134 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



bore tlie seed of the previous row. One row had 31 good ears and 14 nubbins; 

 the other has 11 good ears and 10 nubbins. 



In these'plats the four stalks to the hill and the poor condition of the ground 

 probably prevented many ears from ])roducing two ears each. The large 

 number of rudimentary ears which put forth silk indicates that in the first 

 two plats there is something in favor of seed saved from the upper ear. 



The third plat reverses that idea to some extent. The experiment needs 

 many repetitions on different seasons to enable us to reach exact conclusions. 



ROOT-PRUNING INDIAN CORN. 



In 1881, I made some experiments in root-pruning sweet corn in iny own 

 garden. I root-pruned at different distances from the hill, at different times 

 during growth, generally three or more hills at a time. I watched the effect, 

 and must say, so far as these experiments go, in the way in which I conducted 

 root-pruning it appeared to decrease the yield in every case. I had carefully 

 read the admirable essay on the subject by Dr. B. L. Sturtevant and tried to 

 follow his directions. 



IMPROVING INDIAN CORN. 



For ten years or more I have advocated raising seed corn in a fertile field by 

 itself where extra cultivation and care should be employed. All feeble stalks 

 should be removed or have their tops cut off or pulled out before shedding any 

 pollen on the ears to be used for seed. 



In 1879, I selected a few fine ears from corn raised by Benjamin Hathaway 

 of Little Prairie Koude, Michigan. This is a very choice yellow dent variety, 

 well adapted for the southern part of our State. I also selected a few fine 

 ears of a yellow dent variety raised for five years by J. D. Adams of Climax, 

 in Kalamazoo county. These two lots were much alike. They were planted 

 on good soil in alternate rows. The poorest stalks were removed before flow- 

 ering, and the tassels of all the Adams corn were pulled out when young. 

 The result was some seed in autumn of 1879, the mother of which was the 

 Adams corn, and the father of which was the Hathaway corn. Some of the 

 best of this seed (and it was nice) was planted by itself in 1880; the small 

 stalks were castrated ; all were well cared for. In autumn of 1880 I had some 

 of the finest corn ever grown at the College farm. From the best ear in 1881 

 I planted a small piece by itself. I selected an ear with a white cob. The 

 ear was nearly cylindrical, not quite filled out at the tip, containing sixteen 

 rows of kernels. The rows were quite straight and even. The kernels were 

 well dented at the end ; a few had rough points, though the ear was not rough 

 to handle. The corn was bright, light yellow, the cob solid. The ear was 

 selected for beauty, good proportions, and beauty and uniformity of kernels 

 after shelling. While this corn was growing stalks were selected in the seed 

 patch which resembled each other in most respects. They were marked and 

 paper sacks drawn over the embryo ears. Pollen was artificially transferred 

 several times. The two stalks or plants much resembling each other were 

 mutually crossed, i. e., the pollen of number one ^yas used on the pistils of 

 number two, and vice versa. 



Some twenty stalks were selected and numbered and inter-crossed by couples, 

 as in the case above explained. Notwithstanding the corn all came from one 

 ear, it varied considerably. The season was cool in the early part of 1881, and 

 very hot and very dry during the latter portion. It was not a good year for 



