The Press., 1918-04-18
Complete Directions for Test Pre- pared by Seed Corn
 Committee.
LITTLE EXPENSE AND SHORT TIME REQUIRED
Only Thirty Per Cent. of Seed Corn ls Estimated as Good-Many Farmers Not Aware of Danger in Trusting to Good Luck-Experimen Station at New Haven Makes Important Dis coveries for Corn Producers.
AnriI & 1o1Q

There is trouble ahead for some of the men in Connecticut who are plant ing untested seed corn or who expect to plant seed which has not been tried out and its germinating qualities de- termined. The New Haven experiment station, which has run several hun fred tests for farmers of Connecticut, has found that large quantities of seed are absolutely unfit to plant.
 One-third of the corn held in this state for seed will not produce stand worth saving, another third will pro- duce only a very unsatisfactory stand, while about 30 per cent. is good seed. In spite of the state wide educational campaign which has been conducted by the Committee of Food Supply, Con- necticut State Council of Defense and the Connecticut Agricultural College there are a great number of men who are not alive to the condition and are planting their corn. trusting to good luck for a stand.
 A test can he run in a very short time and at very little expense by following the directions put out from
 
 although the season is rather well ad- vanced, there is still time to test this years supply of seed.
 The directions for testing individual ears by the Rag Dolr' method, pre- pared by the seed corn department of the Committee of Food Supply, is as follows:
 Cut a strip of canton flannel or un- bleached cotton a foot wide and three to five feet long. Beginning five inches from the end. rule with a pen cil two rows of three and one-half inch squares through the middle of the strip, leaving the outer edges of the squares two and One-half inches from the edges of the cloth. Number the squares in regular order.
 Number the ears to be tested or lay in order where they will not be dis turbed. Take six kernels from each ear (twO from the butt, two from the middle and two near the tip). Wiring the cloth out of warm water and lay it flat on a table. Spread the six ker- neis from ear No. 1 on square 1, and so on until the squares are filled. Fold the side flaps over the squares, roll the strip together from one end rather loosely to admit air. using a piece of wood three and One-half inches long for a roller, and tie loosely with string.
 Soak in warm, not hot, water for few hours, drain by laying it on sticks or cObs, wrap the rolls in damp coarse cloth and cover loosely in box or pan. DO NOT LET THE SEED DRY OUT Keep at room temperature, nev- CT under 30 degrees or as high as 80 degrees. After six days open the roll carefully to avoid disp1acing any seed and count and record those kernels from each square which have strong healthy sprouts.
 Discard all ears which do not have at least five strong sprouts. Boil this cloth before using again to kill all mOlds.
 Some may prefer the sand box meth. cd, which was used this winter at the corn shows. Get a box four or six inches deep, i'll it half full of sand or sawdust and pack this in we'll, Wet thoroughly. A piece of white cloth can be cut to fit into the box and marked off into three inch squares, or small nails can be driven into the box on all sides every three inches and strings run between them to lay off the box into squares. Lay out the ears to be tested on a shelf where they will not be disturbed or number each ear with a tag. Letter or number the squares tn the box to correspond to the ears. Take six kernels from each ear and put them in the proper square in the box.
 If the cloth marked off in squares is used. lay another cloth over the ker- nels; then cover this with one inch of sand or sawdust. Sprinkle this top layer and pack it down. After eight to ten days carefully draw back the top cloth and count the kernels that have sprouted strongly and discard the ears that show poor germfnatfon.
 Note.-If sawdust is used, soak it overnight before putting fin the box to be sure of its being thoroughly wet. It is better to use new sawdust. or sand for each test.