u 



900 Rural School Leaflet. 



SOME FACTS ABOUT CORN 



J. L. Stoxe 



— ^HE corn grown in New York State is chiefly 



put into silos for tlie feeding of dairy cows. 



To a less extent it is grown to maturity, 



husked, and cribbed for the feeding of pigs, 



horses, poultry, and other farm animals. To 



*■-' some extent, also, it is used as human food. 



"-•sa^M*- 'pj^g climatic and soil conditions of New 



.:dP^^^~" York State are not ideal for corn growing. 



In many seasons the yield is not what might 

 '" be desired. It is important that varieties or 

 strains should be developed that have the best possible adaptation to 

 conditions in New York State. 



There are several types of corn of varying importance grown in the 

 State. The children are chiefly familiar with and interested in popcorn 

 and sweet corn but these are of lesser economic importance than the 

 kinds of corn for feeding stock. Of these latter there are two well-recog- 

 niztd types, the jiint corn or so-called state corn, and the dent corn or west- 

 ern corn. The flint corns have smooth, glossy kernels that suggest the 

 name because of their hardness. As a rule they require a shorter period 

 of development and consequently are better adapted to localities where 

 the seasons are considered rather short for corn. The dent varieties also 

 get their type name from the character of the kernel, which is usually 

 somewhat shrunken or indented and gives the ear a rough appearance. 

 The dent corns are about the only kind grown in the west and south, 

 the great corn-growing sections. In localities where the dents will 

 properly mature they usually out yield the flint varieties by a consider- 

 able percentage, and there is much effort being put forth at the present 

 time to develop early-maturing dent varieties. Whether these early- 

 maturing sorts, when obtained, will out yield the flint varieties is an open 

 question. 



Among the mistakes made by farmers regarding seed corn I would 

 name that of depending upon selecting the best ears from the crib at 

 planting time rather than selecting the ears from the best stalks at 

 harvesting time. Then these ears must be thoroughly dried before 

 being exposed to winter's cold; in fact, it is better if they can be stored 

 in such a way that they are never exposed to very low temperature, 

 although probably thoroughly dried corn is not mwch injured by low 

 temperature. 



