The Farmington times. (Farmington, St. Francois County, Mo.) 1905-1926, 1920-10-01
FARM BUREAU NEWS NOTES
Select Seed Corn Now

The Importance of selecting seed
corn in the fall, before a killing frost
comes, is seldom realized. Although
other work is pressing at this time Of
the year, yet, more profit can be
made by spending time in proper seed
selection than in most any other work.
Especially is this true this year, as
great deal of corn was planted SO late
that unless a killing frost does not
come until late in the fall, much of
the corn will not mature and a short
age of good seed corn next spring
will result. Seed corn picked from the
crib in the spring will be low in
termination and first class seed corn
will be high in price. Moreover, If
seed corn must be secured from con-
siderable distance, it will not do well
for two or three years. These evils
may be avoided by selecting the seed
corn from standing stalks in the field
this fall and storing is properly
through the winter.
The seed ears should be selected as
soon as most of the crop has matured.
All good seed ears should be gathered
as soon as ripe and before any freez-
ing has occurred. If a heavy frost
occurs before all of the plants have
matured, the selection should be
made If possible, the following morn
ing.
Only well-matured ears Of good size
should be selected and these should be
taken only from hills having two or
more plants with no missing hills ad-
joining. The kind of plant from which
seed should be taken is one that pro-
duces much better without any appar-
ent reason than plants surrounding it.
Plants with an unusual amount of
space of an unusually fertile location
may produce better than surrounding
plants without possessing any greater
inherit producing power and therefore
would be Of no special value as plants
from which to select seed. 1t is well
to avoid broken or diseased stalks
and stalks growing near barren plants.
Suckers are undesirable and can be
gradually eliminated by taking seed
only from stalks that produce no suck
ers. The ears chosen should be borne
at convenient height and should
hang downward at maturity. No
other points, however, should prevent
the selection of ears from productive
plants under normal conditions of fer
tility and space. 81 4.
The ears selected should be stored
lin a dry, well ventilated place on the
day it is gathered. Artificial heat is
unnecessary. Any method which
keeps the ears from touching and
which protects them from rats and
mice is satisfactory. -4;ar
the seed becomes as dry as,
old corn, 1t can be weighed and stored
where neither MOISTURE mot;-s, nor
mice can injure it. ri .114iG tsii :.
care in. drying and caring for
seed corn, depends in a. large meas.
kure, the success Of next years crop,
Poor care has reduced and viii reduce
the yielding power Of seed by eighr
teens bushels per acre without per-
teeptibfy injuring its termination.
"a pound Of rfaphalene or moth
balls fstored with each busiiel Of seed
ears will protect it from grain moths
and do it no injury. Boxes completely
covered with Nv screening or woven
wire will give protection from mice
and rats nj 5EDM --s* ta+1 as2TsrI9R "a
Anyone sdesifings further iiferma-:
stions In regard to selecting or storing
seed corn oantget aid by. calling on the
County Agent n 3a9 ~ i
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