The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1920-11-20
UNIVERSITY NOW
HAS FINE SEED CORN
TEN THOUSAND POUNDS OF
RUSTLER'S WHITE DENT OF
FERED TO FARMERS.

Ten thousand pounds of Rustler's
White Dent seed corn for distribu-
ton to the farmers of Idaho, has just
been gathered and hung in the dry
ing houses of the University Of Idaho
experiment station, preparatory to
being shipped to all corn growing
sections of the state, for seed.
This corn has been produced on the
University farm and in experiment
station plats after several years 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 well
and the experiment station staff IS
convinced it will be great benefit
to the farmers to raise it instead of
summer fallowing their land.
The corn has been brought to it's
present state of perfection by taking
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 pIats
and the other half used for 'cross
breeding" with ears not so good, and
the best ears act the same as the
stock
The university farm raised 40 acres
of this corn this year and got yield
of from 10 to IL tons of silage per
acre. The great silo at the dairy,
sheep and beef cattle barns were fill
ed with corn and sunflower silage,
hundreds of tons of this canned
pasture being put up for winter feed.
Corn that was permitted 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. Bon-
nett, head of the farm crops depart
ment. "But that has been found to be
about the best time to plant it and Is
late enough to avoid danger of frosts
and early enough to permit the corn
to mature This year we had too
much fall rain and the corn kept on
growing until very late, but in an
ordinary season it will be ripened be-
fore the fall rains begin"
The corn is shelled and shipped by
parcels 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 sta
ton hopes to be able to supply the
demand this year. Only limited guam
titles will be sold to one person as the
wants to get the corn
we'll scattered among many farmers
to encourage corn growing. Next
year the farmers who get seed from
L L IL 4,
their neighbors.
That sunflower silage has been
found to be about as good as corn
silage is the statement made, and the
production is much heavier The ex-
pertinent station had about four acres
If sunflowers, which yielded 10 tons
IF silage per acre. The university
farm raised lot of sunflowers which
yielded slightly less, as they were
planted somewhat thicker. This
means an enormous amount of stock
'ood from a small area of land. Pro-
sessor Bennett says they figured out
,hat the yield was about one pound
If silage for one square foot of
truly a remarkable yield and
1ne that would mean the keeping of
many head of stock on an ordinary
'arm.
In preparing the corn for seed only
the best ears are saved About 60
per cent of the ears were saved this
year, an unusually large percent, as
The corn was uniformly good. Each
ear is carefully husked and hung to
Try on handy drying racks. A small
room in one of the buildings has
many small stoves to dry the grain
and the windows are left
open for ventilation and to permit the
steam and vapor to escape. The corn
S tested for termination before being
shipped.