The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1920-11-26
u. of /. Seed Corn

of Rustler's White Dent seed corn
for distribution to the farmers OF
Idaho, has just been gathered and
hung in the drying houses of the
University Of Idaho experiment
station, preparatory to being ship
ped to all corn growing sections of
the state. for seed.
This corn has been produced on
the university farm and IN expert
ment station plats after several
ears of careful breeding up until
yield of more than 100 bushels per
acre has been produced. The corn
is OF fine quality. natures early and
yields we'll and the experiment sta
ton staff is convinced it will he
great benefit to the farmers tu raise
it instead of summer fallowing
their land.
The corn has been brought to SIT
present state of perfection by TAX
ing high yielding ears and planting
each IN row by itself, and taking
the best ears from this row for seed.
1t is breeding up just as is done
with livestock. The next year half
of these best ears is planted for the
seed plats and the other half used
for "cross breeding" with ears not
so good, and the best ears act the
same as the purebred slres in cattle
or other livestock.
The university farm raised 40
acres of this corn this year and got
a yield of from 10 to II tons of sill
age per acre. The great silos at the
dairy, sheep and beef cattle barns
were filled with corn and sunfiower
silage, hundreds of tons of this
canned pasture" being put up for
winter feed. Corn that was per-
mitted to ripen and was husked,
yielded an average of "a bushels
per acre.
The seed plat corn has been plant
ed on May % each year for the past
three years. "We will have to
plant on Sunday if we keep up the
practice next year" said Professor
r. K. Bennett, head of the farm
crops department. But that has
been found to De about the best
time to plant 1t and is late enough
to avoid danger of frosts and early
, enough to permit the corn to ma
ture. This year we had too much
/, fall rain and the corn kept on grow
ing until very late, but in an ordin-
, airy season it viii be rlpeneo before
the fall rains begin
u. The corn is sheIed and shipped
by parcel post, freight or express to
those sending in orders. Last year
the entire supply was sold out early
in the fall and scores of farmers
who ordered were disappointed.
The station hopes to be able to sup
: ply the demand this year. Only
limited quantities will be sold to
one person as the department wants
to get the corn we'll scattered
among many farmers to encourage
corn growing. Next year the farm
ers who get seed from the univer-
sity will be able to supply their
nelghbors.
That sunfower silage has been
found to be about as good as corn
silage is the statement made, and
the production is much heavier.
The experiment station had about
four acres of suntloWers, which
yielded l9 tons of sllage per acre.
The university farm raised lot of
sunf1owers which yielded slightly
less, as they were planted somewhat
thicker. This means an enormous
amount of stock food from small
area of land. Professor Bennett
says they figured out tnat the yield
was about one pound of slage for
one square foot of ground, truly a
remarkable yield and one that
would mean the keeping of many
, head of stock on an ordinary farm.
In preparing the corn toI seed
only the best ears are saved. About
: 60 per cent of the ears were saved
: this year, an unusually large per
cent, as the corn was uniformly
: good: Each ear is carefully husked
2 and hung on handy drying racks. A
S small loom in one OF the buildings
has many small stoves to dry the
grain carefully and the windows are
left open for ventilation and to GER