CORN growers' association. 35 



so foul. The time ajid depth of planting was found to be a local and 

 seasonal matter varying from one to three inches. The frequency and 

 depth of cultivation were shown to depend largely upon the season, a 

 deptli of three inches being generally recommended for most soils, but 

 with a slightly greater depth allowable early in the season. Level culture 

 was found to be best for most upland soils while the frequency of culti- 

 vation for any soil is determined by the necessity of keeping a loose 

 mulch on the surface. 



The matter of corn improvement by selection and breeding was 

 also begun early, but no great advancement was made until the matters 

 of soil treatment above mentioned were definitely determined. Much 

 advancement, however, has been made in the last half dozen years in 

 this work, investigations following two general lines; first, the increase 

 in total yield of corn or of grain and fodder per acre, and second, the 

 improvement in the quality of the plant, more especially of the grain. In 

 improving the quality two definite ideas have been in mind, the one 

 to improve and fix certain varieties, the other to develop strains in which 

 the grain varies in general constituents, such as starch, oil and protein, 

 the idea being to produce corn of particular quality for a particular pur- 

 pose. One of the most striking things shown by this work is the ex- 

 treme susceptibility of corn to change through selection. It has been 

 found, for instance, that it is possible to change the height at which ears 

 appear on the stalk in any variety as much as 20 or 30 inches in 3 or 4 

 year's selection ; that the same time is sufficient to develop a plant with 

 heavy or light foliage with many or few suckers, with red or white 

 cobs, etc. All experiments emphasize the fact that the corn plant is 

 very readily changed either for good or for bad by close attention to the 

 matter of selection and herein lies the importance of careful attention to 

 its proper breeding. 



The increase in yield per acre has been the end toward which most 

 of the breeding has been directed, yet it is the one thing on which little 

 definite results are obtainable, for the reason that it takes a number of 

 years' averages to demonstrate whether or not a given variety of corn 

 has been improved materially in its pi'oductive power; but that some 

 varieties or some ears of corn when planted, have a prepotency or in- 

 herent property of producing more corn than others under exactly sim- 

 ilar conditions, even when both have been grown in the same locality 

 and under similar conditions has been definitely proven. The method 

 then of finding just which ears will produce most corn and of propa- 

 gating these is the problem which constitutes corn breeding for in- 

 creased yield per acre, and various methods have been adopted by the 



