The Democratic banner. (Mt. Vernon, Ohio) 1898-192?, 1918-03-05
Samples From Knox County
Show About Al Percent
Good
FARMERS HEAR TRUE
SITUATION AT INSTITUTE
Dairy Problems Big Feature
Of Closing Session On
Thursday

The seriousness of the seed corn
scarcity in Ohio was perhaps more
fully realized by the farmers at the
Thursday afternoon session of the
roundup institute at the court house
than it has been by the average man
in Knox county when Professor c. c.
Williams of the Wooster experiment
station declared that 1000 tests of
corn saved from the crop last fall
for seed this year, samples of which
were submitted from 81 of the IS
counties in the state, showed that all
crib corn is practically Valueless so
far as growing qualities is concerned.
st simply won't grow" Prof. VIII
liams said. "The corn was caught last
fall by cold weather before ii had a
chance to dry and practically all of it
was ruined and will not germinate"
The results of sveral tests of sam
pies of corn from different counties
were given, showing the percentages
of fertile corn found by the tests. In
Clermont county twenty tests showed
from l and 2 percent to 100 percent
good. the higher tests, which includ-
ed 90 to 100 percent, were made on
corn from the 1916 crop or that which
had been selected early and artificial
ly dried.
Crawford county corn, % tests
showed from to % percent fertile
averaging less than 80 percent The
experiment station. Prof Williams
said. had requested men submitting
samples for test to list any seed corn
they had for sale and that only a very
few had more than enough to plant
their own fields even if it were fit for
planting.
One man in Crawford county sub
mitted samples of his corn and wrote
that he had 1000 bushels for sale, but
the test showed that only 90 percent
of it would grow, hence the entire lot
was practically worthless as seed
DRIED CORN TESTS WELL
In Franklin county u tests showed
percentages from to S4. more than
two-thirds being under 80 percent.
One Franklin county farmer submit
ted samples of corn artiiicially dried
in his attic and another sample of
the same corn that had been stored
in Il crib and the test showed the first
to be S4 percent good while the crib
kept corn was only percent good.
This, Prof. Williams pointed out.
shows the advantage to be obtained
in any year by drying seed corn with
artificial heat. Green county corn
showed from > to "a percent good.
The 2S samples of corn submitted
from Knox county tested as follows:
II percent. "a, II, A, 81. so, (this
sample was from crib corn which was
the same as the corn testing 81 only
the latter had been artilicially dried)
AZ, II, 81, 3S. 80, 36. 90, 100 091G
CORN, II, y. /, CO. 10, II, %. 3, 4. %,
Al, Ii and 40 One man had advised
the experiment station that he had
1000 bushels of corn from which his
samples was taken, but the sample
tested only II percent.
"Such results as these" Professor
Williams said. show that Ohio must
rake up from some place between five
and six hundred thousand bushels of
seed corn. Corn from the 1916 crop
should of course be tested. but the
greater part of it will be found all
right.
MUST CANVAS FARMS
"The only method by which Ohio
will be able to get this seed is a farm
to farm canvas to find just how much
good seed there is available and where
IT Is and how much each man needs
to plant on his own farm and who
has more than that amount-then
those with surplus must be persuad,
ed to sell it. man selling seed
corn is entitled to Il fair profit. bat
no farmer should and believe few of
them will oven attempt to take ad.
vantage of his neighbor and demand
an eYhorbhant price for his corn.
THE public schools provide the
best machine for making such can
vas as this and securing the desired
information and the farm bureaus in
counties where they are located will
prove of incalculable benefit in as,
sisting the farmers to secure their
seed corn. Knox county is to be con