Farmers^ Week in Agricultural College. 135 



more shallow working cultivator with three or even more shovels to the 

 gang. Of course, on foul land or on certain compact soils this shallow 

 cultivation is not satisfactory, but those cases are exceptions to the 

 general rule. 



The practice of cultivating after the corn is too large to cultivate 

 with a two-horse or a two-row cultivator is receiving considerable atten- 

 tion. I know of crops that were saved by a one-horse shallow working 

 cultivator where the drought was severe. This cultivation on dry sea- 

 sons means tons of water saved for the use of the corn plant on every 

 acre, and the increased yield is sufficient evidence of the use the crop 

 makes of the water thus saved. 



I cannot in this paper go into the matter of com breeding as a 

 factor in determining corn yields, but I wish to call attention to two 

 or three important considerations regarding the seed. The experiment 

 stations are coming more and more to appreciate the great importance 

 of strong germinating corn. It has formerly been thought that if corn 

 would germinate this was all that was necessary, but the strength of 

 germination has been shown to be an important determining factor in 

 corn yields. It is, of course, true that Texas farmers are not troubled to 

 such a great extent as the farmers further north by the weakening effect 

 of early freezes upon the germination of corn, but even there it is of 

 importance. Corn not thoroughly dry before freezing weather is sure 

 to be more or less weakened in germination, and no season in recent 

 years has been so bad as the present one in this respect. The low 

 vitality of the bulk of the seed corn of the northern half of the corn 

 belt is causing great uneasiness among the corn growers. A wet fall, 

 in which it was impossible to gather the corn early, followed by ex- 

 tremely cold weather, has been the cause. 



Corn to grow strongly should be picked as soon as ripe and safely 

 stored in a dry, airy place. This is essential to strong germination. 

 It matters little how heavy the freezing after the corn is once dry, but 

 freezing when it is still moist is very injurious. On most seasons it 

 will, therefore, pay the careful farmer to pick his seed corn early before 

 the crop is harvested, gathering it from the standing stalk. Such a 

 method has other advantages, too, besides that of ensuring a strong 

 germination. One is then able to see the stalk on which each ear is 

 produced — a most important consideration. I am firmly of the opinion 

 that the near future will bring sufficient knowledge regarding the char- 

 acter of the stalk as affecting the yield of corn, to enable us to tell more 

 about the production from stalk character than from ear character. 

 Even now enough is known to make it highly important that seed ears 

 be picked from the field at a time when the stalk can be examined, 



