422 Circular No. i. 



able to select the seed corn early in the fall, before there is danger of 

 freezes. Light frosts would not injure the seed, but the selection should 

 not be delayed too long, as a severe freeze might greatly injure the 

 vitality of the seed if it was not thoroughly dried out when the freeze 

 came. 



Where to gather seed. — Select your seed from that portion of [the field 

 which is uniformly the best developed. It is a good practice to husk this 

 portion of the field early in the season to be sure that those ears saved 

 for seed will have been husked and preserved before freezes occur. 



How to preserve seed. — The seed corn as soon as husked should be 

 placed in a dry, well-ventilated room where the ears can be spread out. 

 They should not be piled in a heap, as it is important to expose them to 

 a free circulation of air, so that they will dry quickly and thoroughly 

 without moulding. It is a good practice, often followed, to leave a few 

 husks attached to each ear, so that the ears may be tied together in pairs 

 by means of the husks and then hung over poles or wires in the upper 

 part of the room. If convenient, racks can be made like bookcases, 

 with slat shelves about 4 or 5 inches apart, and open backs and fronts, 

 in which the ears can be arranged until thoroughly dried. Only one 

 row of ears should be placed on each shelf. This method allows the 

 preservation of a large amount of seed corn in a small space. 



Use of artificial heat in drying seed. — It has been found to be very 

 important to dry out the seed corn quickly and thoroughly, and the use 

 of some artificial heat is in most cases desirable. It is thus important, 

 especially in damp, cold seasons, to place the seed corn in a room where 

 there is a stove in which a fire can be maintained at least a portion of 

 each day for about two weeks, or until the corn is thoroughly dried out. 

 In favorable dry autumns artificial heat may not be necessary, but in 

 many cases the "kiln drying" of seed, as it is called, will be found to be 

 very important. In one experiment made by Mr. C. P. Hartley, of the 

 U. S. Department of Agriculture, kiln-dried seed gave an average yield 

 of 16 bushels per acre more than ordinary air-dried seed of the same 

 variety grown in the same place. The experimental field in this case 

 contained about 10 acres, and was planted with the air-dried and kiln- 

 dried seed in alternate rows. 



NoTB. — Correspondence on this subject may be addressed to Professor H. J. WEBBER. 



