EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 443 



Immediately after harvest, corn for seed should be placed where it 

 will receive free ventilation in order to dry rapidly. No two ears should 

 be allowed to touch. Many excellent devices for drying and curing seed 

 corn are in common use. The ears may be strung on binder twine and 

 hung from a rafter. Wire racks on Avhich the ears are impaled may 

 be made from woven wire fences, or may be purchased. Racks may be 

 easily constructed from two by-fours and laths on which the ears may 

 be laid. These racks should be placed in the attic or spare room in the 

 house, tool room, etc. A well ventilated room is necessary. A cellar 

 without furnace is as a rule a poor place to store seed corn. During 

 the early period of drying all windows should be opened so as to remove 

 excess moisture. 



Corn properly dried will not be greatly damaged by freezing but it 

 is best to store where it will not be exposed to extreme cold. 



Where large amounts of seed are to be handled, special corn drying 

 houses are desirable, equipped with numerous windows or panels which 

 will give free circulation of air, and a stove to furnish artificial heat to 

 hasten drying and prevent freezing. 



SEED CORN DRYING HOUSE 



For the man who wishes to engage in the production of improved 

 seed corn and its sale for seed year after year, a seed corn drying house 

 is essential. In even the most unfavorable fall and winter seasons, corn 

 may be properly dried and protected from freezing by the use of artificial 

 heat used in connection with proper ventilation. A drying room or dry- 

 ing house, given over entirely to corn can be safe-guarded against mice 

 and insects and will provide an excellent place for selection for improve- 

 ment during the winter. Since it can be kept under lock and key, chil- 

 dren and strangers will not disturb the work under way. 



Such a drying house can be built at a cost of from |200 to $500 and 

 will have a capacity of from SOO to 1000 bushels. During a season such 

 as 1917, a corn drying house filled to capacity would have been paid 

 for several times over in the resulting sale of properly cured seed. The 

 drying house also furnishes a proper room for preparing corn for ship- 

 ment, ear row work, keeping records, etc. It should be equipped with 

 racks or hangers of a convenient type, should be provided with free 

 ventilation and heated for at least three weeks after the corn is first 

 hung with all ventilators open. During a cold snap, heat should be ap- 

 plied during the winter. The cheaper type of round bellied stoves, or an 

 old stove that has been discarded will furnish sufficient heat. 



A number of these corn drying houses, say five or more to each county 

 in central and southern Michigan, will insure the planting each year 

 in Michigan of seed corn of high germination. The best corn for Michi- 

 gan, generally speaking, is native Michigan grown stock. For silage 

 purposes in northern Michigan there are no better varieties than corn 

 from central Michigan, and in central Michigan, either home grown 

 stock or corn from southern Michigan, will prove best for silage. The 

 men, who make it a business of growing seed and are properly equipped 

 for curing and preparing for shipment, can be assured of profitable 

 returns. . 



