The Sauk Centre herald., 1926-04-15
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DEPARTMENT FOR THE ACRICULTURISTS
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BLUE VALLEY FARM SERVICE

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BLUE VALLEY FARM SERVICE
By M. A. Nye -@s
The Value of Good Ear of Seed
Corn-The value of good seed ear
may be estimated by. the number of
bushels of corn it will produce. About
fourteen ears will plant an acre. On
the basis Of 70-bushel yield, each OF
the fourteen seed ears will produce
five bushels of corn. This shows how
important it is to select each seed ear
with care. You cannot afford to take
a chance on a poor ear. Only the
termination test will make sure of
good seed.
Will Your Seed Corn Grow?
Reports from a large number of
states indicate that the seed corn sit
uation this year is one of the most
critical ever faced by corn growers.
The reason is not far to seek. Freez-
ing weather in the month of October
caught a large percentage of the
corn crop with an excess of moisture,
and when this is the case, the ger
mination is bound to suffer.
Just a few weeks ago, the writer
was at the Iowa State College at
Ames and heard one of the soils and
crops men state that the germina-
ton of 10000 ears of corn at the
College had revealed the fact that
they averaged only So per cent strong
termination. These samples came
from practically every section of the
state. Other states cannot show a
much better record and in some of
them, the situation is probably worse.
Corn as it rattles about in the bin,
thoroughly dry corn, still contains
about IA per cent of moisture. Corn
in such condition can stand temper
atures far below zero. But if the
moisture content is around 20 per
cent, 25 per cent, 80 per cent, and
over, as was the case with much of
the corn when October freezes came,
the germ is injured, injured so that
the subsequent termination is either
weak or dead.
We are confronted with the prob
lem of finding good seed somehow,
somewhere. 1t stands to reason that
the seed corn planted should be the
HiooI FlSOI ouS oCcu POoolUlC. " pldllI
weak seed is a costly step.-Hoard's
Dairyman..
Growing Chicks Need Small Clean
Yards-Costs of poultry production
can be lowered by raising big hatch
es just as the cost of pork produc-
tion can be reduced by the raising Of
big litters. Heavy mortality among
chicks can often be prevented by
timely observation and care. .
By the time they are a week old
the chicks should \be allowed, in the
ordinary season, to run out doors.
Confine them in small yards at first
or until they learn where the heat is
to be found and they will go in and
out of the brooder house freely. In
the early spring the yard should be
enclosed in muslin covered frames
which later can be suplanted by
poultry netting or lath. AS the
chicks grow, the yard should be en-
larged sufficiently to keep them on
green grass. Once put on free range,
there is likely to be difficulty in feed
ing the chicks unless they are kept
apart from the hens. The same diff
ficulty arises when chicks of different
ages are being raised close together.
To avoid interference by the older
chicks or hens, the younger ones
should be fed in small movable pens,
says N. E. Chapman specialist at Uni
versity Farm. The sides of the pens