The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1916-03-11
SEED CORN TESTS
FOB 30! Farmers / !. IN! !|.!|!.S|!.
superintende nt William III.
/ KendrfcIkl Sends Out Inter-
esting B Ooklet.

WiiIfam ii. Kendrick, In charge OF
the Boys Corn Contest clubs in the
state has started mis- Extension de.
partrnent INSTRUCTION by mail for far
n1ers! County Agricultural Agent H.
e. Smith Is Sending this literature to
iiis const itnents throughout the coun-
Il Is an effort TO spread the interest
ii corn growing which is the desire
Of the agricult ural department. The
paper witch has been sent out for
March isFthe; subject Seed Corn Test.
ing1 and LIS as follows:
aTfie testing OF seed corn Is one
offhefmost impo rtant things to be i'm.
pressed upon Vest Virginia farmers.
.'By testing seed corn it is possible
to iiaye an 85sper cent. stand, allow
ifR lis per cent! to be destroyed by
tffsecfs. animals and birds. AN acre
or corn planted three and a half feet
each way, two stalks in hill. So per
cent stand gives $3.50 stalks. a
six!ounce3 ear on each stalk will give
32 bushels per acre, which is four
bnsiiels above the average yield. With
$4,000 acres fn5 corn, West Virginia
would hayeS an increase Of $2,0SO000
above the present average value OF
the corn crop. In 1915, club boys test
cd their sead corn and their average
Was#7 3S bushels.
t.prepareS q box about four inches
deep and large enough to test twice
asmanyearsgas,y you will need to plant
YOUR acre: On page 20 Of the agrt-
cultural book by Soule- & Turpin, you
WfiI find the picture or convenient
seed tester. This may be simplifed
somewhat by securing a box at a near
~ store and asking the store-keeper
is give you q set of the paste board
artftitionss used in packing eggs in
cases. Place. these in the box to form
fffe squares in which to plant the
rains: Number the rows OF squares
ienEthWiseS OF the box and letter the
rows crossWise. Fill the tester with
sand.
For your acre select about forty
ears to be tested and provide inch
square cardboards to be fastened to
tie butt end of each ear, by pushing
4 nan through into the pith Of the
cob. Remove six grains from each
ear. turning the ear when removing
tie grains to that the different sides
WIN be TepreseDte Place the grains
in one Of the squares and letter the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES Gnu VI ShA az -
BIO. according to the crossing of the
Iettered and numbered rows in which
you place the grains. Continue until
youfhaYeI All the ears to be tested rep
resented IN the tester and each card
hoard marked so you can test which
eur belongs to any square In the box.
Treat every grain in exactly the same
way. Tha sgrainsSm be pushed point
downward into the sand or covered
wilma piece OF cloth. Soak thorough
Wand place inS a fairly warm room
where the temperature will not drop
below 30 degrees.
iffhe test lis made at the school and
thefpomS not constantly heated, the
testars may be placed at a nearby
home. or the :'rag doll" seed testers
my hs used.
Theae can easily be carried home
by eaeh member who makes the test
ana retpfned to- the school when the
COIN has sprouted.
After ten days have passed, discard
any aar that corresponds to q square
in your tester mot having six strong
sprouts IN &c Place the ears that have
proven good where they will be safe
rom mice and weeyils.
hest the corn you have at hand. Do
not wait for us TO send you some to
test. We test the corn sent to club
members in the S"seed corn contest"
Apri1iplanss on Seed Beds and Plant
tngs folloWsnextb month.
--=E75s--==-S5.=FS---=- ------------