Farmers' Week in Agricultural College. 221 



plat or depend on someone wlio has a breeding plat to sui)ply liini with 

 seed corn. 



Another factor in low yields is due to the fact that not 10 per cent, 

 of the farmers do as well as they understand in the selection of their seed, 

 even from the field. The truth of this statement can be demonstrated 

 or proven in any audience of farmers by simply taking a vote on the 

 question, as I have done in scores of cases. The very best way is to 

 select the seed as soon as the corn is ripe, taking no ears except those 

 found on good plants. The plant will tell more of a story as to the 

 producing capacity of an ear than the ear itself can possibly tell. I 

 do not believe any ear of corn, no matter how fancy it may be, can be a 

 good producer unless it grew on h stalk having good vital organs. The 

 root system and the blade system are the vital organs of the corn plant 

 and correspond to the lung capacity and digestive capacity of an animal. 

 If this seed is selected at this time from strong, shortjointed stalks 

 having brace roots, and then immediately hung in a dry and well venti- 

 lated place that it may be perfectly dried out before freezing weather, 

 there will be no difficulty in securing a stand so far as the seed is con- 

 cerned. I believe the majority of farmers resort to positively the worst 

 method of seed selection, and that is by getting corn out of our corn 

 cribs a little before planting time. When this corn is cribbed in the 

 fall there is yet considerable moisture in the cobs and the way that water 

 would get out of the cob between that and the spring Avould be to freeze 

 out. It should be evident to any man that the grains will have their 

 vitality injured by being frozen on a wet cob. These grains may not 

 be dead but will be crippled or their vitality seriously impaired. When 

 an animal has had poor shelter and feed during a severe winter, the 

 best results cannot be expected when spring time comes. These grains 

 of corn may grow but their vitality is so poor that the product is gen- 

 erally either a nubbin or no ear at all. This matter of seed selection is 

 another feature that must be given more care before Missouri will get 

 the yields that we should have. 



Another cause for low yields — and perhaps the greatest one of all, 

 is that farmers are constantly growing corn on the same land, and while 

 we farmers like to refer to our "great school of experience" we are 

 often the very ones to absolutely fail to. let experience guide us. There 

 is no farmer today with a thimble full of brains but what is aware of 

 the fact that we are corning our ground too much. His experience has 

 told him so, but he fails to profit by it. Crop rotations must enter into 

 his scheme of farming or else he will be farming wrong. I believe that 

 the greatest reason more farmers do not practice crop rotations is be- 



