CORN GROWEl^S ASSOCIATION. 33 



Mr. Forbes — There is one phase of this subject which has not been 

 mentioned yet, the matter of variabihty. One of the first requirements 

 to every improvement in plant or animal life is variability, that is, differ- 

 ence of individuality. If they were all alike there would be no possi- 

 bility of improvement. From Darwin's time to the present day we must 

 provide a plant with abundance of nutrition — that is the way plant 

 breeders throw plants into variation, by putting them where there is 

 abundance of nutrition and without these conditions we never develop 

 the possibilities that there are in a plant. We never know what we have 

 until we grow them under such conditions as induce variability and al- 

 low a plant to express its individuality. 



Dr. Huston — In animal breeding you are dealing with the animal 

 as an individual. 



There is a law in regard to the development of plants which seems 

 to be pretty well established, that is, as you increase the amount of avail- 

 able food for the plant, you increase the amount of vegetative stuff you 

 produce as compared with the amount of reproductive stuff you produce 

 in the plant. To put it in a different way, on your corn problem alone, 

 if you continue to raise seed corn on your very best land, or your hog 

 lot, if you please, you will tend to develop a type of corn with very 

 large proportion of stalk to ear. If you want to raise the vegetative 

 parts, the stalks and the leaves in excess, I have no doubt that you can 

 develop such a type of corn by planting in your hog lots. I believe that 

 this matter is worth taking into consideration in the breeding of your 

 seed corn, not to plant it on too rich land unless you wish to produce 

 only stalk. I assume you do not wish that. It is a matter worthy of 

 consideration, the more you increase the vegetative part of your corn, 

 the less you increase the seed. 



Dr. Tucker — Another suggestion in regard to the rich land. By a 

 rich land, I do not mean land with an excess of nitrogen, but I mean a 

 well balance4 land — a land which will be well balanced so far as nutri- 

 ment for the plant is concerned, so that it will not grow to be a deformed 

 plant either in stalk or grain. By a rich soil, I mean a soil that com- 

 bines all the elements of plant food in an available form, so that we will 

 not put the plant on the land and expect it to grow an especially. rich 

 £:talk or leaf, but develop into a normal plant. 



Mr. Ellis — I have had no experience in this matter myself. I wished 

 only to have it brought out. It is an important matter for the farmer 

 to know whether they shall continue their present method of corn selec- 

 tion. I believe farmers generally select their seed corn from the richest 

 land for the reason that they get the best or largest ears there. The 

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