Vol. XIII. No. 330. 



THE AGRICULTURAL NEWS 



405 



trade is hound to be largely at a standstill until the end of 

 the war. Under these circumstances the wisest course for 

 the West Indian islands appears to be to curtail their 

 production at the present, and tn turn their attention to 

 other ci-ops. Xot that cotton cultivation should cease; for it 

 is hoped that when the war is over a great re\'ival in fine 

 spinning will take place, and it is essential that a sufficient 

 area should be kept under cultivation to maintain our 

 seed supply in such a high state of efficiency that we may be 

 able to resume cotton cultivation under the best conditions. 

 As to other crops; in many islands planters will turn 

 their attention to sugar-cane, and no doubt .some extension in 

 the area under cane cultivation will take place. The cultiva- 

 tion also of food crops, not only for 'local consumption, but 

 also for export, contains important possibilities which may 

 prove more than a useful stop gapj even developing into 

 industries of some importance. 



INDIAN CORN. 



CARE OF SEED CORN. 



The Indian corn |ilant is remarkable for its productive- 

 ness and for the virility of its seed. In a normal season, 

 every kernel of grain on ears that have properly matured, 

 and have then been properly carerl for and stored, \vill 

 germinate. In seed selection, then, it is not a question of 

 finding seed with good germinating power, but rather of 

 taking seed possessing that power, and retaining it in full 

 until it is wanted for the production of a new crop. 



This part of the work is most important. The corn 

 grower must select his seed for yield, since yield is the all- 

 important thing in a corn crop. At the same time he selects 

 for certain definite features which taken together conduce to 

 the yield, to uniformity of grain, and to suitability to the 

 local conditions under which the succeeding crops are to 

 be grown. 



Having selected the seed in the field (see last issue of 

 Agricultural ^ews) the corn grower should have it dried 

 thoroughly and rapidly, and, from then on, should keep 

 it dry. 



The curing and storing of seed corn is cjuite a different 

 matter from curing and .storing corn as grain intended for 

 feeding. Corn intended for planting is best preserved on the 

 ear, or unshelled; corn for grain is generally shelled as soon as 

 dry enough, because of the saving in space in storing shelled 

 corn, which has only one-half as much bulk as the same 

 amount of grain on the ear, i.e. 2 bushels of ears will 

 give 1 bushel of shelled corn. Wlien corn is intended for 

 feeding purpo.ses its germinating power is of no importance, 

 but it is most necessary to maintain this in its fullest vigour 

 in the case of seed corn. 



In the United Stivtes, seed corn ears are stored in racks 

 or shelves; the racks hold one ear iu each section, and the 

 shelves are made to take a layer of ears laid side by side. 



In the West Indies, seed corn is often dried in the husk 

 -on the roofs of buildings or hanging in the branches of trees. 

 This practice may be all right, but it would seem that the 

 changes in the atmosphere from dry to moist and from moist 

 to dry would result in the loss of germination. It would be 

 interesting to test the germination of such seed corn as to the 

 percentage of kernels that will grow. Seed corn ought always 

 to have a percentage germination of well over 90. 



After the corn is selected in the field, and dried, the ears 

 should be carefully examined, and the best of them cho.sen 

 for planting. If the <orn has been properly .selected with 

 regard to field characters, the largest of these selected 

 ears which show the required characters of ear and grain 



should be the first to be chosen, always with the idea of 

 large yield in mind. 



The seed is best preserved on the ear, the small and 

 irregular shaped kernels on the tip and butt being shelled off 

 and discarded before planting. For planting purposes the 

 corn should be carefully shelled by hand. 



In the West Indies, there should be no difficulty in 

 drying the seed corn properly in the sun and wind. For 

 this purpose the ears might be spread in thin layers, pre- 

 ferably in a single layer, and they should not be allowed to 

 get wet. It would probably be found satisfactory also to hang 

 the corn in traces in a building in which air circulated freely. 

 To make the traces, the husk should be turned back from the 

 ear, but not broken off, and then braided up in such a way that 

 neat traces or strings of forty to fifty ears ■ are made; 

 each ear would then be exposed to the air. The matter of 

 storing seed corn should lie made the subject of experimental 

 trials in order to demonstrate the best method for each 

 locality. The value of any method of storing should be 

 determined by germination tests. 



Mr. C. P. Hartley, Physiologist in charge of Corn 

 Investigations, United States Bureau of Plant Pathology, 

 is the author of Circular No. 95 of that Bureau, entitled 

 The Seed Corn Situation. According to this circular, the 

 situation in 1912 with regard to seed corn for planting in 

 many corn-growing .sections of the United States was a 

 serious one. Farmers had neglected to select seed in good 

 time, with the result that late rains and early frosts .so 

 injured the ripening corn at the end of 1911, that many 

 were without seed for planting in the .spring of 1912. The 

 farmers blamed the bad season for the deplorable situation 

 in which they found themselves, but Mr. Hartley blamed 

 the farmers, for, in spite of repeated warnings, they had not 

 selected and saved their seed corn as early as they might 

 have done. 



ilr. Hartley says 'Twelve years' experience in selecting 

 seed of hundreds of varieties of corn, and testing its germina- 

 tion, teaches that seed that matures well and is well preserved 

 will germinate well. And what is of much more importance, 

 it will yield well if the variety is a good yielding, 

 acclimated variety.' 



In another place the same author has the following to 

 say about corn 'running out', and about the need for 

 importing new varieties : — 



'A mistaken idea prevails regarding the "running out" 

 of corn because it has been grown too long in a locality. 

 A strain of corn may run out, but the cause is with the 

 farmer, and is not because the corn has been grown too long 

 in the same locality. The longer a corn is grown in the same 

 locality the better adapted it becomes to the conditions of 

 that locality, provided seed is saved each normal season from 

 the best producing individuals.' 



West Indian planters would do well to bear these remarks 

 in mind. Newly introduced seed is not wanted at the present 

 time in order to develop a profitable corn industry. Our 

 native West Indian corn planted in the localities where it has 

 been grown year after year is the best seed to start with in 

 the first improvement of the local strains of corn. Careful 

 seed selection, and the proper storing and curing of the select- 

 ed seed will result in increased yields, and a better product 

 generally, while the work which is involved in this kind of 

 improvement will iu a few years result in a sufficient knowl- 

 edge of the corn plant, and the improvement which can be 

 effected by selection of seed, to enable the planter and experi- 

 ment station worker to decide whether further improvement 

 will be likely to result from an introduction of new strains of 

 seed, and technical plant breeding. 



