Com Growers' Association. 341 



ing and by turning our attention to what we find as proven by the 

 seed plot. Let me say this : What the Babcock test has done for 

 the dairyman in searching out the individuality of the cow, what 

 the trap nest has done for the poultryman (the trap nest has 

 brought up the type of hen to one that will produce 235 eggs per 

 year, whereas a few years ago she would not produce more than 

 75 eggs per year) , the seed plot has done for the corn breeder. 



He called our attention to the necessity of getting something 

 that would mature in the length of the season. The whole process 

 all the way through is the principle of the "survival of the fittest," 

 throwing out those that we find will not mature, and saving and 

 breeding those that will mature. 



THE IMPORTANCE OF CORN BREEDING. 



(Ernest L. Hughes, Glasgow, Mo.) 



More has been accomplished in corn breeding during the last 

 decade than had been done before in the four centuries since the 

 plant has been known to the white man. From the irregular, dis- 

 torted nubbin of the Indian it as been improved by skillful selec- 

 tion and breeding until we have the finely shaped, high-yielding 

 varieties of today. Yet, how far we are from perfection! How 

 much room there is for improvement even in the best ! Who ever 

 saw a perfect ear of corn? There may be ears with perfect tips. 

 There are ears with perfectly rounded butts. Others may be ideal 

 in shape. Some have grains that can not be improved. But there 

 has never been produced an ear absolutely perfect in every respect. 

 There probably never will be. Here, then, is a vast opportunity for 

 those who are striving towards the ideal. 



There is not a variety of corn in existence that can not be 

 made to yield more grain and of better quality by the right kind 

 of selection and breeding. To the average farmer this, no doubt, 

 seems a slow and tedious process. But quite the contrary is true. 

 In a single year marked improvement can be made in the poorest, 

 run down corn by an intelligent selection of seed. And besides this 

 result of increased production, corn breeding is a most interesting 

 work to those who will engage in it. To those who understand 

 and appreciate it, plant breeding of any kind carries with it a 

 pleasure — a fascination — scarcely equaled in any other avocation. 

 It is a pleasure, indeed, to watch with anticipation the gradual 



