810 BOAKD OF AaKIOULiraiE. 



avoidable, that half of those Avbo grow coru harvested less than 25 

 bushels per acre. TAvice this quantity is a fair crop, three times 25 is 

 a good crop, and four times 25 bushels per acre is frequently produced. 

 We find that there are 3,488 hills of corn on one acre and two stalks to 

 the hill would be G,9T6 stalks. An ear would have to weigh five and 

 one-half ounces to yield 34 bushels per acre. An ear that would weigh one 

 pound each would make 100 bushels of corn per, acre. A five and one-half- 

 ounce ear is but a nubbin, but Ave do not realize how many stalks have no 

 ear at all. Therefore, we should be very careful in selecting our seed coru. 

 In gathering your corn for seed you should go in your field just after the 

 corn has matured if you have no seed plot and gather your seed coru 

 for the next year. Gather the perfect ears and see that there are no 

 barren stalks close to have fei-tilized this ear. 



As to the method of drying it, you should have a good building with 

 plenty of air and light and a good roof. Take and drive nails through an 

 inch board, then turn this board over and arrange as shelves. Stick the 

 ears on the nails so that they will not touch each other. This will let 

 the air circulate around the ears and cause them to dry nicely. We 

 should test every ear we plant in this or some other manner. Number 

 your ears as they stand on the board. Take a shallow pan that has got 

 some moist soil in it, then take a piece of thin board or a piece of tin 

 and make some small holes in them. Place this on the soil and then 

 number the holes and take ear number one and put thi-ee or four grains 

 in hole number one, and so on. Then put a damp cloth over this and put 

 in a warm place, wait about one week or ten days till corn has sprouted. 

 If there are any that did not spi'out you will know the ear by the num- 

 ber on your board or tin that the grains are put in. Then you can dis- 

 card it, and should any not grow thrifty discard it also. In this way 

 you can help to improve your corn as well as the yield. You should test 

 every ear you plant, for no man can tell the germination power of an 

 ear by looking at it. You should nub each ear you plant. Every corn 

 grower should grow his seed corn in a plot and select his seed corn from 

 this for the next year. You should plant each ear to itself in a row or 

 rows in your seed plot and select from the roAVS that come up quickly 

 and grow off rapidly, and pull tassels from the rows that don't grow 

 off thrifty, for as we know Ihe tassels make the pollination for the 

 corn. The opportunity for the improvement of the soil offers a wide and 

 inviting field of effort to the intelligent and progressive farmer. While 

 the methods to be adopted vary Avith the character and condition of the 

 soil and climatic conditions and the use that is to be made of the land. 

 There are 3.000 tons of atmospheric nitrogen resting on every acre of 

 land a certain quantity of Avliich can be transformed into available plant 

 food every time that we grow a crop of coav peas or red clover. This Is 

 one of nature's ways of fertilizing the soil. Therefore. Ave should help 



