272 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



feet long and the two set into each other at right angles as shown. A 

 piece of sheet iron or an old pan is fitted about eighteen inches above 

 the lower end, as shown, to prevent mice and rats from getting at the 

 corn. 



Above this iron or pan twenty-penny wire finishing nails are driven 

 at intervals of two and one-half to three inches, according to the size 

 of the ears to be dried. This particular post is five inches at the bot- 

 tom and carries 165 nails. A larger post would carry more. A cross- 

 piece is sometimes nailed to the post about four feet above the base, 

 to be used in moving it. 



Fig. 9 shows a very simple and satisfactory scheme for hanging seed 

 corn to dry, recommended by Professor Holden, of Iowa. It consists? 



ICZ! FiG.[^10. — Showslthe manner of tying the ears together with binder twine. 



of a six-foot piece of binder twine. An ear of corn is placed at the 

 middle of the piece of twine and a single tie or knot made, as showu 

 in Fig. 10. A second ear is tied over the first with a single knot, and 

 so on till one and one-half to two dozen ears are tied in the string. 

 Then the upper ends of the twine are fastened to a nail in a beam, or 

 to a wire stretched between beams or posts. 



But wherever placed, the corn should be thoroughly and quickly 

 -dried. This removes the possibility of molding and consequent lessen 

 ing of vitality. A temperature of a little above ordinary room tempera 

 ture is suggested till the corn is well dried; then a temperature any- 

 where above the freezing point is considered satisfactory. It is thought 

 by many that well-dried seed corn will not have its vitality lessened 

 by freezing. Others never allow seed corn, however well dried, to 

 freeze. There can be no doubt that the latter practice is safe. 



Seed corn taken from the crib in the spring cannot have the vitality 



