bulletin AIS, entitled seed Corn, ;"
which treats the subject in more de-
tail.