70 MISSOURI agkicultukal" report. 



Dr. Waters : Do you find in your breeding that the tendency to- 

 wards flintiness is associated with a tendency towards shallowness of 

 grain, and that the tendency towards roughness is liable to be associated 

 with deepness of grain ? 



Mr. Funk : Yes, with some exceptions. But as a general thing, 

 that holds true — that in smooth corn there is a shallow kernel, while in 

 rough corn there is a longer kernel ; but there are exceptions to that. 



Mr. Weeks: After you get a strain started, and get enough seed to 

 plant the whole farm, you have got to plant that with a planter, and if 

 you don't have good ears of that strain you will not get uniform re- 

 sults. / 



Mr. Funk : That's a great point. One of the greatest points of 

 utility. One of the greatest points with a strain would be its uniformity, 

 not only of the ears, but of the kernels. Just as long as we have to plant 

 corn mechanically by a planter, we have to have corn that will drop 

 kernels as much alike in size and shape as we can get them ; that is, 

 for uniformity. 



Mr. : Do you recommend the grading machine? 



. Mr. Funk: Yes, I do. 



Mr. Weeks: Doesn't the season have something to do with the 

 'size of the cob ? 



Mr. Funk : I rather doubt it. It may have something to do with 

 the length of your kernel — soil and season both ; but as to the size of 

 your cob, it may have, I don't know. 



Mr. Weeks: I find that the seed corn taken from high land and 

 that taken from bottom land — the same strain invariably has a larger 

 cob on the bottom land than on the high land. 



Mr. Funk: Is that so? I didn't know that. 



Mr. Crabtree : Do you find it to be a fact that in producing an ex- 

 cessively large cob that .so much longer season is required to do that? 



Mr. Funk: If it is the nature of your corn to have a large cob, 

 that corn will be of a later maturity. I would like to grow a corn 

 that will take all my season and no more to mature thoroughly — just 

 take all that season and get ripe ; and then I want as big an ear as i can 

 grow, as much kernel as I can grow. 



Dr. Waters : How much stress in your breeding do you lay upon 

 proportion of grain on the cob? Do you insist on the ears having a very 

 high percentage of grain? I mean, suppose you have an car of corn 

 that you think will make a mother ear? Say it was a big ear, but did 

 not have quite as high a percentage of corn to the cob as you would like, 

 but had other things in its favor. Would vou discard that for an ear 



