The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-08-07
PICK SEED CORN
 AT PRESENT TIME Gardeners Warned of Scar
 city and Told What Ears to Choose

unable disgust the scarcity, high | price, and indifferent quality of the sweet corn seed he was compelled to accept last spring, says the New York Times And likely as not he Is just now discovering how bad his seed was. {; Golden bantam has come to be the home garden standard. It Is a hardy, excellent strain, both as growing proposition and as table delicacy, and given good seed and fair cultural conditions, produces abundantly.. But
 many gardener is discovering that
 much of the seed this year was not
 only mixed, but badly off variety. One planters experience is typical First
 the golden bantam germination was very weak and six-grain hills often
 produced no plants, or, at least, not | more than three. Suckers were so
 numerous and persistent that often
 the main stem could not be distin-
 guished from the suckers In corn that is now ripening rows and 1 splatches of white grains are found in many ears. All these things are so far from normal in golden bantam that the seed must have been both care
 lessly grown and selected, if 1t was l selected at all.
 l Now is the time for the gardener to 1 be prepared against such a contin-
 gency next year. There is no good 1 excuse for gardener who means to plant more than a dozen hills of corn, l ever buying his seed, and in these | times the folly must be obvious to all | So serious does the seed corn situa-
 ton seem to the Department of Agri- | culture that 1t has sent out a series | of appeals to all who grow corn to | save their own seed, with instruc-
 tions as to methods and requirements. Corn Is one of the seeds that will
 grow when from five to ten years old,
 so the gardener will lose nothing if
 he sows enough for several seasons,
 should he have exceptional oppor-. 1 tunit5'
 'If you have ever found yourself
 compelled to plant corn that was not
 fit for seed-a predicament many
 growers faced last spring-do not be
 caught that way again." says the de-
 partments appeal. Now is the time
 to begin preparations for next spring
 Get your seed at ripening time when
 the best quality Is most plentiful Get
 an abundance-enough for a second
 planting if necessary, and a hold
 over supply. Next years crop may
 not be fit for seed. Save seed from
 the most productive individual stalks
 with the same care you use in pro- nagating your animals. Care for
 each kernel from the time 1t ripens
 until it Is planted, in manner that
 will enable it to develop Into a thrift
 ty plant Do not expect germination
 vigor that proper gathering, drying
 and storing would have retained. Preparation should begin now, for the only proper way to select seed corn is from the standing stalks aa soon as the corn natures and before the first hard freeze. Well-chosen homegrown seed of varieties of
 proven worth in the community, properly dried immediately after 1t has been gathered and carefully pre- served until planting time, produces
 the best yields.
 As soon as the crop begins to
 ripen, go through the plat and open
 the husk on the ears on the stalks , that have produced the best corn without having had special advant- ages, such as space, moisture, or fer tility. Avoid the large ears on stalks 7 standing sngly with an unusual
 amount of space around them. Pref
 erence should be given the plants that have produced most heavily In in competition with a full stand ot
 less productive plants. Late-matur- , ing plants with ears which are heavy because of an excessive amount of sap should be ignored. Sappiness greatly
 increases the weight and is likely tC destroy the quality.
 |, All other things being equal, short thick stalks are preferable. Short
 stalks are not so easily blown down
 and permit thicker planting. ThicG
 stalks are not so easily broken down
 and in general, are more productiv, than slender ones. The tendency fol | corn to produce suckers is hereditary :, Other things being equal seed should - be taken from stalks that have nc
 suckers.
 Immediately after the seed corn Is " gathered, the husked ears should be 5 placed in such a manner that the ears v do not touch each other This is the u only safe procedure. Many gardeners e believe that their autumns are so dry l. that such care is unnecessary. Seed y corn in every locality gathered at d ripening time will be benefited by dry '- ing as suggested. If left in the husk l. long after ripening it may sprout oi
 mildeW during warm, wet weather, ol
 become infetsed with weevils. The
 vitality of seed is often reduced by
 leaving 1t in sack or in a pile foI even a day after gathering. During
 warm weather, with some moisture ir
 the .cobs and kernels, the ears heat ol e mildew in remarkably short time. 1T The best possible treatment imme- If diately after gathering Is to string the 6 ears Ordinarily the best place tc " hang strings of ears is in an oper e shed or loft. Wire racks are more l. convenient and, in the end, cheaper
 than binder twine. !, 1 Only during unusually damp weath ,d CT at seed-gathering time will fire bt
 necessary to dry the seed. If heat 1:
 employed in a poorly ventilated room 1t vii do the seed ears more injurl t' than good. If used, the fire should bt slow, long g-continued, and below tht m seed ears, with good ventilation abov' It them.
 After. hanging in the shed or 1yint r. on the racks for two months the sect re ears should be as dry as a bone ana ,e contain less than 10 per cent. 0 le moisture They can remain wher le they dried or be stored in mouse Id proof boxes or crates during the win re ter but. in either case, they must no Id be exposed to a damp atmosphere o ,o they will absorb moisture and be in