SEED CORN. 



33 



phosphate, or some complete fertilizer, and then growl be- 

 cause their crop is not increased over five or ten bushels by 

 the application. An experimenter will use a seed of which 

 he knows nothing, and which possibly can be developed to its 

 normal yield capacity by the unfertilized or partially fertilized 

 soil, will apply different fertilizers to various strips, and in the 

 harvest, attempt to estimate the value of the difierent applica- 

 tions, taking no note of their phj'siological action on the plant, 

 and overlooking the fact that the hereditary capacity of each 

 kernel used as seed is probably different through their pos- 

 sessing a different male parentage. Manure is applied to one 

 strip, and fertilizer to another, and although through the 

 character of the seed variation, between two equal adjoining 

 spaces under like treatment there is as great a difference in 

 the crop as in the two plots experimented on, yet the com- 

 parative harvest of the two little pieces under treatment is 

 supposed to show the efficacy of the manurial treatment. 

 One man doubles the quantity of fertilizer on a portion of 

 his field and sees no corresponding crop as the result, and im- 

 mediately claims that he has been cheated by the fertilizer 

 dealer, because a neighbor who has purchased fertilizer else- 

 where has received the benefit on account of feedinof it out to 

 a superior seed. One man says he cannot raise corn because 

 he does not own corn land ; another man avers that fertilizers 

 don't act with him as with me, because I can buy through my 

 opportunities a better article. Another man still, says he 

 cannot use fertilizer because it don't increase his crop suffi- 

 ciently to pay for its use. Did it ever occur that this differ- 

 ent testimony oftentimes comes through the effect of the seed 

 and not from the fertilizer ? I must believe it, because ex- 

 periment tells me that increase of fertilizer increases the crop 

 from one seed, and gives no corresponding increase with 

 another. Whenever I feed extra rations to a superior cow, I 

 get better returns than when I give the like feed to a poor cow. 

 Whenever I feed a corn plant from a prolific seed variety, I 

 get better results than when I give the same plant food to the 

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