HINTS ON THE SELECTION OF CORN FOR SEED 

 AND FOR EXHIBITION 



North Carolina has, for a great many years, been depending on other 

 States to produce a large portion of her supply of com and other food 

 products — States that are not as well adapted in respect to both soil and 

 climatic conditions for the production of corn, as she is. This is not as 

 it should be. Every good farmer knows, whether he practices it or not, 

 that to be an independent man he must produce a home supply of farm 

 products as well as a market supply. The same truth holds good to 

 llTorth Carolina as a State; and that she can be independent of outside 

 sources for her supply of com has been amply demonstrated during the 

 past few years. Take last year's record alone, which year every one 

 will admit was an unfavorable crop year : the boys of North Carolina 

 demonstrated what could be done in the way of growing com by com- 

 bining intelligence and labor. With 264 boys, representing sixty-five 

 counties, making 17,870.16 bushels, or an average of 67.69 bushels per 

 acre, and that at a cost of less than thirty cents per bushel, no man can 

 say that North Carolina can not grow her own supply of corn. But 

 before the farmers of this State as a whole can expect to even half way 

 approach this record of their young sons they must be willing, in grow- 

 ing their crops, to combine the same intelligence and labor as their sons 

 are doing. It is not mere chance that gives these boys their high yields, 

 but a close application of the best methods of corn growing. 



It was with this idea in view — namely, the combination of greater 

 intelligence and better directed labor — that the North Carolina Depart- 

 ment of Agi-iculture inaugurated the Farmers' Institutes and later gave 

 those in charge the authority to award prizes for the best exhibits of 

 com at these institutes and also an appropriation for prizes for agricul- 

 tural exhibits at the State Fair and local fairs. These appropriations 

 were intended, not just for the gratification one man gets from winning 

 over others, but to stimulate the interest in the production of better 

 crops. While the progress made in the improvement of the crops has 

 been gratifying, in some respects it has not measured up to the expecta- 

 tions of those in charge of the work. Especially is this true of the corn 

 exhibits at the Farmers' Institutes. Most of the exhibits, good as to 

 commercial value, show a decided lack of care in breeding and selec- 

 tion. That is, although the corn is good as far as feeding value is con- 

 cerned, it is lacking in quality as a seed corn or for exhibition pur- 

 poses. It is to help the farmer in his selection of seed com and also the 

 selection of com for exhibition that this manuscript is prepared. 



The possibilities of improvement of com by judicious selection are 

 very great. Ever since man has been tilling the soil, he has changed the 

 characters of plants by .consciously or unconsciously making selections. 

 The improvement of any plant is considered by most farmers a very 

 difiicult operation and one to be undertaken only by those who are 



