AGRICULTURAL DIVISION. 



THE EFFECT OF REMOVING THE TASSELS ON THE 



PROLIFICACY OF CORN. 



It has been claimed that if the tassels were removed from corn 

 before they have produced pollen, the strength thus saved to the 

 plant would be turned to the ovaries and a larger amount of grain 

 be produced. To test the effect of this theory the following trial 

 was made during the past season. 



In the general corn field a plot of forty -eight rows with forty- 

 two hills in each row was selected for the experiment. From each 

 alternate row the tassels were removed as soon as they appeared, 

 and before any pollen had fallen. The remaining rows were left 

 undisturbed. 



The corn was Sibley's Pride of the North, planted the last 

 week in May in hills, three feet six inches by three feet eight in- 

 ches,, on dry, gravelly, moderately fertile soil. 



On July 21, the earliest tassels began to make their appearance 

 in the folds of the upper leaves and were removed as soon as they 

 could be seen, and before they were fully developed. A slight 

 pull was sufficient to break the stalk just below the tassel and the 

 removal was easy and rapid. 



On July 25, the plot was gone over again for the removal of 

 such tassels as had appeared since the previous work, and at this 

 time by far the greater number of the tassels were removed. 



On July 28, when the plot was gone over the third time, the ef- 

 fects of the tasseling became apparent in the increased number of 

 silks that were visible on the rows from which the tassels had 

 been removed. On the 1008 tasseled hills there were visible 591 

 silks ; on the 1008 untasseled hills, 393 silks. 



On Aug. 4, the plot was gone over for the last time, but only a 

 few tassels were found on the very latest stalks. The preponder- 

 ance of visible silks on the tasseled rows was still manifest, there 

 being at this time 3542 silks visible on the tasseled rows, and but 

 2044 on the untasseled rows. 



The corn was allowed to stand without cutting until ripe. 



On Sept. 29th to Oct. 1st, the rows were cut and husked, and 

 the stalks and ears weighed and counted with the following re- 

 sults : 



