Crossville chronicle. [volume] (Crossville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1921-09-07
SELECT YOUR SEED CORN
The Time Is Near at Hand When
That Important Work
Should Be Done.

/ II costs as much to plant and cult
ivate an acre producing 20 bushels Of
corn as one producing 20 bushels. So
with present labor costs, if a farme.
could reduce his acreage one-half and
still get the same corn yield he would
consider it mighty good business.
Such a program is probably too
much to expect, but the United State
Department of Agriculture points out
that the American farmer is getting
altogether too little yield form his
corn land. Just about this time OF
year is when a good many Farmers
are realizing it.
| Prepare For next Years Crop.
Now or a little later, American
farmers have an opportunity to start
increasing next years corn crop by
the selection of seed. Every spring
there is a frantic search for good
seed corn, and much inferior seed is
planted, with resulting inferior yields
The loss is largely due to delay or
negligence. Autumn is the time to pre-
pare of ra profitable corn crop the
following season.
Any intelligent farmer can go into
his corn field when the corn is ma
ture select better seed than he can
buy next spring. Unless community
has an experienced and honest corn
breeder, the best place for the farmer
to obtain seed corn is from the fields
on his farm or in his neighborhod,
which are planted with a variety
that has generally proved successful
IN that particular locality. Too many
people consider seed good simply be-
cause it will grow. To be first class,
seed corn must be:
I. Well adapted to the climatic and
soil conditions where it is planted.
z. OF a high-yielding variety and
from high-yielding stalks Of that va
riety.
3. Well matured and preserved
from ripening time until planting |
time in a manner that will retain its
full vitality.
4. Free from disease and insect
injury. Such freedom may indicate
resistance to infection.
One Way to Select Seed.
AS soon as the corn crop natures,
the field with a picking
bag and select ears from the stalk
that have produced the most corh
without having had any special ad
vantages such as excess of space,
moisture or fertility. Avoid large
ears on stalks standing singly with
an unusual amount of space around
them. Preference should be given
he plants that have produced most
heavily in competition with a full
stand of vigorous plants. A we'll bal
.nced stalk bearing two good ears
will usually be found to have pro-
luced as much seed as any other
talk. Both ears are equally valuable
or seed even though one may be
much smaller than the other.
In the Central and Southern States ,,
II other things being equal, shor, d.
hick stalks are preferable. They
re not so easily blown down, and in
general are more productive than
he slender ones. In the more North
rn States two varieties are desire-
ble-an early maturing variety for t
rain and a later, ranker-growing one /
Or ensilage. 1t is an excellent plan S
, select enough seed for two years.
Husked ears of seed corn should be
ut in a drying place with free circu- b
.tion of air on the day they are A
icked. They should be placed so b
rat the ears do not touch each other S
hey may be hung on string, or 6
atrack device can easily be made a
, cutting an electricallywelded wire e
esh fence SO as to leave one strand CT
ith short cross wires sticking out "
intervals. After hanging in the p;
led or lying on the racks for two Of
onths the seed ears should be dry m
Iough to keep safely and should be II
ored in moth-proof barrels, boxes, fo