120 MISSOURI AGRICULTURAL REPORT. 



sized ear with a tip not completely covered, than a shorter ear with a 

 covered tip. Of course if a well covered tip can be secured on an ear of 

 the proper length that is ideal, but there are so few long ears which 

 show this characteristic that it is usually impossible to secure enough of 

 these for seed. It is therefore better to select for deep, regular kernels 

 well out to the end of the ear than for kernels over the end of the ear. 

 For show corn, however, the more nearly covered the tip, providing the 

 length is maintained, the higher the score. In Fig. 4 the tip on the left 

 is ideal, the one in the middle is good, the one on the right rather poor. 



Size of Cob. — The prevailing opinion among farmers is that the 

 smaller the cob the better. In general this may be said to be true, al- 

 though there is a limit be,yond which it is not profitable to go in the 

 matter of reducing the size of the cob. It has been well said that the 

 cob bears much the same relation to the ear of corn as does the bone to 

 the beef animal. The animal must not be coarse boned, neither must it 

 be fine boned, a medium bone of clean quality being much preferred to 

 either. Likewise in corn we should select for a medium sized cob rather 

 than for a large or very small one. Large cobs usually mean shallow 

 grains and a coarse appearance. They do not show high quality. A 

 very small cob tends to narrow pointed chaffy grains which are very 

 often loose on the cob and uniformly lacking in vitality. What is wanted 

 is a goodly number of straight, well compacted rows and sufficient cob 

 must be maintained to bear them. In Fig. 4 the middle ears show the 

 best sizes of cobs, the ones on the left being too small, those on the 

 rig-ht too large. 



Shape of Kernels. — The proper shape of a kernel is one a little over 

 one and one-half times as long as wide, of a straight, wedge shape, but 

 not pointed. It should be of good thickness and while not wide at the 

 end next the cob, it should still be well shouldered out, giving room for 

 a strong, plump gernu In the accompanying photograph the two rows 

 of kernels at the top are poorly shaped, those in the top row being too 

 shallow and those in the second row too long and slim. The shallow ones 

 will g'ive a low per cent of corn to the cob while the long slim ones in- 

 dicate weakness and low vitality. The two rows near the middle show 

 <^he best shapes. They differ somewhat in appearance but represent very 

 well the characters to be observed in selection. The kernels in the lower 

 row show a difference in size of germ. Large germs are desirable in 

 seed corn for two reasons ; first, because such kernels usually have 

 strong- vitality and second, because they have a higher feeding value. 

 A large proportion of the oil in the kernel is found in the germ so that 

 the larger the germ the higher the per cent of oil. By noticing a num- 



