78 The Bulletin. 



It would be both interesting and instructive to review the replies Mr. Hopkins 

 received relative to all four of the factors mentioned above, but for our purpose 

 it must sullice to note briefly the inlluence of the first factor in doubling the 

 yields of European crops. 



The letter was sent to men and societies that would be most likely to have an 

 unbiased opinion, and wliose information would entitle their decision to a very 

 close approximation of the facts. 



We were no little surprised, therefore, when we found such men as A. D. 

 Hall, of England, Von Seelhorst, of Germany, the Director-General of Agriculture 

 of Holland, "the Minister of Agriculture of France, and a number of other loading 

 spirits in European agriculture, placing the amount of increase in yields in 

 those countries, due to improved seed, at from 5 per cent to 15 per cent. Most 

 of the increased yield is due, say they, to better cultural methods, commercial 

 fertilizers and the use of green and stable manures, the latter of which is made 

 largely from feeds imported from the United States and other foreign countries. 

 Mr° Hall, in his reply, says: "Hnproved seed do not count for very much. We 

 still f'row a great many varieties tliat were known 80 to 100 j'ears ago." 



It Is clear from the above statement that Mr. Hall recognizes a difference be- 

 tween "improved" seed and "f/oocZ" seed. We can have very poor "improved" 

 seed and very good unimproved seed. What we want is good seed, whether im- 

 proved or unimproved. And what are good seed? Seed are good when they are 

 sound; have nniximum germiiuUing power, and have been selected from high- 

 yielding mother plants. Such seed may be "improved" or unimproved, but they 

 will be^good, and consequently give a perfect stand and high yield, other things 

 being equal. 



In tlie absence of absolute experimental data we venture the assertion that our 

 corn and cotton crops are reduced at lea>t 10 per cent by a poor stand, caused 

 by using weak and unsound seed. Should this statement stand the light of in- 

 vestigatTon the farmers of the State are losing yearly several million dollars from 

 failure to get a good stand of corn and cotton, to say nothing of wheat, oats, 

 tobacco, etc! Furthermore, when we examine an average row of cotton and find 

 one-third to one-half of the plants bearing from two to ten bolls and tlie rest 

 of the stalks loaded down with from twenty to fifty bolls, we again feel the 

 effect of allowing the ginncr to select our cotton seed rather than do the selecting 

 ourselves in the" field at picking time. Again our failure to select our seed is 

 felt in the cornfield when we come to harvest our crop from barren stalks or 

 well-developed stalks with only nubbins on them. The general law that like 

 begets like, or that "Whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap," rules 

 wilh as great harshness in tiie corn and cotton fields as anywhere else. We 

 will now discuss some of the details of selecting seed corn and cotton seed. 



It must be borne in mind that show corn is not necessarily good seed corn, 

 though the ears may be sound, apjjroach perfection of outline, and take the highest 

 prcnmims. Corn shows arc very valmible stinuilants to agricultural communities, 

 but they are very poor places at which to select or buy your seed corn for next 

 year. This is because corn for show purposes generally comes from single-ear 

 stalks in case the exhibit is made of husked ears o(T the stalks; and where the 

 ears are exhibited on the stalk little or no attention is generally paid to the 

 general development of the plant in the field, etc. The mere beauty of an ear of 

 corn, then, is no criterion by which to judge of its merits as seed corn. 



The most approved method of selecting seed corn is to go into the field before 

 the fodder is ripe and pick out the best two, three or four-eared stalks, depending 

 on the degiee of prolificacy that is desired in the variety, and tag them. These 

 stalks should be allowed to dry without disturbing the fodder or tops. After the 

 stalk is quite dry gather these seed ears and put them where the rats can not 

 get at them. It is a good plan to select about twice as much seed corn in the 

 field as will be needed for planting in order that a second selection may be made 

 during the winter. 



In the selection of cotton seed a similar plan may be followed. The best plants 

 in the field should be used as mother plants, and the picking done from the middle 

 of the stalk, avoiding the bolls at the extreme top and extreme bottom of the 

 plant, rick several hundred pounds in this way and have the ginner gin it 

 separately and return the seed unmixed. It is poor economy to plant any but 



