The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1921-10-28
ideal EAR OF
CORN DESCRIBED
VOCATIONAL STUDENT WRITES
ARTICLE FOR BENEFIT OF
LATAH COUNTY FARMERS.

The following article on 'An Ideal
Ear of Corn" written by A. G. Ander--
son, vocational student in AgronOmy
at the University of Idaho, has been
submitted to the Star-Mirror as COW
ering the subject most thoroughly and
intelligently and will be of interest to
Latah county farmers who devote
some attention to the raising of corn,
as many are now doing:
Selection from the Plant
In selecting seed corn great care
should be taken SO the kernels from
the ear will grow and reproduce other
ears of good quality and size.
An ear of seed corn should be Sc
lected from the plant before the first
frost if possible and care be taken
that the selection be made from a
plant of vigorous growth and not the
only plant in the hill. The ear should
not be growing too high or too low.
The ear should be of average size
for the type of corn it represents;
the husks should be light in color and
dry, to indicate maturity, and the ear
should tip toward the ground a little,
as this indicates a we'll filled, heavy
ear.
In The Ear
To be an ideal ear it must be ma
ture, as an immature ear will not fur
nish kernels that will grow we'll.
Therefore care must be taken to see
that the ears selected are matured.
The kernls on a mature ear will be
we'll filled and will set close to-
gether. The ear will be solid, and,
when twisted in the hands, will not
give easily. The kernels will have a
bright color and luster and will break
away from the cob readily. In case of
dent corn, there will be a we'll de-
fined dent in the crown of the kernel.
The desired ear should be cylindric-
al in shape, and the butt and tip
should be nearly the same size as the
middle of the ear. also, the kernels
should be uniform in thickness from
crown to tip. There should not be
any traces of impurity in the ear. II
t is a characteristic of the type of
corn to have white kernels and white
cob, it should not have kernels tinged
with yellow or traces of red in the
cob.
The kernels of the desired ear
should be keystone in shape, as that
shape allows them to fit closer to-
sether and heavier yield is obtain
"a. Inc keT06lS SuOulu al De luc
anne color, as slight impurities show
N the sides of the kernels more
eadily than on the cob. They should
,e fairly long and not come to a
harp point A small amount Of
ength on each kernel greatly in
reases the yield in a field of corn
In selecting an ear of corn for seed
t is desirable to select corn that is
dapted to the place where it is to be
aised. A very large type of corn will
ot mature in a place where the grow
ng season is short, but where there
re long seasons, free from frosts, the
arge types are more profitable to
aise. The size of the germ in the
ernel is an important factor, as
.ernel with a small germ is not as
ut to produce as vigorous plant as
large germ would.
After the ear has been selected it
hould be properly stored, so it will
OF freeze or heat and so birds and
lice cannot eat parts of the kernel.
Summarizing everything-an ideal
ar of corn should be uniform in
hape, should have average length, the
ows should be straight and close to-
ether, and it should be mature.